People trying to get to Boston from Newburyport can only sit and stew and snort

Baker rewarded Keolis with more money because they hired a former staff member of his, he doesnt care about T riders, thats not the republican base. Overruns on the longfellow and anderson bridges didnt result in work stoppage like the green line to Somerville. He just wants to suck as much money away from the T, have it get worse and worse and claim more cuts and fare increases are the cure.

"In February 2015, newly elected Governor Charlie Baker took sharp aim at Keolis Commuter Services, blasting the train operator for sputtering through epic snows that stranded thousands.
Keolis, in turn, followed the Beacon Hill playbook: The company put a Baker guy on its payroll.
By July, Keolis had quietly hired Keyser Public Strategies, the communications firm founded by consultant Will Keyser, an architect of Baker’s winning campaign who remains a confidant of the governor."
A year later, the Baker administration agreed to pay Keolis — already the recipient of the largest operating contract in state history — an additional $66 million to add trains and maintain equipment, with the hope of improving performance.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/07/30/government-left-shaky-ethic...

I'm always amazed when I see the crowds of people who ride the commuter rail, especially on weekends. I'd think the infrequent schedule, high fares, and frequent breakdowns would drive people away.

Here's how to solve all three problems: Buy off-the-shelf European DMUs. They're way more reliable, cheaper to operate, and scale down to a single car. Federal regulators have shown that they're open to waiving the regulations which formerly excluded them.