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Friday-night commute on the Red Line: 45 minutes, Kendall to Harvard
By adamg on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 9:03pm
This is not Tokyo at rush hour.
Danforth Nicholas took some photos of the platform at Harvard station around 7 p.m.:
The train I was on had to push another disabled train into the station. And then they both emptied onto the platform. Travel time Kendall to Harvard: about 45 minutes.
Photo used under this Creative Commons license.
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Comments
Surprised?
This is why I stopped riding the T three years ago and started commuting by bicycle. Yes, even riding in snow storms and single digits is better than waiting helplessly for yet another disable train.
Well, I actually enjoying
Well, I actually enjoying riding my bicycle in the winter. It's fun and it's one of the only ways to the outdoors in the city without getting cold.
* Meant to say: Cycling is
* Meant to say: Cycling is fun and one of the only ways to be outdoors in the city in the winter without getting cold.
Maybe
they were looking for the snake? : )
snake watching
I was on the train that had to push the disabled train into Harvard Sq... it was quite "interesting" as the only way for the conductors to communicate was over the PA System. There were so many voices...everywhere. We were underground between Central and Harvard Sq for 40 minutes- so the Kendall to Harvard time at 45 minutes is actually reported a bit shorter then it was.
And yes, I had my eye out for "Penny" the entire time. Lord knows I had time to look!
I was stuck on the inbound
I was stuck on the inbound side of Kendall at 4:30 on Friday. The train just stood there at the platform, with the doors open for 15 minutes. No announcements that you could understand from the train crew. I gave up and left. On my way out, I asked the conductor what was the delay and how long it might be. He said that he had no idea on either count.
Why are the T personnel so bad at handling these situations? Is the T so dysfunctional that it can not communicate to its passengers and employees the nature of delays that stop traffic from moving? Why are we employing people that are so ineffective in their jobs?
Remember how I suggested that
Remember how I suggested that the new river bridge be built with a third track for disabled trains to sit in? And remember how nobody thinks thats a good idea?
Well, Im proposing it again.
Instead of turning 4 lanes into 3 + bike lanes....turn it into 2 with a third track for situations just like this.
Parking a disabled train with
Parking a disabled train with compressed air system/brake problems on one of the steepest grades on the system doesn't sound like a good idea.
I still think it's a terrible
I still think it's a terrible idea. Why not just modernize the system so that it's only 30, rather than 60 years behind other industrialized countries? I'd rather see that than having our most historic bridge gutted.
You do realize that many modern subway systems don't even have conductors anymore?
you do realize...
....that many subway systems, modern or not, have more than one set of tracks in each direction?
Boston is one of the few. The entire line has to be halted any time there's a problem; there's no way to bypass a broken-down train, nor is there any way to move a slightly-disabled-train off the main line.
Other systems are just as unreliable in terms of rolling stock issues, but they have ways to deal with it, so the only real effect is minor schedule problems, not the entire line halting.
walking wasn't an
walking wasn't an option?
hampshire street?
broadway?
Anyone know what was wrong with the train?
Around 6ish from Porter to Davis, the train was halted in the tunnel. After a while it starts moving. Immediately it travelled maybe 2 feet, dumped the air in the air brakes, and jerked to a halt. This repeated maybe 10-20 times, seemed like something was wrong. Once we got to Davis and I got off the train seemed OK.
Plastic Santa?
I was in the front car of the stuck train that got pushed into Harvard. Because we were going so slow, I was able to get a very good look at the old outbound platform just before the current station. At the end of the old platform closest to the current station, I noticed something that looked like a weird stalagmite. I had never seen it before, because you never really have the time to examine the old platform. I realized after we passed it that it might have been a 4' tall plastic Santa covered with grime. Anyone else ever see it, or know what it is?