MBCR Train Schedule for 4th of July Holiday

Can you believe Independence Day is nearly around the corner. This is one of my all-time favorite holidays. First - I love being American. Second - it is great to have something to celebrate in the summer.

The 4th falls on a Sunday this year. Which means that many organizations will be closed on Monday, July 5th as their official holiday date. However, some companies will be open business as usual on 7/5. What does this mean to commuter rail riders? Holiday Service!!

The MBCR released the following information regarding the 4th of July Holiday weekend:

On Sunday, July 4th MBCR will operate on the SATURDAY schedule, typical for the observance of this holiday. Please see the online schedules www.mbta.com or the handhelds that are available at North, South and Back Bay stations. Here, you will also find the trains that may be held following the conclusion of the 4th of July fireworks.

On Monday, July 5th MBCR will operate on a SUNDAY schedule in observance of the Federal Holiday celebration. Please note the limited train times if you plan to travel on Monday.

"Trains Can't Be Beat"

Interesting article from the July 21, 2008 issue of Newsweek. Here are some highlights:

There are signs the strategy is working. Over the past two years, Amtrak's ridership has increased almost 17 percent systemwide. And the recent spike in gas prices has pushed train ridership to capacity on some routes. A hefty funding package for improvements is currently up for debate in Washington, and Amtrak is already exploring ways to enhance service along popular routes. But getting the system up to speed is a tall order.

Since the 1950s, America's vast inter-state highway system and love of the automobile has contributed to a gradual deterioration of its railroads—just as most of Europe and parts of Asia have been investing in swift and comfortable long-range trains. But duplicating those foreign systems here is not simple. Private freight railroads own most of the tracks Amtrak uses, so a broad expansion of the railways would require hundreds of billions of dollars in new infrastructure and decades of eminent domain lawsuits to acquire private lands. "We never invested in quality passenger rail travel like other countries," says Joseph Sussman, a professor of engineering and systems at MIT. "It's almost impossible that the American network could ever be able to mirror those ultra-efficient models around the world."

An expansive new system may not be in the cards, but the recent increased interest does signal hope for Amtrak to grow, especially along routes between cities that are too close to fly and, with high gas costs, too long and pricey to drive. A few hundred million dollars in improvements could bring certain routes to acceptable levels, according to Amtrak. Routes connecting Chicago to St. Paul, Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., and San Diego to Los Angeles could replicate the speedy transit of the prized Northeast Corridor, where sleek trains running on newer tracks allow speeds up to 150 miles per hour in some zones, according to Amtrak CEO Alex Kummant. New rail cars and tracks would surely help, but trains could also run faster with newer signals installed at crossroads to stop traffic earlier. Improving station conditions in rural areas would also make the service feel more comfortable and contemporary.

For train enthusiasts, it will be interesting to see how Amtrak evolves. Those who believe that the government should not give further economic assistance to Amtrak think that private companies could operate a more efficient system. It is interesting that our nation never nationalized air travel, yet we did nationalize our train system.

Amtrak has been in the news a lot lately. The train system just announced that they have renamed the regional service on the Northeast Corridor as the Northeast Regional. And as the Newsweek article noted, ridership is up.

Rising Energy Costs Contribute to "Greener" Options

I read two great articles online at the WSJ.com (The Wall Street Journal's interactive site). While I will provide links to both articles, you may not be able to read them without a WSJ.com subscription.

Due to the rising cost of gas, many municipalities and public institutions are starting to look at alternatives to the traditional five-day work week. According to the "Oil Prices Prompt Four-Day Week" article, a county in Michigan and Suffolk County in New York are considering placing their public employees on a four-day work week. For a traditional 40-hour week, this would mean four, ten hour days.

I think this is a brilliant idea - both for employees and the public at large. If given the option, I know I would rather spend four days in the office than five. It would be nice to have an extra-day off during the week to run errands and just live life. Plus, if the municipalities need to make sure employees are putting in 10-hour days, perhaps public offices would be open longer than 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I know I could benefit from visiting a town office or a state office after 5 p.m. (when most are closed). Not to mention - local traffic would be reduced during the rush hour.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts - which already experiences congestion-clogged roads - should really start to have both state-offices and local municipal offices explore the viability of moving employees to a 4-day work week. And for the private sector . . . I'm really surprised more companies aren't exploring ways to let their employees tele-commute - even if it is for one day. The technology is in place to allow people to work remotely. Plus the ability to tele-commute or work a truncated workweek could be a perk in companies that can't or won't offer raises (on a totally different subject, I read the other day that a 2% raise is about the average that a lot of companies are offering - if you even get a raise).

