State officials today cautioned residents to hunker down and not go out if they have to tomorrow as we brace for Ol' Man Winter to deliver a roundhouse punch of a foot or so of white stuff driven by gusty winds. Read more.
Downed tree at Newton Highlands. Photo via Ian Lamont.
Isaias may only be giving the Boston area a glancing blow, but it's enough to snap trees like matchsticks on the Mattapan Line between Milton and Butler and on the Riverside Line near Longwood and Newton Highlands. Buses have replaced the Mattapan trolley and D Line trolleys from Kenmore all the way to Riverside. Read more.
WBZ reports Ride drivers and the comapny that runs the Ride reached a contract deal; the T says the Ride should be back to regular operations today.
Separately, the T's put in new barriers and signs on buses and trolleys, which means riders once again can board at the front on buses and at street-level trolley stops - so break out that CharlieCard The move also means more seats for riders.
New shielding on the Green Line
The MBTA announced today that it's returning to front-door boarding on buses and on trolleys at street-level stations, including on the Mattapan Line, on Monday - in a move it says will also mean more seats available for passengers. Read more.
The MBTA tries to assure Mattapan Line riders that buses are on the way now that the trolleys have ceased to move due to "an overhead power problem," but allows as to how they should expect delays.
The Dorchester Reporter updates us on the T's latest thinking on what to do about the Mattapan Line - which will start with renovating stations, bridges and tracks over the next five to ten years, at a cost of up to $115 million, followed by replacement by the current 1940s-era PCC trolleys with some of the bigger trolleys now in use on the Green Line.
The Dorchester Reporter reports the collision happened at the Central Avenue grade crossing in Milton around 7:18 p.m. The injured were taken to Milton Hospital.
The Dorchester Reporter reports the T has a $200-million, ten-year modernization plan for the Mattapan Line that includes getting rid of the current PCC trolleys rolled out in the 1940s with versions of the newer, bigger trolleys being rolled out now on the Green Line.
The Dorchester Reporter reports a state study of the city's cutest public-transit line shows that tracks and bridges along the line are in dire need of repair.
Byron Nash took the photos of the former Hendries plant at Central Avenue in Milton, which was reduced to rubble to make way for condos. Nash got there on a trolley driven by Tim Murphy after the Mattapan line was started up again after a week-long cancellation due to the demolition.
At least it wasn't David S. Pumpkins: A Mattapan Line driver was indicted on insurance and worker's-comp fraud charges for a Halloween, 2016 incident in which a pal in a Michael Myers mask - and carrying a plastic pumpkin - dragged him off his trolley and beat him badly enough that he could begin to collect worker's comp, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office and Transit Police say. Read more.
The MBTA reports "moderate" delays on the Mattapan Line due to a dead trolley in Milton.
Katie Gibson is a big fan of the Mattapan Line:
The morning operators, though sometimes harried, are kind, and it’s a short ride to Ashmont, where I board the train. And if I’m lucky, I get a glimpse of this view across the marshes.
That alone was grounds for firing him after the December rear-end crash that injured 17, the Globe reports, adding authorities were also not too thrilled to find he had a loaded gun in his backpack at the time.
The MBTA reports it's solved those mysterious "propulsion" problems on the Mattapan Line and that trolley service resumes first thing in the morning.
The MBTA announced tonight:
Shuttle buses replacing service between Ashmont & Mattapan Stations until further notice due to required vehicle maintenance related to the winter weather:
Pat from Boston spotted this Mattapan Line trolley on Tremont Street today. Alas, car 3234 was not stopping for passengers - was on its way to the T's Everett shops for repairs.
Because the Everett facility is mainly for buses, Mattapan workers first outfitted the trolley with rubber tires.
The MBTA reports "moderate" delays due to one of the PCC trolleys deciding to give it all up.
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