Commuter rail

Train hits and kills man on Fitchburg Line tracks in Leominster

By adamg - 9/2/19 - 1:01 pm

Around 11:10 a.m. by an inbound train, Transit Police reports. Mark Allen is on the train and reports:

Very somber feeling in the coach. A prayer for the victim and his family, and additionally, prayers for the crew of the train who are the first responders to these types of incidents.

Rockport Line riders in a funk; Beverly drawbridge seems drunk

By adamg - 8/29/19 - 5:38 pm

Claire Blechman reports the infamous Beverly drawbridge is stuck again, forcing Newburyport/Rockport Line passengers to abandon ship only to discover that Uber rates have gone into crisis mode.

Lowell Line commuters' rides now deterred, construction equipment stuck near tracks we heard

By adamg - 8/29/19 - 4:00 pm

An equipment malfunction at a Green Line Extension project in Somerville has forced the T to cancel all service on the Lowell Line between Anderson/Woburn and North Station today, MassDOT reports. Read more.

State starts looking into leasing electric locomotives for Providence Line

By adamg - 8/27/19 - 12:02 pm

CommonWealth Magazine reports Massachusetts and Rhode Island are looking to rent some locos from Amtrak as a way of providing faster, cleaner service between Boston and Providence. No timetable or any other specifics released.

No beating around the Greenbush: Commute from the south has turned to mush

By adamg - 8/26/19 - 8:57 am

Keolis reports Train 076, the 7:50 a.m. from Greenbush, will be an hour late into town due to the trifecta of "late arrival of equipment, crossing gate and signal issues."

Man hit and killed by commuter-rail train; second such death this week

By adamg - 8/22/19 - 10:00 am

Transit Police report a man on the Rockport Line tracks in Gloucester was hit and killed by a train around 6:20 a.m. Foul play is not suspected, police say.

On Monday, another man was hit and killed by a Fitchburg Line train.

Man struck and killed by inbound Fitchburg Line train in Belmont

By adamg - 8/19/19 - 8:01 am

Transit Police report a man, about 21, was hit on the tracks by a train at the Brighton Street crossing and was killed, around 6:20 a.m.

Grunting man arrested at Malden commuter-rail station because he was doing more than just grunting, police say

By adamg - 8/15/19 - 10:27 am

Transit Police report arresting an Everett man on a charge of open and gross lewdness on the Malden Center commuter-rail platform after, they say, people waiting on the neighboring Orange Line platform turned to see where some grunting sounds were coming from around 7:25 p.m. yesterday. Read more.

South Station now bears Mike Dukakis's name, but for the love of God, build the north/south link instead of expanding the station, he says

By adamg - 7/29/19 - 6:43 pm

At a Boston City Council hearing this afternoon on connecting commuter-rail lines that now end at North and South stations, former Gov. Mike Dukakis had a simple message: "Please kill any further work on South Station expansion; it's totally unnecessary." Read more.

Gauging on-time performance of commuter-rail lines and trains

By adamg - 7/29/19 - 9:48 am

Sharon Machlis grabbed a couple of months of commuter-rail performance data and created a site that lets you see on-time performance for lines and trains.

Providence Line locomotive gets a bit flamey; passengers evacuate as air turns gamey

By adamg - 7/25/19 - 8:50 pm

The fire-belching loco. Photo by KMV.

Passengers heading towards Providence had to evacuate their train in Canton Junction after the train experienced a "mechanical issue" that included the diesel belching fire, around 8 p.m. More flaming action.

No Saturday service on the Needham Line between August and mid-October

By adamg - 7/11/19 - 3:34 pm

MassDOT reports people who normally ride the Needham Line on Saturdays will have to find another way to get around between Aug. 3 and Oct. 12 to let workers install a "positive train control" system that will make the line safer by keeping trains from going too fast and reducing the odds they might crash into each other.

Preparation for the new system has included cutting down trees along the right of way in recent months.

Fitchburg Line train hits somebody in Waltham

By adamg - 7/10/19 - 7:11 pm

Transit Police report an outbound Fitchburg train hit and killed a man on the tracks at the Brandeis/Roberts train station around 6 p.m. Police say foul play is not suspected.

North Station commuters have trouble getting in; Lowell riders need some gin

By adamg - 7/8/19 - 6:17 pm

Laura Wareck is among the jammed-in riders at North Station, where a Lowell Line train seems to have left this mortal coil.

Meanwhile, the Red Line is busy Red Line'ing.

Man struck and killed by outbound Worcester train in Newton

By adamg - 7/3/19 - 7:19 pm

Transit Police report a man in his 20s was hit and killed by an outbound train to Worcester near the Newtonville stop around 5:15 p.m. Police are investigating what he was doing on the tracks, but say foul play is not suspected. Read more.

South Station turns into most densely packed spot in the country

By adamg - 6/11/19 - 5:19 pm

Dave Vittorini shows us just how close commuters can jam themselves together, in this photo taken around 4:45 p.m. at South Station, where some Red Line commuters tried using commuter rail instead. Read more.

South Station fire alarms ring, you know just what that will bring

By adamg - 6/7/19 - 4:57 pm

Tweets from Keolis initially blamed delays on commuter-rail service out of South Station on "fire department activity," but the rail operator reported at 4:39 p.m.:

[A]pologies for the lack of communication. It appears the fire alarm went off in South Station which is causing delays across several trains.

One thing to conclude: South Station commuters are screwed

By adamg - 6/4/19 - 7:11 am

Keolis reports:

All trains on the Needham, Franklin, Fairmount, Providence/Stoughton, Middleborough/Lakeville, Kingston/Plymouth and Greenbush lines are currently experiencing 15-25 minutes delays due to a signal issue.

Man hit and killed by Fairmount Line train in Hyde Park

By adamg - 6/1/19 - 11:02 am

Around 10:30 a.m. where the Fairmount Line crosses the Neponset River between West Street and Truman Parkway. Read more.

What's going on with Newburyport/Rockport lines?

By PegH - 5/29/19 - 10:07 am

The trains have been late, delayed or outright cancelled for the past week and a half...this morning coming from Salem was ridiculous! And, why is that the GPS on most trains suddenly goes dark when the trains are late, delayed or cancelled? Is Keolis playing games with their 'on time' performance metrics?

But fear not, the latest fare increase doesn't hit until July....aaargh

Commuter rail

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