In today's offline and online Journal, there was an article titled "Railroads Roll With a Greener Approach" about how train companies (such as CSX) have created a series of ads promoting freight trains as a green transportation source. I've heard the ads for CSX here in the greater-Boston area and I think I've even seen some billboards.

Why freight trains can be considered green:

Freight trains now use much cleaner and more fuel-efficient diesel engines, and railroad companies are testing new engines that the industry is touting as "ultralow-emission." Many environmentalists acknowledge that the railroads have a powerful argument, given that freight trains burn far less fuel than trucks and can help reduce highway congestion.

You Can Now Be Heard in the MBTA's Tunnels

Mobile devices will now work in the MBTA's tunnels. If you use either Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T for your cellphone service, you will now be able to receive calls or text messages when riding on the MBTA transit trains.

Learn more about this new service in this article published in today's Boston Globe.

South Station Train Stop

Hola fellow commuter rail riders! I actually haven't taken a train into town since Monday, due to business trips, personal days, and other engagements. I'm glad I didn't have to commute on the train during yesterday's December snowstorm. I'm sure I didn't miss a good time!

There was an article about South Station posted today on Boston Now. Basically the article touched upon the fact that when one South Station train runs late, it seems to impact all the lines that rely on this transit hub.

Boy, as a Worcester-Framingham commuter rail rider, I've experienced those delays!

South Station is used by both MBCR commuter rail trains and Amtrak trains. Eleven commuter rail lines go into South Station for their Boston stop. While only 1 of North Station's 6 commuter rail lines had a November on-time performance rate of less than 69%, 7 of South Station's 11 commuter rail lines saw on-time performance rates of 69% or worse.

That's right - only 4 of the commuter rail lines that go into South Station exceed 69% on-time performance rates!!

The state claims it is going to be doing something about the problem:

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen is working to broker an expansion of South Station by taking over the post office next door, but that is likely about six years out, Deputy Secretary Thomas Cahir said.

The article noted that the MBTA meets with Amtrak twice a year to discuss schedule adjustments. What's that - the T actually does something?

But space and schedule adjustments may not be the issue. The issue could lie with the commuter rail dispatching system.

"The dispatching system will help to improve the amount of information available to the train dispatcher so movements can be better planned to avoid conflicts at South Station," Pesaturo said.

That could alleviate the strain, said Himanshu Patel, director of rail market development at Bentley Civil, an international railroad operations consulting firm.

"It's not necessarily a space issue, it's a timing issue," Patel said. "The only way it can be resolved is changing the signal configuration of the network."

Why can't someone figure out what the issue is and fix it?

Oh, that's right, it is a funding issue. In order to fix the dispatching-thingy, the T needs to allocate funds towards it. According to the article, the funding request is not set to go in front of the MBTA's board until February 2008. If the funding goes through, construction on the final phase of the project won't commence until late 2008.

Himanshu Patel noted that, until the project is complete, delays can still occur.

Well, MBTA Board. What are you going to do? When are you going to resolve this issue?

Does this mean that the on-time performance rates are now a MBTA issue instead of a MBCR issue? It seems like the T was heaping a whole lot of blame on the MBCR over the past few weeks. Perhaps the MBCR needs to hold the T accountable to maintaining their end of the deal (whatever that is).

Tuesday Inbound Commute

Ah, late fall in New England. The warmest part of the day will be this morning. It was a balmy 60 degrees out when I arrived at the Grafton train station this morning.

I noticed something curious on the train this morning. . . all of the doors on all of the cars were open. Hmmm, so either "safety" is no longer a concern OR the conductors are taking some heat for the reports published last week about their working strike.

Well, Train Girl is happy that all of the doors on all the cars opened this morning for the inbound commute. I just hope all the doors are open tonight for the outbound commute.

However, Train Girl is not happy that the Worcester inbound train still arrived to South Station 18 minutes later than it's scheduled. PLUS the conductors didn't collect passes this morning. So I wonder how many people got a free ride into the city? I should be reimbursed $7.75 because that is the cost of a one-way ticket from Grafton to Boston on the Worcester commuter rail line.

Take one step forward, but you're still going backwards.