The T

The T begins express-train service between Worcester, Framingham and Boston next week that will shave roughly 23 minutes off a Worcester rider's trip.

A morning express train will leave Worcester at 6:20 a.m. each weekday, stop at Framingham at 7 a.m. and then pull into Back Bay at 7:37 a.m. and South Station at 7:43 a.m. In the afternoon, a train will leave South Station at 5:35 p.m. and Back Bay at 5:41 p.m. and pull into Framingham at 6:13 p.m. and Worcester at 6:43 p.m.

The state is planning to increase the total number of round trips on the Worcester Line to 20 by October.

MBTA cops with automatic weapons rushed into the Kendall Square Red Line station to pull some alleged fool off a Red Line train at lunchtime. A spokesman reports:

A customer reported that a man aboard a northbound Red Line train had made comments of a threatening nature. The train was held at Kendall while police investigated. The man was removed from the train and questioned by police.

A.P. Blake got a close-up look at one of the four new commuter-rail coaches that went into service yesterday. The MBTA is hoping a few dozen more of the delayed two-level cars will arrive later this year and be put into service by year's end, helping it increase commuter-rail capacity.

The T announced the news tonight.

Members of the MBTA SWAT team talked to CNN about the end of the stand off at the Watertown boat.

At 6:22, Miza reported:

Beware of blue line, 2 trains full dumped off at Suffolk Downs due to wire issues. No shuttles.

The T eventually did start shuttle service, using Silver Line buses, which, of course, led to delays on the Silver Line.

Although Copley station remained shut tonight, Alex Mellion notes:

The lights are on again at Copley! What an awesome thing to finally see!

Photo by MBTA.

MBTA buses and trains will come to a halt for today's moment of silence, one week after the bombings. A spokesman adds, however, they will do so only if safe.

Gov. Patrick just gave the go-ahead for both, although the T says commuter rail remains shut. Also, remain alert - suspect is still at large.

The heart of Downtown Crossing at 9:50 a.m. Photo by Gary Waldeck. Note plucky banana vendor in lower right.

Deserted Haymarket. Photo by David Schachner.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Via BPD.The MBTA is closed. Boston residents get emergency robo-calls from police warning them to stay inside. People in Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge also told to "shelter in place." Courts in Cambridge, Brighton, Newton and Waltham are closed. Businesses are urged to not open. Amtrak stopped service to and from Boston.

Also shut this morning: The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth: "UMass Dartmouth has learned that a person being sought in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing has been identified as a student registered at UMass Dartmouth."

Logan Airport, however, remains open. Also on the job: Cambridge garbage men. Also, their counterparts in Boston. Around 10 a.m., Boston Police let taxis resume service. Dunkin' Donuts, of course, remained open, even in Watertown, because we do have our limits.

Around 11:30 a.m., Sean Olson reports. The T reports it's the Ashmont line that's affected.

UPDATE: Firefighters off the tracks around 11:50 a.m.

Bomb threat at the federal courthouse, following wrong reports about an arrest. Suspicious vehicles checked at Brigham and Women's and in Maverick Square. Sirens all over. After somebody went on Twitter to warn people to stay away from Harvard Square, Cambridge Police had to tweet:

The area is SAFE

On the return-to-normalcy side, people are returning to Twitter to complain about the T, stuff like switch problems on the Red Line and Massholes on commuter rail:

Manners-free MBCR rider visibly annoyed by having to move newspapers/share 3-person seat. just threw papers on the floor.

The T just announced the station, right by the Marathon finish line, will remain closed tomorrow.

Derek McLeod was among the passengers on the P512 train into Boston shortly after 8 a.m. today when everybody was ordered off in Framingham and then allowed back on only after going through a gauntlet of police, firefighters and dogs.

National Guard watching Red Line entrances. Photo by Gedalia Pasternak.

The heart of Copley Square remains shut down. Boston Common resembles a military encampment. Cafe tables along Newbury Street remain uncleaned as police comb the area for possible evidence.

Kirty Lee took the Green Line into work today:

Held it together until I rode through Copley station pitch black. Haunting.

A.P. Blake reports:

Super MBTA World.

On commuter rail to Worcester this morning.

Looking out the window.

Earlier:
Furor on the Red Line over Strollercat.

Transit Police have released photos of the man they say ended an argument on a Red Line platform Wednesday night by stabbing two other men. Police say the stabber reached for his knife on the platform after accosting the victims and other passengers on a southbound Red Line train around 10 p.m.

Police say he's white or Hispanic, in his mid 20s, with a full beard and carrying a black back pack. His victims, one stabbed in the chest, one in the wrist, are expected to survive.

The Jamaica Plain Gazette reports residents who want to see the Casey Overpass replaced with another overpass instead of surface roads are considering suing to stop the work:

"No one prefers to go that route if there's a reasonable solution,” he told the Gazette this week. "But all our arrows are in our quiver."

At particular issue: The proposed new location of the exit from the Forest Hills busway near Asticou Road.

Amanda Fakhreddine snaps a Zipcar ad on the Red Line that promotes the company's utility for booty calls:

Kid sitting next to me asked his mom what that meant #keepitclassy #adfail

Just yesterday:
McDonald's didn't approve those Orange Line ads that got some people upset.

A study by a regional planning group says development along the Orange Line will means thousands of new jobs and housing units over the coming years, which could put thousands of more riders on a line that is already crammed to the gills and dependent on an increasingly cranky collection of past-their-expiration-date cars.

In its Orange Line Opportunity Corridor Study, released this week, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council writes:

One in the chest, one in the hand, around 10:00 p.m. on the southbound Red Line platform, Mike Moura reports. Red Line trains continued to run, but weren't stopping at Downtown Crossing.

UPDATE: The MBTA reports both victims are expected to survive. The stabber got into an argument with them at the front end of the southbound platform and fled before police arrived.

McDepression hurts. Photo by Kate Ingalls.

Seems those ads promising help for people suffering from the Big Mac withdrawal symptoms were put on the T by McDonald's local ad agency without the hamburger chain's approval.

In a statement, Arnold President Pam Hamlin says:

Arnold apologizes for its mistake to McDonald's and to anyone who was offended by the ad. McDonald's did not approve the ad, and it's release was our unintended error. We've addressed the issue and have improved our approval process to ensure this does not happen in the future.

McDonald's and Arnold asked the T to pull the ads down (see the other ads).

At South Station. Boston Magazine interviewed them.

H/t Faye.

But how could you improve on this? Photo by Jen Falk.

Maybe a rider can come up with a better map, T says. There are two competitions: One to redesign the classic "spider" map, which must show all the subway lines (well, and the Silver Line), one a more open-ended contest that can be interactive or show as little as just one bus line.

Winning submissions will be showcased on the MBTA Website and will be on display at the State Transportation Building at 10 Park Plaza, Boston.

Top this. Or this.

Entries are due by 5 p.m. on April 30.