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State says B Line, entire Braintree branch to re-open Monday
By adamg on Wed, 02/18/2015 - 6:47pm
State officials tonight released a schedule for re-opening currently shut subway segments. The Red Line will be extended to North Quincy on Friday, followed by Braintree on Monday, along with B trolleys on the Green Line. The Mattapan Line will remain shut until Friday, Feb. 27.
However, officials cautioned:
Reduced train counts due to the unprecedented winter storms will result in longer wait times and some crowding in the short term.
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Comments
map
Map from the T.
https://twitter.com/MBTA/status/568195345097687040
One does not
simply take the train to Mattapan.
low income folks hardest hit yet again
I've never taken the red line to Mattapan, so I don't know its problems. However, when I look at the chart above, I have to wonder why this line has been given the absolute lowest priority in resuming service, four days after the rest of the T is theoretically functional. It seems those disproportionately least likely to have alternative methods to get to work AND less likely to have benefits or the ability to telecommute have been f'ed over yet again.
Huh?
Except for the last stop, the Mattapan Trolley goes through some fairly middle class areas- I mean, we're talking Milton, for chrissakes. And for that matter, the part of Mattapan down by the square isn't the poorest part of the neighborhood, either.
In the end, the high speed line has special needs, so it will take a bit to get back in service.
Reason?
Did they say WHY the B lne took so long to return to service? Was it clearing the tracks of snow? Frozen switching equipment? It would help to know.
Just in time
...for me to not need it anymore.
commuter rail
And no word on commuter rail? Keolis and the T can't even maintain the stripped down "recovery" timetables. And every alert message these days ends with "due to snow". I guess that's easier than giving an actual reason. How about "due to broken equipment"? Or "due to crew shortage"? Or "due to frozen switch"?
Last week...
...Keolis was at least saying "equipment shortage" for many of them.
Even if they do things right, I don't think they have the shop capacity to repair them faster than they keep failing at this point.
The primary issue on the
The primary issue on the commuter rail is definitely equipment. Only about half the locomotives on the roster are currently functional, and many cars are having issues as well, primarily with doors freezing.
To cope with a winter like this...
...both commuter rail and subway (and probably bus) need larger facilities where more trainsets can be brought inside. If a good portion of the fleet could be stored inside at night (or other out of service times) then some of the problems could be reduced. Keolis did tweet a photo this week of crews steam-cleaning the undercarriages of trainsets trying to remove the snow and ice buildup so they can be inspected (and likely have plenty of components down there repaired). Right now the struggle is that they need to get way more equipment through the available shop facilities, and the stuff that does make it in has to be thawed/deiced/degunked before it can even get the shop attention.
I just don't know how BET (for commuter rail) and the individual subway line shops can even keep up with traction motor replacements, etc at the rate stuff is failing.
The problem with bringing
The problem with bringing commuter rail trainsets inside is that most are stored at the outer ends of the system in order to be ready for the morning rush, so they'd either need to deadhead back to Boston at night (using scarce track slots, paying crews, using fuel, etc.), or build enclosed layovers at the various endpoints.
I know that's not going to
I know that's not going to happen - would just cost too much. But might be what's needed to cope with this type of weather.
It's "... due to poor
It's "... due to poor management ..." according to an anonymous caller on one of the radio talk shows. The caller said T workers wanted to run subway cars and trains continuously through the storm to keep the tracks clear and switches working, but were ordered to park and shut down subway cars and trains.
T and BPS Students
I hope BPS is putting pressure on the Mayor and the MBTA. In order for middle and high schoolers to be in their seats on time for Monday morning, they need to get this system up and running in on/close to on time. Of course there are many families who also rely on the MBTA to get their younger kids to school.
I would be curious to see attendance rates of students and staff on the days following the storms. It has to have been down quite a bit.
What about the Orange Line?
No mention of when Orange Line can be expected back to somewhat normal??
It is odd
The map says the whole line is open. The website says the whole line is open (and 9 minute headways!) but I would think that news like this would have greater fanfare.
Anyways, much like my arrival at Forest Hills on Tuesday expecting shuttle buses, better unexpected good news than unexpected bad.
I'm going to shovel part of the B.
And then I'm putting space savers on it. Let the battle commence.
I match your space savers,
I match your space savers, and I raise you one threatening note.
I shovel snow onto your threatening note
...with a backhoe.
Has there ever been any
Has there ever been any actual explanation of what is wrong with the Ashmont-Mattapan line?
It would seem that on that line there's actually room to put snow. Even if they cleared one track and piled snow on most of the other, the line is short enough and quick enough to run some in and out service.
Whatever happened to the homemade jet melter/blower they had on that line as of a few years ago? Did it die - or get pulled to clear some other line?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL6jKOCeVec
The line gets shut down when
The line gets shut down when there is 4 inches or more of snow to protect the motors on the old PCC cars. During a more typical winter storm, Mattapan is the only rail line shut down, and it might take a day to clear it to resume service. Under present conditions, they don't have the resources to make Mattapan-Ashmont a high priority. Based on the number of passengers carried and the number of buses required to replace rail service, the Red line, the Orange line, the Green line etc. are going to come first if they have to be dug out. Note that the Mattapan line did briefly reopen the Friday afternoon and the Saturday after the first storm in January, but then closed just before the second storm and hasn't reopened since. They did start to dig it out before the third storm, but I don't think they have touched it since. My understanding is the PCC car fleet is dug out and ready to go once the tracks are cleared. They have used the jet snow blowers, and it makes more sense there than any other location since the line is short (and the jets are slow) and the line doesn't use third-rail, so they don't have to worry about ice forming on the rail after the jets melt the snow. They also used a diesel ballast regulator with a snow blower mounted to it one year. Since the PCCs don't have the ability to push a plow, Mattapan, more than the Green Line, suffers more from the retirement of the old 1906-built Type 3 snow plows years ago.
