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Parts of the brand-spanking new Green Line Extension already in such bad shape that trains in some spots crawl slower than most people can walk
By adamg on Tue, 09/26/2023 - 11:26pm
The Globe reports on new wicked slooooow zones on the Green Line Extension, in particular in spots where the rails have gotten slightly closer to each other, an issue that left at least one expert with 40 years of experience scratching his head because rails in use generally widen in distance, not narrow.
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Comments
I can't wait for subpoenas to
I can't wait for subpoenas to start rolling on all the MBTA vendor & maintenance fraud over the past few years (decade?).
I think you’ll be
I think you’ll be disappointed to find out that it’s likely not fraud and more likely a shortage of money and skilled labor (in spite of the cost, delays) for most issues with T. This issue seems like a, well, head scratcher.
Can't it be both?
This is Massachusetts, after all.
No sh*t
Open the box. Let it all out.
We need the equivalent of the Ward Commission
The saddest part of all this is this is the repeated and ongoing failure of multiple state agencies and elected officials.
Everyone seems to have there on favorite villain but where was:
The Governor
The AG (now Governor)
Legislative Oversight Committees
Office of Inspector General
Department of Public Utilities
MBTA Board of Directors
State Auditor
Failure after Failure after Failure.
We've been down this road before.
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/01/us/massachusetts-told-of-wide-corrupt...
We need an independent commission. The problems at the MBTA are too pervasive, too deep, too politically tangled and intractable for any politician to who wants a future in this state.
Fares
Has there been any inspection/ enforcement of the proof of purchase fares since the system opened?
Yeah, I am pretty sure fare
Yeah, I am pretty sure fare evasion is not the issue ...
The opposite
I was wondering if people are being actively charged for this level of crap service.
I haven't seen any effort to verify fares since GLX opened and guessed they were going to wait until the new fare system gets implemented everywhere to do so even if they won't say that openly.
I gotcha, sorry to be so
I gotcha, sorry to be so reflexive
"the rails are too narrow" is
"the rails are too narrow" is very 1875
Perhaps
the Gauge Wars are heating up again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Gauge_War
It’s the…
….Revenge of The Narrow Gauge! Revere rejoices!!!
The ghost of Isambard Kingdom Brunel
is haunting the Green Line. “You want it narrow?” he mutters, “I’ll give you narrow.”
Obviously he should be haunting railways in the UK, but he got on the wrong Ghost Train at Paddington and ended up in Somerville.
"In 1886, railways in the
"In 1886, railways in the south managed to convert the gauge on an estimated 11,500 miles of track in a period of just 36 hours." Source below.
Not everything since then has been progress. My theory is that in the Boston area in particular, there aren't enough experienced people who can do that sort of grunt and detail oriented work properly.
If, like me, you have time to indulge in these historical nuggets, this is a good one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v81Gwu6BTE&t=468s
The T is not safe, clean or reliable
What I find interesting is that the only two media outlets who report on the daily disasters are the Boston Globe and U-Hub. The Herald which is a tabloid, designed for subway riders ignores the plight of T-riders.
Congrats to the T
On bringing back narrow gauge service.
The region hasn't had a narrow gauge railroad since the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was abandoned in 1940!
Well...
Let's not forget Edaville
Down the Cape?
Isn't this basically in Florida?
The BRB&L was in Eastie!
On Reddit 3 days ago
On WBUR they are making noises like this is brand new information.
Perhaps there wasn't a press release, and maybe that is an issue, but it isn't like a dark secret.
https://old.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/16qwauo/mbta_adds_more_than_a_m...