Dead trains on the Red, Green, Needham and Providence/Stoughton lines (so far) made for another interesting commute for many this morning.
UPDATE: "Significant delays" possible on the Fitchburg Line due to signal problems.
Cat reports on an eventful ride on the Orange Line last night involving a guy who couldn't stop his singing and phone yawping and another guy who finally had enough:
Yesterday's troublesome Green Line junction box, covered in foam. Photo by BFD.
Another "power problem" between Arlington and Copley tonight - yes, cables are burning - and riders are finding themselves stranded. Emily Munroe tweeted shortly after 9:50:
Just got kicked off Bgreen line before Kenmore and was told there are no shuttles.
Last Wednesday the 64 bus I was on had to turn right on Parsons street to detour around minor construction near the IHOP at Birmingham Parkway. However, instead of course correcting by turning left at the next available cross street... he kept going...and going.. straight....across Faneuil, across Arlington. I finally roused from my half-awake daze when I realized that he was going all the way up to Washington street, where he FINALLY made a left into tons of traffic.
Bostonians had their choice of venues for standing around this AM, such as Andrew. Photo by Chris Wright.
Fire on the inbound tracks between Arlington and Copley around 7:40, Jay Joynes tweets. At first, the T shut Arlington station because of heavy smoke, but shortly after 8 a.m., it shut down all Green Line service downtown. And shortly after 8:30, the T began evacuating trolleys stuck in the tunnel near Hynes and Copley stations.
The T eventually sent in some shuttle buses between stations to the west and downtown, but many commuters didn't wait. As Gracetopia tweets:
I now feel like one of the army of the commute, as I walk from Kenmore to downtown with my fellow MBTA refugees.
Lindsay Douglas, though, was one of the people who stayed behind at Kenmore:
I've never seen chaos like this. Coldest day of the year + the MBTA shuts down the green line. Yelling+angry people.
And because misery loves company, an inbound Red Line train died not long after at Charles/MGH, Rob Grover tweets. Later, another train died at Porter. Around 9:20, another train died, inbound at Andrew.
No, not that we're only ever shown as under the thumb of violent thugs from Southie or the Town, but that nobody in Boston movies ever takes the T.
Ed. note: Well, aside from Matt Damon in "Good Will Hunting," who loved the Red Line so much he would always ride it through Dorchester on his way home to Southie from MIT.
The Walking Bostonian reports MBTA officials promised at a meeting Thursday to install the equipment and software needed for real-time tracking on the Green Line by 2015 - similar to the tracking that lets riders known when to run for a train on the other three subway lines.
H/t Boston Zest.
MBTA Transit Police have followed up their pot FAQ with some answers to other questions, including:
Max Grinnell asks:
Policy wonk moment: which T bus route has the most affluent residents? Anybody know?
Brockton24_7 reports somebody jumped in front of an inbound Red Line train at Shawmut around 5:30 a.m. and that she was pulled out from under the second car alert and conscious. The T substituted buses between Ashmont and JFK/UMass.
Photographynatalia photographed Park and Tremont streets this morning. Melissa Gibson watched an Orange Line train pull into Sullivan Square:
The T is alerting inbound riders that there's plenty of Orange Line service at Ruggles, should they wish to get off the train there.
The Globe reports on a proposal by state officials to spend an extra $10 billion over the next decade to keep our roads and public-transit systems from collapsing. Naturally, we're talking new taxes to pay for it all.
BostInno interviews the Five Star Day, Action Jackson Square Orange Line driver, who moved over recently from the Red Line.
Seems people want to know:
Q) Is it okay to smoke a "joint" while waiting on the platform for my train?
No.Q) Is it okay to smoke a "joint" while riding on the bus with my friends?
No.
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