The Mystery Train
The Mystery Train is a train of excitement,
With windows so clouded that you cannot see
Which station you're passing - or IF there's a station,
Or where in the world you might happen to be.
You stare in confusion at windows so frosted
An x-ray machine couldn't peer through the haze.
Is my stop coming up? Or have I just passed it?
Or am I a minotaur lost in a maze?
The conductors all thoughtfully aid in the mystery,
Never breathing a word which might pierce that dark veil
Where is the train going? Are we passing a station?
Was that blob Back Bay station, or was it Montvale?
If YOU want to ride on a train full of mystery
They're rolling along on the tracks every day
You might never get to the place you were going,
But that's how it is on the MBTA.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Mystery Train
My inbound commute this morning inspired the following poem:
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Silent Stops and Secret Stations
No major issues lately, but there are still a few things to write about.
There was a bit of a stir on the inbound Franklin #710 train this morning (08/06/2008). After the Readville stop, the conductor announced over the intercom that the next stop would be Back Bay. Since the train was supposed to stop at Ruggles, this caused a bit of a stir.
The train sometimes skips Ruggles due to track problems, so the announcement seemed unusual but not impossible. They're supposed to announce that they're skipping Ruggles, of course, but they don't always do that.
In the end, they stopped at Ruggles after all; the announcement must have just been a slip of the tongue by the conductor. So no free tickets today.
I did cash in five free tickets recently, and was annoyed at the attitude of the guy behind the counter (at Back Bay). He insisted that all three letters had to be pre-signed before I got to the window, and I had to be at the window with my driver's license, tickets, and letters all in hand. Time was short, but after waiting through the line the first time I had to go out, sign and arrange everything, and go through the line a second time. It wasn't a terribly long line, so I'd guess that the clerk was just being officious for the hell of it.
Speaking of silent stops, conductors have been particularly silent at Ruggles lately. They often don't bother to announce the destination of the train, and sometimes they don't even step out on the platform! Since the trains have been more and more erratic, time-wise (they can vary from the schedule by five minutes or more) this is particularly worrisome. Often passengers have to go into a train and ask the passengers inside where the train is going.
A few quick notes:
Smelly Car - A coach on the Franklin line had an unusual problem: it stank. It wasn't a bathroom car, but it smelled like sewage for the entire trip. This caused a "hot car" effect; passengers avoided that car and piled into the other ones. Unfortunately I didn't note the train number (it was a later-evening outbound run), but I think the coach might have been #604.
Hefty hefty hefty! - MBTA head Dan Grabauskas announced via cellphone from his luxury state-supplied SUV1 that T riders would be facing "hefty" fare increases in 2010 unless the Legislature took action. I'd predicted that he'd jump the increase forward to 2009, so I guess I was wrong about that. But I have to wonder what he means by "hefty". Recent increases have been in the 25-27% range; what could a hefty increase look like? I'm guessing 40% or more, but please feel free to put your own guess as a comment. The winner will receive a free luxury SUV, fueled and paid for by the taxpayers of Massachusetts2.
Wall Street Journal story - A couple of months ago I was interviewed several times about the commuter rail system by Alex Roth of the Wall Street Journal. Here's a link to a copy of the story: Riders Swamp Public Transit. I imagine we'll hear a lot more about the strain of increasing ridership on public transportation over the years to come.
Late! - I was chatting with an experienced passenger, and she pointed out something that I hadn't really noticed: the trains have been late a lot, for a long time now. Not necessarily by a lot, and not by that golden 30 minutes that means a free ticket, but the trains are regularly five to fifteen minutes late by the time they reach the end of the line. I don't think we've actually arrived exactly on time in months. But just because I'm me, I'm going to start tracking arrival times on the Franklin #715. It will be interesting to have some solid data to post.
Oh, a quick shout-out to the women I talked to on the train this morning. Hi!
1 - Okay, I don't know that he made the announcement from the SUV, but I couldn't resist mentioning that little perk of his.
2 - Offer will not be honored. No free SUV for you!
There was a bit of a stir on the inbound Franklin #710 train this morning (08/06/2008). After the Readville stop, the conductor announced over the intercom that the next stop would be Back Bay. Since the train was supposed to stop at Ruggles, this caused a bit of a stir.
The train sometimes skips Ruggles due to track problems, so the announcement seemed unusual but not impossible. They're supposed to announce that they're skipping Ruggles, of course, but they don't always do that.
