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Will Lechmere service eventually go the way of the Watertown and Arborway lines?
By adamg on Thu, 08/09/2007 - 5:18pm
Hondo reports from North Station, where five straight Green Line trolleys simply turned around this morning instead of making the trip to Lechmere - and where one increasingly frantic commuter kept getting onto the tracks in the hopes of sussing out an actual Lechmere car:
This is what it has come to. The T is so horrible at providing a simple, reliable way around Boston that people are literally risking their lives to see if, or when, the next train is on the way. ...
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Comments
This is a problem
I live off of the Lechmere stop, and this has been a SERIOUS problem since I moved in. It is exceptionally frustrating. The wait is typically 30 minutes, and to make matters worse, train after train after train unloads its passengers. When the Lechmere train finally appears (already packed beyond the fringes of acceptability), it's a circus act trying to stuff the hundred or so of us on the platform into the cars. Add this to the Green Line's herky jerky drivers, piss poor customer service, numerous "stops" between stops, and death ride through the tunnels… wait. What was I talking about?
Oh, my god...tell me about it.
The idea that somebody's so frustrated that they place their body in front of the train is really, really scary. Where I live is roughly a ten-fifteen minute walk to and from the Lechmere MBTA station. When the weather is good (i. e. not raining or too hot and muggy), I go around town to errands and appointments via bicycle or on foot. When I have to take the train due to lousy weather, etc., I generally will walk all the way home from downtown if it's not too impossible for whatever reason. I agree with you, Fornya--waiting in a downtown MBTA station for a Lechmere train is frustrating and unnerving as hell at times. You've got all my sympathy.
E line (Heath St.) trains go
E line (Heath St.) trains go to Lechmere. Its not that hard to figure out. The best place to catch them is Prudential or Copley.
that's...
the single most helpful thing I've read today! Thanks for thinking!
thanks, Anonymous, for jogging my memory on this one.
I'll remember that next time lousy weather or whatever necessitates my taking the MBTA train back to Lechmere Station from downtown or wherever.
Almost, but not quite T
Share and enjoy.
Now that you have enlightened us, perhaps you could clue in the MBTA dispatchers and drivers of E-line trains? I think they kinda, you know, fergot all about that?
Thanks, and have a nice day.
Honestly
Knowing that E trains are supposed to go to Lechmere is helpful. The fact that not all of them make the entire trip is what pisses people off. Add to that the many trolleys sporting "North Station" roll-signs that actually go out of service at Government Center and it adds up to serious frustration.
Just a little bit of consideration on the part of the T would go a long, long way. Post a sign or two letting people know this stuff. It might defuse a few of the complaints.
And my own personal long-standing peeve is that - at least the last time I checked - there is absolutely no indication whatsoever, at Forest Hills, that you can't actually catch a downtown trolley on the remains of the Arborway line. Obviously, if you've lived here your entire life, like me, you know that no trolley is going to show up. But what about newcomers or tourists? ONE sign posted where it could be seen by someone attempting to get to the trolley line - that's all that's needed. Spring for the $5, Dan. It won't break the system.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Not always
I work off Symphony and I used to take the Green Line to connect to the Blue Line and I assure you that even Symphony can be awful to catch a Lechmere train at rush hour. By Pru and Copley, the train may have long been past the point of being able to fit more passengers. In the morning it was even worse. I'd wait a half-hour for an E-Line train I could board in the morning at Government Center..
The MBTA needs to suck it up and send one of the other lines out to Lechmere. The E-Line is too infrequent and too unpredictable even when its running. I'd suggest sending the D-Line out as well with the B and C still terminating at Government Center and North Station respectively. Either that or increase service on the E Line. No other line is scheduled so its always packed quickly during rush hour. They may have gaps that cause individual trains to get packed, but its not absolutely all of them. Commuters and businesses off the E Line are getting a raw deal, plain and simple.
The E line may terminate at
The E line may terminate at Lechmere, but morning outbound trains from Lechmere are Bs, Cs, Ds, and Es.