Fitchburg Line

LNG tankers, gasoline trucks and, soon, ethanol trains

adamg — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:42:48 +0000

CommonWealth reports on plans to begin shipping 3.9 million gallons a week of ethanol into Revere, on trains that will lumber down the Fitchburg commuter-rail line into Charlestown, where they will switch to the Newburyport/Rockport line up to a "blending terminal" to be mixed into the gasoline that is now shipped along the Rose Kennedy Greenway in 18-wheelers.

[Revere Fire] Chief Doherty chuckled when asked if he was comfortable with ethanol trains coming into the community. "I have more fear of tank trucks coming in than I do with the rail," he said, noting the train tracks generally are farther from homes and neighborhoods.

Commuter-rail train strikes, kills somebody at Porter Square

adamg — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:27:03 +0000

Sometime after 9 p.m., Monday, AlertNewEngland reports. Passengers on one outbound train were put on a bus at Porter for a ride to Belmont while authorities investigated and cleaned up the scene.

The T should play up its new sleeper-car service

adamg — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:45:29 +0000

Madfilkentist chronicles his three-hour, 45-minute ride from Porter to Fitchburg last night - a trip that normally takes an hour and 20 minutes:

The next stop was Waltham. Before we reached it, the train was stopped for an unusually long time. Finally we were told there were mechanical problems that were being looked at. The lights went out for about ten minutes as all power was cut so the mechanic could look under the train. They came back on again, but there was still no motion. Finally we were told that the next train would hook up to ours and push us.

The double-sized train proceeded at a slow pace. At South Acton, we were all herded off the train. It went back in the direction of Boston and presumably pulled onto a side track somewhere, and around 8:25 a third train, which had been following behind us, took us all on.

Sssh: Some quiet news from the MBTA

adamg — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:20:24 +0000

NOTE: Post corrected to show the location of the car will be the one closest to the locomotive, which is only the first car in outbound trains.

The MBTA begins experimental rush-hour quiet-car service on the Franklin and Fitchburg lines on Monday. For the next three months, the car closest to the locomotive will be where be where cell phones go to die:

Customers using it will be asked to refrain from cell phone use; keep pagers, cell phones, laptop and PDA sounds off or to vibrate; and speak in whispers. Riders seated in a quiet car who need to use the phone will be asked to move to another car for the duration of their call. Conductors will make normal announcements during the trip. Conductors will be authorized to lift quiet car restrictions during any periods of service disruption or heavy passenger volume.

His first train ride

adamg — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:56:40 +0000

Robert Burgess reports on an impromptu adventure with son Will this morning: A train ride from South Acton to Lincoln and back again:

There are plenty of chores and errands to run, but we want our little sponge to just soak up the experiences of life. Sure, we're sacrificing my full-time salary to help keep the house running, but that needs to be balanced with Will's needs. The train ride was a great rainy Monday success, so I think we'll try it again sometime and maybe go farther. Maybe, as Will would say, we'll go to infinity and beyond.

Man sitting on train tracks hit by train in Fitchburg

adamg — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:18:50 +0000

Which is why the 406 inbound train was canceled this morning. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo reports (via e-mail):

Shortly before 6:00 a.m., a 52-year old man was sitting in the railroad right-of-way when he was struck by a train with no passengers on it. He was transported to UMass Medical Center with serious head injuries. Transit Police continue to investigate.

Teen struck, killed by commuter-rail train in Belmont

adamg — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:24:22 +0000

Channel 5 reports the 18-year-old was hit on the Fitchburg Line near Belmont High School.

Fine literature on the commute

adamg — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:46:52 +0000

Amidst all the Dan Brown and Ken Follett books, Scott Stearns noticed a commuter with a different kind of book:

... Today I noticed a man, perhaps an academic of some sort, reading Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past". Literature is not dead in the world, quite yet.

Nichole Bee tweets:

Nothing beats reading "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" on the T...and the guy next to you turns out to be reading the exact same thing

When life gives you commuter rail, make lemonade

adamg — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:28:17 +0000

Madfilkentist reports that due to some "suspect" track in the Concord area, his evening commute this week has been 30 minutes longer. On the plus side, he adds:

The good news is that in early October the Fitchburg line offers passengers a very scenic view, especially in the area of the Concord River and Walden Pond. ...

This is why we need the ability to shoot laser beams out our eyes

adamg — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:46:33 +0000

Dan Miller takes the 5:45 a.m. train out of Fitchburg. As you might expect, it's normally a pretty sleepy affair. Except today, thanks to a clueless woman loudly babbling away on her cell phone:

... As we arrive at North Station, commuters looked forward to some peace on the Green or Orange Lines, or perhaps a brisk walk to their office. ...

Now why would an entire commuter-rail car be empty at rush hour?

adamg — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:35:11 +0000

JackCroww posts a photo from a Fitchburg coach this morning, almost completely empty because it has no heat.

When did the T finally connect North and South stations?

adamg — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:13:27 +0000

After a few months away from Boston, Jim Kane arrives back at South Station to see an electronic signboard stating the next train to Fitchburg leaves from track 6.

Primo wiring on a commuter-rail coach

adamg — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:20:49 +0000

Jack Croww reports from the 4:40 Fitchburg express, five minutes out of North Station:

... [T]he utility closet door starts to drift open due to the swaying of the train. Seeing as I'm sitting right next to it, I reach out and give it a good shove to close it. As it clicks shut, all the power goes out on the train. ...

Commuter rail breaks up families

adamg — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:46:34 +0000

Channel 4 reports:

The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad is looking at making some changes after a train in Waltham started to move before three children were able to get off, separating them from their parents. ...

Grabauskas: MBTA broke, but ridership will increase next year

adamg — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:49:49 +0000

One Fitchburg Line commuter was apparently too tired to write to the top so he or she wrote to the side of train 429. As Tom Wheaton's photo shows, the MBCR's response was to paint over just part of the message, so it wasn't quite so offensive. Now THAT's service.

Grabauskas explains how the T will increase ridership in a BostonNow interview. Making trains and buses run on time is a big part of it, he says, which will no doubt come as welcome news to Renee Walsh, who is fuming mad at continued commuter-rail suckage, such as her train being 45 minutes late today. Alas, for Renee, a bunch of new commuter-rail cars won't be delivered until 2011.