In the end, they stopped at Ruggles after all; the announcement must have just been a slip of the tongue by the conductor. So no free tickets today.
I did cash in five free tickets recently, and was annoyed at the attitude of the guy behind the counter (at Back Bay). He insisted that all three letters had to be pre-signed before I got to the window, and I had to be at the window with my driver's license, tickets, and letters all in hand. Time was short, but after waiting through the line the first time I had to go out, sign and arrange everything, and go through the line a second time. It wasn't a terribly long line, so I'd guess that the clerk was just being officious for the hell of it.
Speaking of silent stops, conductors have been particularly silent at Ruggles lately. They often don't bother to announce the destination of the train, and sometimes they don't even step out on the platform! Since the trains have been more and more erratic, time-wise (they can vary from the schedule by five minutes or more) this is particularly worrisome. Often passengers have to go into a train and ask the passengers inside where the train is going.
A few quick notes:
Smelly Car - A coach on the Franklin line had an unusual problem: it stank. It wasn't a bathroom car, but it smelled like sewage for the entire trip. This caused a "hot car" effect; passengers avoided that car and piled into the other ones. Unfortunately I didn't note the train number (it was a later-evening outbound run), but I think the coach might have been #604.
Hefty hefty hefty! - MBTA head Dan Grabauskas announced via cellphone from his luxury state-supplied SUV1 that T riders would be facing "hefty" fare increases in 2010 unless the Legislature took action. I'd predicted that he'd jump the increase forward to 2009, so I guess I was wrong about that. But I have to wonder what he means by "hefty". Recent increases have been in the 25-27% range; what could a hefty increase look like? I'm guessing 40% or more, but please feel free to put your own guess as a comment. The winner will receive a free luxury SUV, fueled and paid for by the taxpayers of Massachusetts2.
Wall Street Journal story - A couple of months ago I was interviewed several times about the commuter rail system by Alex Roth of the Wall Street Journal. Here's a link to a copy of the story: Riders Swamp Public Transit. I imagine we'll hear a lot more about the strain of increasing ridership on public transportation over the years to come.
Late! - I was chatting with an experienced passenger, and she pointed out something that I hadn't really noticed: the trains have been late a lot, for a long time now. Not necessarily by a lot, and not by that golden 30 minutes that means a free ticket, but the trains are regularly five to fifteen minutes late by the time they reach the end of the line. I don't think we've actually arrived exactly on time in months. But just because I'm me, I'm going to start tracking arrival times on the Franklin #715. It will be interesting to have some solid data to post.
Oh, a quick shout-out to the women I talked to on the train this morning. Hi!
1 - Okay, I don't know that he made the announcement from the SUV, but I couldn't resist mentioning that little perk of his.
2 - Offer will not be honored. No free SUV for you!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Something new: half AC
This was a new one on me: coach #704 on the Franklin #715 train tonight (Thursday, 7/17/2008) didn't have air conditioning on one half. It was the half closer to the engine (and to Franklin, for that matter).
What's particularly unusual about that is that coach #704 is one of the new double-decker coaches. It was the first time I've seen any AC problem on one of those.
What's particularly unusual about that is that coach #704 is one of the new double-decker coaches. It was the first time I've seen any AC problem on one of those.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Notes: AC and announcements
On Thursday, July 10, the air conditioning was broken on coach #611, on the #917 Stoughton train. It was a hot day. Fortunately I wasn't going to Stoughton...but I pity those who were.
Yesterday, on Monday July 14, the schedule was definitely messed up. An outbound train pulled up to Ruggles at 4:19; everyone got on. One passenger asked what train it was, and discovered that it wasn't the Franklin train after all; it was the Needham train, running very late. We all started shouting and warning people, and there was a mass exodus of Franklin passengers.
The conductors never announced the damn train. You'd think that since it was arriving at the exact time and on the same track as the Franklin train, they might have made an announcement...but I guess they have delicate lungs.
The Franklin train showed up about eight minutes later.
Yesterday, on Monday July 14, the schedule was definitely messed up. An outbound train pulled up to Ruggles at 4:19; everyone got on. One passenger asked what train it was, and discovered that it wasn't the Franklin train after all; it was the Needham train, running very late. We all started shouting and warning people, and there was a mass exodus of Franklin passengers.
