A broken drawbridge.

From the T web page:

Newbury/Rock #168 (11:06am ib) experiencing over 30 min delays due to Saugus Drawbridge stuck open. 11/19/2009 12:12 PM

So the train left at 11:06, and the alert was issued at 12:12. Yah, I'd say that's well over 30 minutes.

The T acknowledged today conductors on commuter-rail lines are attempting to ferret out weasely commuters using fake tickets - as first reported on Universal Hub by Roadman.

T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the bogus-ticket detectors have uncovered eight fake monthly passes or one-way tickets this week. In a statement, acting T General Manager William Mitchell said, "We owe it to the vast majority of our customers who regularly pay their fares to expose the selfish behavior of those who feel they don't have to pay."

Apparently, MBCR and the T think so. This morning, the conductors on my inbound Reading line train were checking everybody's monthly passes with a purple UV flashlight to verify they had the embossed "MBTA VALID PASS" printing on them.

It's all part of the new MBCR/MBTA campaign being featured on large posters at North Station that's called (and I kid you not) the "Revenue Protection Program".

Steve Urban, chief transportation officer for MBCR, lives in Attleboro, and commutes on the trains he helps run-- glory be.

He engaged in a little Q and A by e-mail with the Attleboro Sun Chronicle. Not surprisingly, he's a bit of a rail booster. But one wishes he had gone further (or, perhaps, the editors had trimmed less) in some of his answers, such as when he says:

FYI, I got this e-mail update from MBCR a few minutes ago.

To: Commuter Rail Customers:

MBTA Commuter Rail advises of delays due to severe weather conditions:

As a result of the heavy rain, many trees are down and power is still out in parts of the commuter rail service area, particularly north of the city.

Dave reports that two cars in a row on his Franklin Line train tonight had no handles on the outsides of their doors:

... Some people ran for the first car that actually had handles, some tried to make contact with someone inside the train so they could open them from the inside and some just stood and cussed. I like to imagine Mr. O'Leary watching scenes like this kind of thing on a video feed in his office at the MBCR and just laughing and laughing.

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. ...

They might wish to have a word with the MBCR's commuter-rail conductors. From a Worcester-line rider's note to the MBCR about a late train on Aug. 14:

... It's bad enough to have your trains arrive over 30 minutes late with no signage indicating so at the station! The female conductor did not even bother to collect fares. I asked another passenger who boarded at South Station, and she said that the conductor did not collect for passengers boarding there either. ...

Got this e-mail from MBCR. As of this afternoon, they hadn't yet put this new policy into practice (at least at North Station). Hopefully, they never will.

When they can't even get the clocks to work right?

Waiting for the 5:52 Haverhill train at North Station tonight, I noticed a message appear on the normally blank platform information signs. It read:

ATTENTION PASSENGERS. THE CLOCK ON THE BOARDS IS SLOW. THE TIME DISPLAYED IS APPROXIMATELY 1 MINUTE BEHIND. WE ARE WORKING TO FIX THE PROBLEM ASAP