Red Line, Blue Line, neither fine

By adamg on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:09am

The T is back and running this morning, but as they warned us: Major delays. The Red and Blue lines in particular are running express to nowhere this morning.

Will reported from a Red Line train just sitting at Harvard:

PA operator just said "If you have other options you might wanna explore them."

Topics:

Free tagging:

Ad:

Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

Good thing they took yesterday off.

By JCK on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:26am.

Explain to me again why we shouldn't at least run the heavy rail system during snowfall.

I get that buses, especially articulated buses, can get stuck, but the MBTA seems in worse, not better, shape for being out of service for a full day.

If an emergency were to

By datadyne007 on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:39am.

If an emergency were to happen on a revenue service train that was operating in blizzard conditions, emergency crews would have difficulty accessing the train, passengers, etc. For example, if someone has a heart attack on a train at Davis or some accident happens, EMS crews would need to swarm Davis Square during a blizzard and perform a rescue op. This is the real reason they stop revenue service. It doesn't have anything to do with actually running the trains - the trains actually run during the storm to keep the tracks clear. It's geared toward passenger safety.

This is BS

By BostonDog on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 10:31am.

Emergency crews need to respond to emergencies everywhere. Yesterday during the peak of the storm people had stokes, babies, and major falls. Crews were able to respond. I'm sure they'd be quicker to respond at Davis station then on some unplowed road Medford.

In many cases you'd be better off on the train if you had a medical emergency in part because other people would notice right away and might be able to help and in part because train stations are on major roads which are first/best plowed during a storm.

The risk of someone having a stoke at home where their street/walk is poorly plowed and perhaps no one else is at home is *much* higher then the risk of a train being stuck between stations unable to move.

Ugh.

By JCK on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 11:42am.

This isn't a good reason to stop T service. I'm sorry.

Maybe we should never leave our house.

The roads were clear, and ambulances could get through, because there was no car traffic.

The possibility of an emergency can't be a reason to stop T service.

Uh huh. Except they didn't

By anon on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 12:36pm.

Uh huh. Except they didn't stop the trains during the last blizzard.

The last blizzard

By Ron Newman on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 2:25pm.

If you mean the one that the Weather Channel called 'Nemo', in February 2013, yes the trains were stopped and for much longer than this time around.

while I agree

By cybah on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:43am.

while I agree with you, it does seem silly, I do see their points.

It is a safety issue, like datadyne007 said, but also all the man power just to clear each station's entrance and platforms. It would be continuous and be treacherous working conditions for anyone assigned to a green line outdoor station! Its just best to keep it closed.

Thanks for bringing up

By datadyne007 on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:49am.

Thanks for bringing up accessibility. That's also very important. If the T is running, it needs to legally provide accessible paths to and from stations. This is pretty much impossible during a major snow event, let alone a blizzard dumping 1-4" in/hr.

Trains were running yesterday, without passengers

By Ron Newman on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:54am.

according to a T employee I talked to in Davis Square last night.

Orange Line trains were running

By wils on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 12:32pm.

I saw both an inbound and outbound Orange Line train that were dark inside approaching the Malden Center station yesterday around 4PM as I was walking around in the area so that at least, I guess, the snow wouldn't accumulate on the tracks.

Sadly, the same old story.

By CopleyScott17 on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:28am.

I had absolutely no problem with my early-morning commute inbound on the Green Line E-branch this morning, but to see the service alerts and hear the horror stories is just infuriating. I can understand difficulties with bus service, but getting/keeping the rails running should be AT LEAST as important a priority as getting/keeping the roads clear and drivable, and I'd argue even MORE important. I've said it a zillion times: people with cars always have the option of taking public transportation; car-less people do not have the option of driving their cars. Why can't policymakers see this?

Because the legislature

By anon on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:51am.

Because the legislature drives to work and is reimbursed for doing so.

as a car commuter who would

By from brighton on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 10:07am.

as a car commuter who would rather rely on a public transport, I absolutely agree with you.
The T should be the highest priority when restoring order in the city.

Destination signs. Ride sharing for folks that know one another.

By theszak on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 9:48am.

Brandeis campus had an area where folks leave the campus and folks stand by a sign for destinations East or another sign for destinations South, or West, or North. Drivers leaving campus could stop at the appropriate sign and offer a free lift if they know each other.

"Other options"

By Scratchie on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 10:16am.

That's gold, Jerry. Other options? Service has been so terrible for so long that nobody rides the T if they have any other options.

Group Urges Swedes To Evade Subway Fares. Insures Against Fines.

By theszak on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 10:49am.

By Ari Shapiro
Group Urges Swedes To Evade Subway Fares, And Even Insures Against Fines
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/01/28/381924295/group-urges-swed...

They want those that don't

By anon on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 12:40pm.

They want those that don't ride to give free rides that do.

That sure explains the

By rb on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 11:43am.

record ridership.

Not incompatible

By anon on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 12:39pm.

What's the T ridership nowadays as a percentage of people who live and/or work in Boston, compared to what it was 10 years ago? More people using it, in absolute numbers, doesn't necessarily say anything; if the overall population is increasing at a faster rate, than T usage is actually shrinking.

I would imagine that has a

By Scratchie on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 12:43pm.

I would imagine that has a lot to do with Boston's record population growth. Doesn't mean too many people are going to want to spend an hour traveling by T to a destination they could reach by car in 15 minutes.

Don't forget The RIDE's problems

By Rob on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 10:57am.

Yesterday they eventually made the announcement that the T would be up and running (more or less) today.

Unfortunately, all the word they had during the day for The RIDE was a note to clients about calling the RIDE contractors directly. In addition to the impracticality of having to make reservations (there's a 5 PM deadline for next day) when they're not letting you know until after 5 PM that the service will be available - nobody was answering the phone at the contractor!

Reverse Commute

By SwirlyGrrl on Wed, 01/28/2015 - 11:54am.

Or is it a perverse commute ...

We loaded up red-line commuters, drove them in with us and dropped them at South Station to get to Cambridge destinations.

Sounds nuts, but worked a lot better than an unplowed walk to a bus to the inbound red line.

20 minutes to South Station, 20 minutes to destinations. I guess it was running fine northbound from the city - my son even got on a train that was express from Park to Harvard.