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By adamg - 2/5/11 - 11:15 am

The Globe reports commuter-rail performance is at its worst in three years. Sure, you can blame the weather and antique equipment, but an MBCR honcho is quoted as saying, yeah, they could do better.

Meanwhile, things aren't looking all that rosy on the subways, either. Yesterday, Brian Fluharty posted this chart of Green Line performance, as based on delay alerts sent out by the T:

By adamg - 2/4/11 - 4:21 pm

No more time wasted scrolling to the right line or route: Is the T Delayed?

Via Andrew Phelps.

By adamg - 2/4/11 - 3:58 pm

Richard Davey tells Jon Keller people are willing to accept the T's running antiquated trains if the T does a good enough job informing them about the reasons for delays; says some T workers seem to forget they're ultimately dealing with people, not steel containers on wheels.

By adamg - 2/4/11 - 11:24 am

Mark Renouf reports he was late to work because a Comcast contractor blocked traffic on Avon Street in Somerville with his truck:

MBTA Bus route #85. [Contractor] was outside when the bus came by, the driver asked him to move it, he said no and went inside the house he was working at. He finally moved it after coming out to his truck and the bus driver asked again. Sat there for ~15min.

By adamg - 2/4/11 - 8:06 am

Delays again this morning: Dead trains, dead signals, but, hey, at least no live snakes.

Ditto for the Newburyport/Rockport and Needham commuter-rail lines.

By adamg - 2/3/11 - 8:56 pm

MBTA Transit Police tweet workers on the Red Line found Penelope, so it's safe to put your feet down on the train again (or stop worrying whether ceiling snake is watching you).

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo says a rider spotted the snake this morning. Tonight, Red Line train attendant Sharon Lynch, "a pet snake owner herself," managed to snare Penelope, who is being returned to her owner tonight.

By adamg - 2/3/11 - 6:09 pm

Signal problems at Charles/MGH and a dead train at Forest Hills mean riders should "expect delays," the T reports.

Charles Francis sighs:

The Orange Line is a seething ball of angst hurtling into the darkness. More than usual.

By adamg - 2/3/11 - 10:55 am

Matt O'Malley tweets somebody was singing Christmas carols on the Orange Line this morning.

Meanwhile, out in Wellesley, California import John Halamka explains how he's become a five-tool snow shoveler.

By adamg - 2/3/11 - 8:38 am

Well, not so secret anymore. The MBTA and riders report multiple dead Red Line trains on the Braintree line this morning. Inbound, of course, leading to things like schedule-conscious drivers shutting doors before everybody's gotten off at South Station.

People are getting angry. Kate Norton tweets:

Passengers on the platform and passengers on the train were yelling at and pushing each other at N. Quincy!

By adamg - 2/2/11 - 11:10 am

Trash track fire. Photo by Ella ShenhavTrash track fire. Photo by Ella Shenhav.

The Red Line southbound at Park Street was shut down because sparks from the third rail caused debris on the tracks to catch fire shortly before 11 a.m.

By adamg - 2/2/11 - 10:03 am

Birdbrain

Marc Fernandez took this photo of a fellow Red Line commuter between Park and Charles this morning.

By adamg - 2/1/11 - 11:47 pm

Corey Zev posted this video of the rear door of a Red Line train today.

Via Justin.

By Brett - 2/1/11 - 5:14 pm

Can't get to the MBTA website? Use the automatic Coral content delivery network. Simply append "nyud.net" to the real website hostname for any site, like so: http://mbta.com.nyud.net/. This works for almost any URL.

The information does seem to be up to date; at 5:07PM one page I pulled up showed an alert from less than ten minutes ago. It's also significantly faster, as the main MBTA page loads in about 3-4 seconds via Coral. By itself, it's over 30 seconds.

By adamg - 2/1/11 - 3:57 pm

Yes, it's down again. Too many people trying to look at alerts. MassDOT is posting T alerts on a separate page.

By adamg - 2/1/11 - 9:38 am

Samantha Rajotte tweets the announcement the conductor on her C trolley made at St. Mary's this morning:

Due to the extreme weather, this train will be going express to Aruba.

By adamg - 2/1/11 - 6:54 am

By 6 a.m., the T was already reporting two dead trains on either end of the Red Line. Now, an hour later, there are two dead trolleys on the Green Line and dead trains on the Blue and Orange lines. And the snow hasn't even started.

By adamg - 2/1/11 - 6:49 am

Seems yesterday's major delays on that commuter line were caused by what the Salem News called a stripped lug nut that kept the Beverly drawbridge in an open position for nearly four hours. The News also reports that repairs to the bridge begun in 2008 are still not finished.

So what about today's delays on the line? The T blames switch problems.

By adamg - 1/31/11 - 6:16 pm

No lights

By adamg - 1/31/11 - 11:47 am

ShovelersPhoto by MBTA.

The MBTA sent 35 workers and 15 trucks to Blue Hill Avenue this morning to clear out bus shelters from Mattapan Square to Grove Hall.

Just in time for the storms that start Tuesday.

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