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Cram and jam on the Fitchburg Line
By adamg on Mon, 01/04/2016 - 8:56am
Riders aren't supposed to ride in the spaces between cars on commuter rail, but, eh, whadaya gonna do, right, Fitchburg Line riders? Finn, who was among those lucky riders around 7 a.m., reports a conductor's reassuring words:
If you're in there, make sure you hold on.
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Comments
I imagine we'd start having
I imagine we'd start having outright riots at train stations if the T ever tried to enforce any sort of overcrowding-related safety rules like that "no one in the vestibule" thing.
MBTA / Keolis
Using John Henry's business delivery model to perfection.
What the hell is wrong with this region? Miracle drug to cure what you got? App to diagnose your dog's depression? Math matrix that allows for moon colonization? No problem.
Get a newspaper on time or effectively deliver you on 1835 developed technology? Hah!
It's basically the oldest
It's basically the oldest part of the country and our infrastructure and what have you grew organically rather than the big boring copy and paste development in most other parts of the country. That's what gives our region it's charm but also gives us these problems.
Commuter rail peeve
That rider with a back pack. Take it off and make yourself small, you're taking up space where people can stand.
Re: Commuter rail pet peeve
Agree completely. That goes for trolleys, buses, and the subway too.
-- She, who uses a back pack
Backpack taken off will still occupy floor space
so I'm not sure how much of a win that would be.
It's still better
The backpack on the shoulder is occupying a horizontal plane where people have a lot more mass than the plane where people's legs are.
And yes, at the age of 45, I just bought a new backpack that I bring to work. It's taken off before the doors to the train open.
Another problem
Many backpack wearers seem to forget they are wearing one (or don't care), and move their body as if they're not. It's quite easy to get hit in a small space.
I take the bus frequently, and red/green/orange lines occasionally, but imagine it's much the same as the commuter rail.
I've been hit in the face more than a few times with someone's backpack, while I've been sitting and they've been passing. Not fun. It's slightly less un-fun to be hit in another part of your body while you're also standing, but still not pleasant.
Could be worse
And their service
is still probably more reliable.
please
Don't give them any ideas.
Is this the result of the new commuter rail schedule?
Are there now fewer inbound trains in the morning than there were before the December schedule change?
No, apparently it was a short
No, apparently it was a short train.
https://twitter.com/fezunit/status/683984143441473536
There's actually one more Fitchburg train with the new schedule (previously there was an hour gap in North Station arrivals between 8:49 and 9:49).
Yes, the schedules are almost
Yes, the schedules are almost the same as they were. The big changes were put on hold for further review.
They didn't end up changing
They didn't end up changing the schedule.
More evidence that this
More evidence that this region can't easily add many more people with out major congestion problems.
If additional people would be
If additional people would be riding the commuter rail rather than driving, we can certainly accommodate them. With the existing track and station capacity, trains could be much more frequent, and longer as well.
Where would they live in this housing market?
That just seems very idealistic. Even so there is still a bunch of driving for things other than work.
If the area near a commuter
If the area near a commuter rail station looks like South Acton, enact public policies to encourage it to develop like Wakefield.