Hey, there! Log in / Register
Masshole on the E Line
By adamg on Mon, 08/24/2009 - 11:45am
A Green Line commuter forwards this note to the Green Line superintendent and the Executive Office of Transportation:
This morning(8/24) at 7:50 A.M I boarded E Line,Green Line Car 3885B headed inbound at Longwood. The operator did not respond when I said good morning but this is nothing new to be ignored by MBTA workers. Then when the trolley went underground the operator proceeded to tail-gate the trolley in front of it at the Copley, Arlington and Boylston stations. At one point he left only 15 feet or so between the cars. At one of these three station before I got off at park Street he yelled out an expletive about a passenger he though was taking to long to enter the train. He said, "come through the F' ing doors." I am out of work. I would gladly take his place and treat MBTA passengers with respect and not endanger their lives.
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
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.
Comments
Seriously?
Dude was hustlin' on the Green Line.
That's to be commended not complained about. Tell that commuter to take the bus if he wants to get there slow and super-safe.
I love when drivers haul
I love when drivers haul ass, but with the except of Kenmore and Copley, theres no point in tailgating. Might as well wait 15 seconds with the doors open to let more people board than sit in the tunnel being useless
Why it's not useless
If my understanding of the green line signals is correct:
* The train behind them gets a green signal for the prior station allowing others to reach their station faster (and anyone who could have gotten on during those 15 waited seconds could get on the next train faster).
* They can enter the station of the train in front of them without waiting out the signal (because they're essentially already passed that stop signal).
Are the signals unnecessary?
If a train can safely tailgate the train in front of them to jump the signal, what is the point of the signal? Or, if the signals are necessary to keep trains apart, then doesn't this defeat the purpose? There's only one train in danger of hitting the rear of the front train, and this is that train.
Ive had the following happen
Ive had the following happen too many times:
Enter kenmore, see two inbound trains leaving at exactly the same time. One yeilds for the other just far enough into the tunnel that no more passengers can board. Cue 10 minute wait for next train. Cue 5 minute wait for passenegrs in train that must wait at the yeild point and then again before Hynes.
We all know that the green line is full of bunching, and it kills be that the drivers make no effort to avoid it. Also, I dont think that there are signals at balndford/fenway/st marys that have anything to do with what the trains are doing at kenmore. As such, " hurrying" into the tunnel will have no effect on the next train down the line.
When the first train entering a station gets to a certain
point on the platform, the red signal facing the following train changes to double yellow. Thus, the second train can legally begin to enter the station.
However, as I've noted in other posts, the problem with this system is that the first train often pulls just far enough down the platform to trigger the "double yellow", but not far enough to allow the second train to pull completely onto the platform. Park Street eastbound platform is the best (or worst) example of this practice in action.
With the exception of Boylston, all platforms at Green Line underground stations are long enough to safely accommodate two 2-car LRV trains. Therefore, this is not an issue of physical capacity limitations, but rather one of management policy.
It's not just management
It's not just management policy, it was also the recommendation of an APTA peer review back in the 90s after several previous accidents: double berthing (two trains on the platform at the same time) was frowned on except at Park St.
You are correct about the current policy being
prompted by a serious accident at Copley Station in the 1980s and subsequent NTSB and APTA review (I recall raising similar points myself in some posts on Green Line operations awhile back).
However, IMO, the NTSB and APTA "double berthing" recommendations should be reconsidered in light of current ridership and train positioning practices. Allowing two trains to occupy the same platform when the rear one is only 90% on the platform with its doors closed is only marginally safer than allowing both trains to be 100% on the platform with all doors open, and probably is no safer than having trains stopped in the tunnels approaching the stations. This may satisfy the intent of the current policy, but causes major problems with throughput, not to mention inconvenience to the passengers.
I can personally attest that there's nothing more frustrating than trying to make a tight commuter rail connection and sitting fully on the platform at North Station, but not being to get off the train because the train "isn't in the berth" yet. I once questioned an operator about this practice, and they tried to convince me that we really weren't on the platform yet in a sort of MBTA meets the "Wizard of Oz" fantasy - "Oh, pay no attention to that tiled floor out there, it's really really not a platform"
And, if the T was really serious about adhering to the NTSB and APTA recommendations, I suspect they would have disconnected the double yellow aspect years ago.
I know that guy!
Saw this on twitter- I think I know exactly which conductor this is! Twice I've boarded the train at
Brigham Circle and tried to put my zone 4 commuter rail pass (whole other issue I have with the T!!) in the fare collector. He said "what the f*ck is wrong with you? GO"
The first time I ignored him, the second time I said "each one of you wants me to do something different with my pass - you yell at me when
I do swipe, you yell at me when I don't!" I got a "you're holding up the f'ing line"
Gotta be the same guy - I hope there aren't two as foul as this individual, but truth be told,
If I had to choose between being sworn at or experiencing as dangerous a ride as you did, I'd choose a few f-bombs.
glorified cab drivers
trolley drivers are glorified cab drivers. the E line drivers regularly speed up to make the light at the intersection of tremont and huntington or just completely ignore the signal. on more than one occasion i have had to take a big jump back to avoid getting my feet cut off as i have crossed the street. i've had the pleasure of ignoring the 'operator' you are referring to - wish i had a union job.
Glorified? You are too
Glorified? You are too kind.
They get that union salary and some of them don't feel like they have to be civil to anyone for any reason. At least some cabbies will say good day and have a polite chat with you--they want the tip, so they're motivated.
I'm sure most cabbies would love the pension those drivers get.
That operator needs to be fired before he kills someone.
As far as I've seen, the
As far as I've seen, the Green Line is the closest thing to the Charon ferry to the Underworld as we're going to experience in 21st century Greater Boston.