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Commuter-rail train hits man in Dorchester
By adamg on Wed, 04/05/2017 - 10:23pm
UPDATE, Thursday, 10 a.m.
Greenbush train 091 (which left South Station around 8:25 p.m.), hit somebody on the tracks just south of Savin Hill.
Transit Police report that the "trespasser," a 24-year-old man, was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.
At 10:17 p.m., M.McG reported she and other passengers were still on the train, still not moving.
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Comments
Trespassing on 'T' tracks
We can all agree that the tracks are a very dangerous place to be. I'm sure that the investigators from the Homicide squad of the State Police are more concerned with getting the investigation right so they have to shut down service. They also have to work with Boston Fire to remove the poor soul that was struck by the train so the investigation could take some time.
My only complaint would be with the MBTA who outfits their police force with fancy suv's and motorcycles to enforce traffic rules on the highways instead of concentrating their officers on subway system. Kudos to the transit officers who understand their job description the other day when they chased and caught those nitwits running down the tracks downtown during rush hour.
Why they need cruisers and motorcycles
The T cops aren't just responsible for trains. They also cover all the buses the T runs. How would you propose they get to, say, a bus crash in Norwood? For that matter, how should they get to a subway stop if the service is stopped for some reason?
Rare (partial) disagreement with you, Adam
I understand T cops aren't just responsible for trains, but, I think, sometimes, they need to be reminded that they are at all. I might take Amtrak twice a year compared to dozens of times I'm on the subway and I'll see more police presence actually on the trains in those 1-2 trips than I'll see on the subways all year. Sure, they'll set up random bag inspections from time to time, but actually on the trains--never; and very rarely on platform level.
And as far as buses, (not-so-)sleepy Amherst has detail officers on select late-night buses (UMass Transit branch of the PVTA) on Friday and Saturday night, just riding around for a few hours to keep the peace amongst the (often rather inebriated) late-night ridership. It's great that the new MBTA buses have extra driver shielding, but wouldn't certain routes also benefit from a uniformed officer presence?
I said partial disagreement so I agree that some officers should definitely be making the rounds in cars/SUVs and are necessary for getting quickly to far-off places, but I question if that's really the bulk of the day-to-day civil/criminal issues that the T has to deal with. I mean, I'm sorry, but if there's an assault or mugging going down on the subway I'd rather a strong police presence there versus (to use your example) a bus crash in Norwood that Norwood Police and local EMTs can handle and maybe send one Transit Police car to file a report.
Not sure we're disagreeing
If there's a minor bus crash in Norwood, the T police dispatcher will send one car, not an entire squad of cops on motorcycles - and they will rely on the Norwood PD to get there first and coordinate any required emergency response (actually, even in the case of more serious incidents, the local cops will handle things until the T cops arrive).
Fight at Downtown Crossing or Park Street? Guy gets hit by a train in Dorchester? Yeah, they're going to send a ton of cops.
Whether the T cops could be deployed better is a good question. Should the 3 or 4 T cops who stand in a knot at the Forest Hills information booth around 2:30 p.m. be riding trains? Maybe (but what happens when some of the high-school kids who pass through that station then get into a fight?).
But let's also keep in mind how geographically huge the T system is - Fitchburg is like 50 miles from Boston, but if a train hits somebody out there (or derails or whatever), Transit Police have to dispatch somebody out there.
I don't mind the police cars...
But every ranking official at the T has a personal car provided to them by the T, that is fairly ridiculous, and there are hundreds of parking spaces spread across the city that are specially reserved for them as well.
Good point Adam
Although sending a motorcycle from Boston to Norwood to handle a bus accident doesn't seem like a good use of resources. A better idea would be to have the Mass State Police absorb the Transit Police this would allow better coverage on the rails and bus routes.
It was actually proposed at one point
to merge the Transit Police into the State Police. As I recall, the State Police flatly rejected the idea.
As opposed to Boston ...
Where State Police just refuse to give up jurisdiction on what used to be parking lots and piers but are now residences and office buildings in the Seaport area.
The Globe is finally catching on..
c'mon, Adam,
Where's your take on the "news" about the Keolis meltdown recently discovered by the Globe?
UHub has been oddly silent on this!
Thanks
Thanks for the nudge
Was going to post something today, based on all the complaints I saw this morning (plus, yes, the Globe story from, um, yesterday?).