No wonder they are not on time.
"By train or car, the cruelest month; Commuter rail riders irate that trains so often run late" by Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff / February 5, 2011
The MBTA’s commuter rail in January had its worst month in three years, with 27 percent of trains running behind schedule, leaving riders throughout the region waiting in uncertainty on frigid and snowy station platforms and causing some with other options to abandon the rail.
As lawmakers and state officials field waves of complaints, transportation leaders have called a meeting with the management and board of the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, the contractor that collects more than $250 million a year to run trains that, on a good day, move 65,000 commuters between Boston and its suburbs.
“We’re failing our customers badly, and we’ve got to do better,’’ state Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey B. Mullan said in an interview yesterday. Mullan said that, at the Feb. 15 meeting with the commuter rail, state officials plan “to talk about our disappointment in their performance, to demand better service, and to hold them accountable.’’
Commuter anger over the thousands of delayed trains last month was compounded by inconsistent or inaccurate service alerts and announcements. Dozens of trains ran more than a half-hour behind schedule or were canceled altogether, and many of the delays came at peak commuting times, making workers late to their jobs.
Does the boss really want to hear it was the subway?
“It has been so frequent lately that it seems to be more the norm than the exception,’’ said David Mello, a lawyer from Concord who pays for a monthly pass on the Fitchburg line, but yesterday gave up and drove instead to the nearest Red Line stop. “You start to wonder whether it makes sense to just avoid the commuter rail altogether.’’
See the FOLLOWING ARTICLE in this post!
**************
Hugh Kiley, general manager of the commuter rail, said the railroad has been hamstrung by the inclement weather and the age of the MBTA-owned fleet. But he said the company can and should do better, and has already taken steps to improve.
I'm so sick of corporate and government blowhards and their gas.
Kiley said the commuter rail plans to devote more attention to maintaining equipment and doing so in a smarter fashion, discussing best practices with other railroads that operate in cold climates to learn new techniques....
This after we have been told it's been the hottest ten years ever. What damnable liars!
And increasing maintenance isn't helping those sitting and waiting now. Sick of the excuses, too!
Kiley said his company has put more than 53,000 hours of labor this winter into clearing snow from track and platform walkways and waiting areas, as well as railroad switches, which can fail from packed snow every time a new train passes through.
Look at him patting himself on the back with all the snow gear on.
But he conceded that the railroad has been unable to keep up with the worst of the winter. Starting with the next major snowstorm, he said, the commuter rail will run fewer trains during inclement weather, hoping that it can meet a reduced schedule in a more reliable fashion....
Yeah, they are only going to run the trains that a working. That ought to make the numbers look better.
So WhereTF is all the tax loot going, 'eh?
Related: Getting Around Boston
Oh, I see. Interest payments to banks on Big Dig and other debt, great.
Also see: Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride on the T
And what a s***ty ride it is!
Many of the T's 80 commuter rail locomotives and 400-plus coaches date to the 1980s or earlier and are nearing or have exceeded their 25-year useful life. Some upgrades are on the way, with 75 coaches and 20 locomotives on order at a combined cost of more than $300 million, but the first piece of equipment will not arrive for more than a year....
Remember, readers, bankers are to be paid first.
So it's another winter riding in the s*** boxes, 'eh?
--more--"
Also see: MBTA reports rise in crimes
I'll never go to a Red Sox game again.
And look who is encouraging public transit on the very same front page:
"These heaps hunkering down for the winter" by Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff / February 5, 2011
snow-entombed....
extraordinary snowfalls totaling more than 70 inches since December that have turned Boston into a landscape dotted with snow-covered lumps in the shapes of sport utility vehicles, station wagons, and compacts.
This is the new twist on the venerable local tradition of marking and claiming shoveled parking spaces: Don’t even bother moving your car.
With Bostonians overwhelmed by narrow passages between snowbanks, gridlocked intersections, and parking restrictions, many are turning to public transportation and leaving their cars curbside, allowing them to slowly vanish under the drifts.
Yeah, great move. Watch your wallet and be prepared to wait.
But yesterday, as the sun shined brighter than it has in days and snow started to melt, the cars began to emerge from hibernation, and their owners got behind the wheel for the first time in days or weeks....
You can go read the stories of Bostonians clearing off their cars (sigh) if you want to, dear readers:
--more--"
And they won't be emerging for long:
"State on guard as another storm closes in" by Martin Finucane and Scott Van Voorhis, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent / February 5, 2011
AUBURN — A storm today could drop up to 6 new inches of snow on some parts of the region....
up to 6 inches could hit parts of Worcester and Franklin counties....
And here I had hoped to give you a full day of blogging on my day off.
:-(
Meanwhile, the roof collapses continued yesterday....
Related: Boston Globe Raises the Roof
Also, Wal-Mart stores that closed Wednesday because of heavy snow loads on the roofs remained shuttered yesterday in Chelmsford, Worcester, North Attleborough, and Northampton, according to company spokeswoman Ashley Hardie....
WOW!
Also see: Proposed Walmart near Virginia Civil War battlefield draws opposition
Wal-Mart won’t build near Civil War battle site in Va.
Wal-Mart joins effort to curb obesity
Wal-Mart offers chain $2.4b for stake
Wal-Mart adding smaller stores
Wal-Mart at war!
Travel challenges also continued yesterday. The MBTA faced delays on the commuter rail in the morning, problems on variety of subway lines, and buses making their way through icy, snow-choked streets....
Oh.
Hey, look on the bright side: you can Twitter away all you want.
--more--"
Time to get off the Boston Globe T and grab a shovel again!