The conductors never announced the damn train. You'd think that since it was arriving at the exact time and on the same track as the Franklin train, they might have made an announcement...but I guess they have delicate lungs.
The Franklin train showed up about eight minutes later.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Another gouge at the public from the MBTA
Some time in the last few weeks the MBTA did it again. Just as they quietly took away the option of bringing a free guest on the T on Sundays, they've now taken away free parking on weekends and holidays:
I wonder how many people will fail to see that sign and end up having to pay the 75¢ penalty surcharge?
Maybe none, if you believe that sign. On the other hand, who believes the MBTA these days?
Just one more little gouge at passengers pocketbooks, courtesy of the MBTA. Oddly enough, they don't seem to have announced the change, and as far as I can tell it hasn't been in the news at all. A search of mbta.com hasn't turned up anything about the change either.
I'm reminded of an old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie. Moriarty strapped him to a hospital bed, stuck a needle in his arm, and proceeded to slowly bleed him to death, one drop at a time. Unfortunately we in the public don't have a Doctor Watson to rescue us at the last minute!
I wonder how many people will fail to see that sign and end up having to pay the 75¢ penalty surcharge?
Maybe none, if you believe that sign. On the other hand, who believes the MBTA these days?
Just one more little gouge at passengers pocketbooks, courtesy of the MBTA. Oddly enough, they don't seem to have announced the change, and as far as I can tell it hasn't been in the news at all. A search of mbta.com hasn't turned up anything about the change either.
I'm reminded of an old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie. Moriarty strapped him to a hospital bed, stuck a needle in his arm, and proceeded to slowly bleed him to death, one drop at a time. Unfortunately we in the public don't have a Doctor Watson to rescue us at the last minute!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Lest we forget...
Overcrowding is still common on the Franklin line. This morning, though, it was particularly bad. By the time the #708 train (departing from Franklin/Forge Park at 7AM) reached Norwood Central (which is the mid-point of the run), passengers were being jammed into the aisles. I couldn't see the outer vestibules, but the crowding was extreme:
One accident with a train this crowded would probably cause at least twice as many casualties than there would be if the train had adequate seating.
One accident with a train this crowded would probably cause at least twice as many casualties than there would be if the train had adequate seating.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Celtics on parade
Throngs of people filled Boston to see the victory parade for the Celtics today, so perhaps it was inevitable that there would be problems on the Franklin #715.
The train itself was packed, with lots of teenagers wearing green. The aisles were crowded with standees, although I didn't see anyone in the vestibules themselves.
Shortly after the Norwood Depot stop, the train came to a halt. We were stuck on the short length of track between Norwood Depot and Norwood Central, directly next to a McDonald's. It wasn't long before the smell from the McDonald's became sheer torture.
After a while there was an announcement that the train was waiting for an inbound train to pass, after which we'd start right up again. So we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
For half an hour.
I saw six teens jump off the train and walk down the track towards Norwood Central. And since I was roughly in the middle of the train, the odds are that more jumped off and I didn't see them. Not to mention that I could only see one side of the train; I don't know if anyone jumped off on the other side.
When the train finally started up again, it went at a crawl for a long time. It was scheduled to arrive at Franklin/Dean, my destination, at 5:10 PM; we ended up pulling into the station at 5:49 PM, a full 39 minutes late. So in the last six days the T has failed to make their on-time performance guarantee three times. Now that I think of it, that's a pretty awful record!
The train itself was packed, with lots of teenagers wearing green. The aisles were crowded with standees, although I didn't see anyone in the vestibules themselves.
Shortly after the Norwood Depot stop, the train came to a halt. We were stuck on the short length of track between Norwood Depot and Norwood Central, directly next to a McDonald's. It wasn't long before the smell from the McDonald's became sheer torture.
After a while there was an announcement that the train was waiting for an inbound train to pass, after which we'd start right up again. So we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
For half an hour.
I saw six teens jump off the train and walk down the track towards Norwood Central. And since I was roughly in the middle of the train, the odds are that more jumped off and I didn't see them. Not to mention that I could only see one side of the train; I don't know if anyone jumped off on the other side.
When the train finally started up again, it went at a crawl for a long time. It was scheduled to arrive at Franklin/Dean, my destination, at 5:10 PM; we ended up pulling into the station at 5:49 PM, a full 39 minutes late. So in the last six days the T has failed to make their on-time performance guarantee three times. Now that I think of it, that's a pretty awful record!
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