commuter rail

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.

Issue non-payment tickets to people who actually paid for parking at commuter-rail stops.

Cory O'Hayer captured the visage of dead pitchman Billy Mays haunting commuters at the freight yard they call the Readville commuter-rail station.

Every single MBTA commuter-rail line is reporting "weather-related delays" this morning.

Red exclamation points of doom across the board

Ed. remainders note: Have you noticed how media accounts all seem to refer to the storm as "remnants of Hurricane Ida?" Sounds like we're under attack by what's left of the elite Republican Guard.

Massive delays.

Ben Jackson, a regular, tweeted:

For the THIRD TIME THIS WEEK, the 6:58 inbound middleboro mbta train is disabled and we might have to push it into Boston.

At 8:50, Conor Yunits tweeted his train was late and the message boards were useless:

Hey mbta, remember that Brockton to South Station commuter rail train that was supposed to come 20 minutes ago? How about an update?

This time in Franklin this morning, MBTA Transit Police tweet. NECN reports the man, in his 40s, was struck at the Fisher Street crossing. Train 1028, outbound.

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

"Seek alternate transportation to avoid delay," the T advised, citing CSX switch problems in Worcester.

Ben tweets:

first time riding the commuter rail in a year and a half and there is a 50 minute delay. i forgot how much the train sucks. thanks mbta

Peter McStravick tweets from an inbound Worcester Line train, stuck for 30 minutes somewhere between Yawkey Way and South Station:

They should change the name of this line to 'Worst'er!'

New footprint; click for larger version.

Construction begins next summer on a $500-million project across from Fenway Park that will replace a non-descript parking lot and aging commuter-rail station with new housing and offices - some built on a deck across the turnpike - and a large new train station, developer John Rosenthal and city and state officials said today. Read more

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

The MBTA reports a series of cascading delays on the Worcester Line this morning, most notably what it says is a one-hour delay between Wellesley Hills and Boston on the 7:35 a.m. inbound train.

One hour? JTboston, who is actually on the train, tweets at 10:02 a.m. he's now been on the train for the past two hours. He posts a photo of his shoe, because, really, what else is there to do on a train that's just sitting there?

Charlie on the Commuter Rail notices that rather than fix the steps down to the commuter-rail platform, the T has instead installed a weird-looking cable.

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. ...

MassCops is a site where Massachusetts police officers exchange advice and stories. But it also has an Ask a Cop forum, where members of the public can ask about police work.

Word of advice: If you're a skater dude asking if an MBTA "train cop" has the right to tell you and your buddy to stop skating at the Lakeville/Middleboro commuter-rail station late at night or face arrest, you might want to think first before supplying specific info, such as the exact date and time this happened. Because one of the respondents just might be the cop who told you to scram, and he might fill in some of the details you left out of your original post.

Ben Ostrander tweets that around 7:40 this morning:

Saw a tourist with a crappy point & shoot stopped by T employee at Back Bay & told she couldn't do that.

As Ostrander notes, that fall under the category of "Not True." The MBTA's posted photo policy says non-commercial photography is OK - the main limitations are you can't use a flash or tripod and you have to provide ID if requested by a T cop or official.

Lt. Gov. Tim Murray announced this morning the state and the giant railroad have resolved the last stumbling block to a massive deal that will, among other things, clear out the Allston freight yards and give the MBTA complete control over the train line to Worcester.

Under the agreement, the state will buy the Worcester Line, potentially leading to reduced delays now caused by CSX dispatch rules - as well as a freight line from Beacon Park Yard in Allston through Cambridge to East Boston from CSX, and a freight line to Fall River and New Bedford.

The Beacon Park Yard move, expected to be completed in 2012, will clear the way for the addition of commuter-rail service to Allston/Brighton, possible help enable the long-fabled Urban Ring project and give Harvard, which already owns the yard, more cleared land that it can then let sit fallow. Read more

CommonWealth Unbound reports the latest problem related to crumbling concrete ties on MBTA commuter lines out of South Station: Trains on the Kingston Line had speeds reduced from 70 to 30 m.p.h. because of "an increasing number of broken, cracked, and crumbling concrete ties that present a potential danger if they are not replaced or reinforced."

30 to 60 minute delays on the Newburyport/Rockport Line; T advisory says "alternate transportation to avoid delay." The notice came too late for Brian Krisler, who tweets:

The 7am inbound train broken down. After 25 min wait, the conductor instructed everyone to drive to Beverly.

Barbara Glavin tweets:

So my Rockport train is crammed full, like Green line! Left folks on the platform in Salem.

Worcester Line service is ending in West Natick tonight thanks to a whole lot of burning trash in downtown Framingham.

Mitch Blum tweets:

bummy kid shaking down commuters for cash on the [Newburyport/Rockport] train at N. Station...he scored $11.

Natasha Lloyd tweets:

The inbound Worcester MBTA train just crashed into the platform at South Station. Several people were injured. Most are ok.

WBZ tweets 12 people are being treated for minor injuries, adds the injured were all people standing waiting to get off the train. Local 718 tweets two people had to be put on backboards, one elderly.

And, of course, last night, two Worcester Line trains almost collided head on near Back Bay.

Passengers being taken away outside South Station, by NECN:

Channel 7 reports:

The train company CSX, which operates the section of the track involved, confirmed there were two commuter rail trains on the Worcester line heading right for each other.

Who'd think a train to the Patriots game could cause so much trouble? But let's follow the tweets:

At 4:40, Jon Fournier tweets from Back Bay:

Stuck behind Patriots train. Chaos at Back Bay. Lv it to T to make smthng so simple so freakin' complicated.

At 5:11, Fournier gets out this word:

Herd of patriots fans boards Franklin train in Dedham. Told to get off at Walpole & "wait for train."

At 5:21, Ben Jackson explains:

Just got an alert. Pats train skipping stations due to overcrowding. Another train is coming later for those stations.

At 5:25, David Stopforth posts a photo of Pats refugees at a waystation somewhere in Walpole.