The T
Latest postings about goings on on the T, the Silver Line, buses and commuter rail.
Tuesday - Feb. 9th - everything went fairly smooth today. So no, delays and headaches are not an everyday occurence. And no, I'm not trying to discourage anyone from using the T. Just make sure to give yourself extra time in the mornings.
I just think there are way too many disabled trains and switchgear problems than there should be over all, and things need to be improved before they get worse. People rely on these trains - and we should get better service. Right now, we're not getting our money's worth.
I'll only post if I have a legitimate complaint. No reason to do this every day. But, too many times there have been headaches and I don't see anything posted anywhere. So I wanted to tell it like I see it.
~Leon
The Globe reports "a very low speed rear-end collision" between two trolleys at Boylston this morning. Nobody hurt, but the driver of the bumper car was reported to be shook up.
Every week there are headaches with the T. My guess is that the trains are old and constantly having problems and we don't have the money to replace them. But understanding does not make the commuting experience any less miserable. I am so sick of having to explain that I'm late for work because of a disabled train, etc. So I plan to post a commuter's journal here when there are problems. Read more
A Roslindale man was charged with open and lewd grossness on Thursday after several passengers on his Orange Line car told police he stood up, opened his fly and began masturbating as the train hurtled through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports. Read more
JJ Leslie was among the unfortunate who spent more than 30 minutes in a dead inbound Red Line train on the Longfellow tonight. He live-tweeted the experience: Read more
The Jamaica Plain Gazette reports the parking lot across the street from the Forest Hills T stop will be put up for a foreclosure auction on March 3.
Grimlocke, who was nearly pancaked by a 66 bus last week reports swfit action by the MBTA:
I apologize for reckless driving exhibited by one of our employees. MBTA Bus operators must complete a comprehensive Defensive Drivers Course prior to being certified to operate an MBTA vehicle in passenger service. This operator has been identified and will be re-instructed on her duties and responsibilities as a professional driver
So that's one down, because she also reports watching another 66 driver blast through the very same intersection:
... As I watched the light turn red, my body exhibiting the intent to scoot out into the intersection at a moment's notice, I became aware of a growing roar from my left, west on Cambridge Street. And then a sharp honk. Route 66 Bus #2294 (or 2293, it was going over 30 MPH so it was difficult to catch the number) not only roared through the intersection against a red light, but gave me warning that it had ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION OF SLOWING OR STOPPING. ...
Boston Police report arresting a Charlestown man in Roxbury on charges he tried to hold two people at the Orange Line station shortly after midnight today. According to police: Read more
That Kind of Girl explains why.
The Accidental Fiddler reports somebody didn't like her selections as she played at Porter station:
I was busking at Porter, playing "Sunrise, Sunset", when a guy came up and told me...not asked me, told me...to play something happier. So I switched to "To Life", which wasn't happy enough for him. I think I then switched to "Devil's Dream", at which point he said something like, "See? People like HAPPY music!" ...
Duane de Four reports that when he saw something and said something yesterday morning, the T did nothing:
Learned today that if a fight breaks out on the train and you hit the emergency button the MBTA Doesn't do SHIT! How's that for security? ... It was the Red Line around JFK all the way to Downtown Crossing... Dude tried to fight the whole car.
Got this T alert on my cell this morning.
(Haverhill Alert) Haverhill # 212 (7:30am ib) will service customers from Lawrence to Boston. Amtrak Downeaster will pick up customers at Haverhill for Boston.
Of course, the question is - What happened to the passengers from Bradford?
Grimlocke reports a near miss with death this morning at Cambridge Street and Harvard Avenue - the same place where another bicyclist died in a 2007 collision.
The Obama Administration is announcing $8 Billion in grants for High-Speed Rail - and allocating just $112 million of that total to the only successful rail corridor in the country - and the only existing high-speed network. Instead of building on success, the administration has decided to hand out chunks of cash to regions without any substantial existing passenger rail traffic. It's more than a little painful.
Let's be clear: this was a largely self-inflicted wound. The states along the Northeast Corridor were spoiled by the relatively good state of rail transportation in the region, and so failed to invest in the planning and advocacy that constitute the necessary groundwork for big federal grants. The states that just hit the jackpot - Florida, California, and Illinois - are notable for their size, which allowed individual states to do the bulk of the planning. They've spent decades surveying lines and clearing environmental reviews. We didn't. Read more
That Kind of Girl reports on an experiment in which she offers tissues to T riders who clearly need them. She's disgusted with the results - and so will you be, so don't click that link while eating.
The Worcester Line is toast this morning. And Tom Bruno reports the smell of "epic MBTA fail" on the Newbury/Rockport Line.
YorkRegion.com interviews former MBTA COO Richard Leary on his new job as manager of York Region Transit, in the exurbs of Toronto:
... He was recently driven around Stouffville and told it was not so long ago that Markham similarly consisted of vast tracts of open farmland. ...
Channel 4 reports a man suffered head injuries when he fell into the subway "pit" at the Broadway stop on the Red Line last night. Like that lady on the Orange Line, authorities believe the guy was under the influence.
Acidgalore details her attempt to get from Davis Square to a Yo La Tengo show at the Wilbur Theatre. If they ever do a remake "The Out of Towners" in Boston (hey, it could happen now that we're Hollywood East), they should hire her as a consultant (don't worry, she did make it).
It's a wonder Dan Tobin was able to keep his hands from shaking long enough to take this photo.
Green Line service along Commonwealth Avenue was briefly disrupted tonight when two land yachts tried occupying the same space at the same time at Allston Street. Dan Chace was there for the aftermath; says it appears the gray behemoth was going the wrong way on Comm. Ave.
Photo posted under this Creative Commons license.
Whalehead King posts what he says is an exclusive photo for a dramatic new design for where the Red Line crosses Dot. Ave.
Channel 5 reports she's charged with altering e-mails to make it seem like former T GM Dan Grabauskas ordered a pay raise for her.
Earlier:
MBTA safety chief says suspension payback for discrimination complaint
T-Tracker provides real-time bus tracking for the 39, 111, 114, 116 and 117 routes. It's using the same GPS-based feed the T opened up to private software developers in November.
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