Switching problems at JFK/UMass are causing all sorts of problems on the Red Line tonight.
Alison: "Just took me 45 minutes to get from Park Street to JFK Umass with some chick coughing swine flu on me."
Laura Vogel: " 'We are experiencing high delays' - what does that even mean?? Red Line, Davis to Park, at least give us an ETA!"
Funktionslust: "Longest MBTA ride ever. Helped by 60 minute wait at JFK."
Sylvie Tse reports that on an outbound Red Line train at South Station today, the attendant came on the PA system twice to warn people not to hold the doors open - first to adivse that "people get hurt that way," then to plead, "And that's how people get fired around here."
Broken trains on the Red Line and Providence Line, signal problems on the Blue Line, a broken rail on the Needham Line (a broken rail? What'd they do? Taunt it mercilessly until it collapsed in a sobbing heap on the ground?), speed restrictions on the Kingston/Plymouth Line. Amazingly, no delays reported on the Green Line.
It's the MBTA anti-hero workers! The day before a hero Orange Line driver managed to keep her train from slicing up a drunk on the tracks, two Red Line workers did nothing as their train started out of South Station with a woman still attached on the platform. The Globe reports the attendant on the train has been fired; the operator suspended. Channel 25 posts the video:
But fans of close personal situations shouldn't fret: The MBTA says a dead train at Central is giving inbound passengers plenty of time this evening to imagine life as a sardine. Wgrover posted a photo of the throngs backed up past the Charliegates at Kendall.
This morning:
Switched-off Red Line.
It's probably just me, but this seems like an odd way to convince people to support their local STD clinic. Spotted on the Red Line.
Switch problems at Davis are making for a, ahem, fun commute this morning.
Ryan Evans says run away:
Massive crowd on inbound side at Davis Sq T stop.
Sylvie Tse reports that when she got off the Green Line at Park Street this afternoon, the fire alarms were blaring and flashing like nobody's business:
Stephen Laniel kvetches about the poor state of signs in Boston; recounts his experience transferring from the Orange Line to the Red Line at Downtown Crossing this morning:
Signal problems at Park Street? Rush-hour commuters got stuck on the Longfellow tonight and now people trying to get anywhere fast on the Red Line might be better off just walking, apparently. Man, even the Mattapan "High-Speed" Line had problems today thanks to a disabled trolley.
One of these ads is from the Red Line and one is from the Orange Line. Can you match the ad to the line? Answer after the jump.
The MBTA wasn't running outbound trains between Park Street and JFK this afternoon because of "a power problem in the downtown area," according to announcements that played in between the usual announcements imploring riders to pay their fares and to say something if they see something.
I was at South Station when an inbound train pulled in around 2:30 p.m., emblazoned with "Out of Service" displays. But it stopped and then, after a minute or so, the doors opened. Like the well trained sheep we are, everybody got on - and suddenly realized the train smelled like burning garbage.
"It's just a trash fire on the tracks, not the train," an MBTA cop reassured us. "It's a trash fire, not the train."
More cops appeared on the platform. Then the doors closed and we left.
Syvlie Tse reports some Red Line announcement derangement at Park Street today.
There is one of two possible explanations: He's just a T crazy or there's a cockroach on your shoe:
... Sure, it wasn't a full-sized one, but a cockroach is a cockroach and that thing was crawling on my foot?!OHMYGOD!
So the guy with the binder now goes from creepy weirdo to my savior as he stomps on the cockroach - a few times, for good measure. And now the world is burdened with one less cockroach. And I ... well, I'm paranoid outta my mind about them now.
Dan Tobin was facing the Citgo sign on the way home from Cambridge this evening:
... It's a landmark I invariably associate with the Red Sox and tonight I realized that, no matter how the season ended up - with us as champions or the hated Yankees taking the crown - this is the time of year when baseball is in hibernation. It won't be long before being outside itself is a chore and means braving the nasty winter that comprises half the Boston year. It made me a little sad facing up to this reality. But it also made me thankful to know that one day the Sox will come back, the cold weather will lift, and the city will become a beautiful place once again.
Because this evening, both are providing something less than the "enjoyable transportation experience" the T now hopes riders have.
Don't think of those delays caused by yet another disabled train as a problem. Think of it as an opportunity - to get to know your platformmates! Well, except maybe some of those gloomy Gusses whose mouths will freeze that way if they keep frowning like that.
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