Haven't seen any actual info...
...But there is a track connection, so Mattapan's snowzilla may very well have headed off to other places, unless it's dead. All in all, probably an issue with prioritizing getting the main Red Line back in service over the feeder line to Ashmont.
Liars
This is getting more painful by the day. When the lawsuits come Bev and her co-defendants will ask for a change in venue because there is no way they will find an impartial jury that doesn't hate the MBTA.
A lawsuit
will never see the light of day. And even if it does, its the most absolutely the worst thing you can do. Plus it would be hard to find a judge aka a State Employee.. that will even hear the case considering what has been going on weather wise.
Yes let's sue a already financially hurting transit agency to 'teach them a lesson'. Please.
Please if you think you'll get more than a few pennies on the dollar in a 'refund' think again. You know that the lawyers are going to take as much as possible.. so your $2.25 refund will now under 50 cents after everyone takes their cut.
Class action lawsuits never are a 'win' for a consumer. I've been involved in so many I can't count. My last one equated to a check for 35 cents out of a 65 Million dollar lawsuit, it cost more to mail the stupid check.
So go ahead and sue, and when all the 'reward' money evaporates, don't be surprised.
You would be better off petitioning the T to just give free passes for a month to folks. (and you'd get the full amount, no 'cut' to be taken)
It's like trying to sue the
Erm, Conservation Law Foundation ring a bell?
They sued the state for traffic on 93 and won.
okay
bad example :)
It's like suing Mother Nature for snow.
In the meantime...
...could someone please explain to me how the B-Line Shuttle Buses are supposed to be working, until "full service" is restored on Monday?
I waited for a bus at Commonwealth and Washington around 6:30 last night. It's a pretty significant stop. There was an A-frame sign near the tracks that said something like "trains not in service, wait for shuttle buses." While there, saw two of those plush passenger buses -- not an MBTA bus -- blow by going in either direction. The one going inbound, which didn't even slow down despite people trying to wave it down, had tiny little signs on the windshield that said "BC Express, Harvard Avenue."
Now, there is no regular bus stop there, and there's no carve-out from the snow mounds where one could stand. So the only place to wait would be on the sidewalk, which is separated from the main part of Commonwealth Avenue by the service lane and another snow-covered divider. And there's no obvious place where the bus -- even if it intended to stop -- could pull over except right across from the train "platform." But I'm taking the T website at its word that the buses are supposed to make all station stops, which would certainly include Washington Street, which has got to be the busiest stop between Harvard Street and BC.
So my main question is, has anybody successfully taken one of the shuttle buses? And if you've gone inbound, do they really bounce you at Packard's Corner, and make you switch to the 57 until Kenmore, at which point you can switch to the Green Line? And for the outbound trip, is it the same deal? Are there buses waiting on each leg, or is the "service" as sporadic as it appeared to be?
No
Seems like they are going BC to Kenmore today
So, what the hell good is THAT?
They load the buses at BC and fu anyone between there and Kenmore? And the 57, which runs nowhere near the B line once you get beyond Harvard Ave, is supposed to pick up the slack?
Yankee bus = not MBTA?
Yeah, those "plush" buses are run by hired contractors from NJ. I'm fairly certain that BC must have hired them, because they appear to have nothing to do with the MBTA. The drivers weren't even sure where to let out, only that there were 3 stops: Kenmore, Harvard Ave, BC.
I've seen the actual shuttle buses running, but I haven't seen where they stop. They're regular MBTA buses. Getting off at Packard's Corner and expecting to get on the 57 is a complete joke. On a regular day those buses are packed before Packard's.
Good to see that they are finally supporting the entire line with shuttle buses, supposedly starting this morning. Now it's just a matter of figuring out where to stand to flag them down..
Thanks for the tips!
Maybe I'll give it another shot today, especially if it's a one-seat (or hang-strap) ride from Kenmore to Washington and vice versa. My employer has been footing the bill for Ubers during the crisis (look, Ma, I'm essential!), but I'd like to save them some money if I can make it there and back in a reasonable amount of time with a minimal amount of stress.
No
BC didn't hire them, the MBTA did. The yankee buses were also used on the OL shuttle.
Hmm.
It would be nice to know definitively one way or the other.
I think buses of this sort were also used for Red Line shuttling this week, so it's plausible that the MBTA hired them. But like I said, these just blew by the Washington Street station. I would not be pleased to find out that the MBTA is paying for buses that weren't making all the stops, and were basically for the exclusive use of BC students.
Yankee lines has a garage in
Yankee lines has a garage in New Jersey, but their main garage is in beautiful South Boston. The MBTA hired Yankee, they were using them on Oak Grove-Wellington-Sullivan shuttles and moved them over to Comm Ave. once the Orange Line reopened. There are also some MBTA buses running the shuttle as well.
Someone in the Legislature is
Someone in the Legislature is finally doing something:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/18/governor-charlie-baker-keoli...
YES! A COMMITTEE!
Clearly by having another oversight board all the T's problems will be fixed. The real problem is simply a lack of a group of people to review the same documents that have been produced by countless internal and external groups for years.
I'm sure this new board will have no problem solving the issues of huge debt payments, outdated equipment, no maintenance, long term union contracts, and all the other major problems the T is facing.
Best part is, in 2 years you can just create another board!
Oh, and we're going to need to pay these board members $150,000/each.