Hot trains leave some riders steaming
An MBTA commuter rail rider wrote this week to say that even on the few cool mornings last week, it was so hot aboard some trains that passengers felt faint. And it's only June.
``By afternoon these trains are literally hell on wheels," wrote Carol of Ipswich, who switched to the Haverhill line in the middle of last week and found more of the same.
``It is early in the summer, and if the heat continues, some pregnant woman or senior citizen is going to collapse," she wrote. ``Has the T made any mention of resolving this dangerous situation?"
We received complaints about hot cars from riders on the Framingham-Worcester line as well. The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, which contracts with the T to run its commuter lines, received 45 complaints last week, not a lot considering the 77,000 daily passenger trips on commuter rail north, south, and west of the city. But, still.
Historically, there's no easy answer when it comes to this very basic question of comfort and commuting, which pops up annually and -- like parking on Storrow Drive for Hatch Shell events or the non working street lights on Interstate-93 north -- seems unresolvable.
The current problem is the average age of the commuter rail fleet (17 years) and the number of coaches out of service, which as of Friday was a whopping 66, or 16 percent of the 410 commuter rail coaches in the T system.
The T requires 333 coaches to meet peak service systemwide.
Twenty-three of the out-of-service coaches are in repair for faulty air conditioning, according to Scott Farmalant, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad.
The high out-of-service rate has resulted in not just hot cars, but crowding.
Riders on the Lowell line have recently complained about the use of four-car trains when there should be at least six cars.
And to top it off, maintenance workers at the Boston Engine Terminal in Somerville, where commuter rail cars are stored and maintained, are said to be refusing weekend work because of a recent cut to overtime for some union members.
We're told they were working this weekend, and next.
In the end, there were no easy solutions. Farmalant mentioned the $23.5 million coach rehabilitation program, which will fix 270 coaches. But the turnover is oh, so slow. The first coach went into the program last September and was finished this month. Farmalant said the pace of repairs should pick up, so that by September, eight coaches will be repaired each month.
Thirty-eight of the 66 out-of-service coaches are either getting major overhauls, or are in for routine 180-day inspections and maintenance, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. ``The MBTA board and the general manager recognize there is an issue," he said, and thus approved the $23 million coach overhaul.
Blue Line passengers who normally transfer at State Street to the Orange Line must now get a transfer from Aquarium station personnel for free entry at State Street.
Blue Line service is available at Aquarium Station at two entrances -- State Street or Atlantic Avenue.
This is the first station that has had to close since AFC installation began. Why?
State Street, located under a historic landmark, the Old State House, ``presents the AFC project team with some unique issues," MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo wrote in an e-mail.
Because of the station's configuration, he said, it wasn't feasible to follow the same installation procedures used at other stations, where the turnstile areas have more room.
Plus, there's a scheduled Blue Line diversion because of unrelated construction for the upcoming weekend, he said.
Peter of Marblehead raised a related concern after finding out State Street commuters are being asked to use the nearby Aquarium station during the closure.
``I got off there this morning, and the escalator and the elevator from the ticket level to the street are both out of order," he wrote. ``The escalator is in pieces and being worked on. As you know Aquarium is a long way below ground. Can you find out if they are planning to have these back in service by next week or suggest they either postpone the work or suggest everyone use Government Center instead?"
We did. The elevator was back in service on Friday. But the escalator, oh that escalator, will be out the week, said Pesaturo, who apologized for the inconvenience.
Aquarium's escalator and elevator between the platform and mezzanine are operational, he said.
But around the State Street entrance to Aquarium, where the escalator is on the fritz, expect some messy stair climbs.
We thought we knew it all, but apparently we did not.
After we published, Charles of Cambridge wrote that he had two books on his shelves that mentioned the sign.
It was installed in April 1969 as one of several ``experimental components of information systems for people in cars [which] were installed in Dewey Square and Park Square, two complicated and confusing traffic areas in downtown Boston."
A variety of signs were installed -- directional signs, street signs, and regulatory signs such as ``One Way" and ``Do Not Enter," which Charles said were novel at the time, because in 1969 the United States had yet to adopt the European system of pictorial signs.
The signs were left up indefinitely after the experiment, but with years of change in the street layout of Park and Dewey squares, most are now gone, especially after the Big Dig.
``The recommended in-city guidance system is color-coded blue, which distinguishes it from the green highway system but also relates to the existing highway practice of coding local service signs blue," Charles wrote.
The same experiment also included a 33-day demonstration of an unstaffed information center for pedestrians, consisting of ``eight brightly colored information kiosks topped by 12-foot translucent plastic balloons" in Park Square.
The tunnel under Leverett Circle from I-93's Exit 26 to Storrow Drive will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday. Access from Exit 26 to Nashua St./Leverett Circle will remain open.
The Sumner Tunnel onramp to Government Center and Haymarket will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday.
Exit 26 (Storrow Drive) off I-93 north will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and 1 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Sumner Tunnel onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday.
The Haymarket onramp to I-93 north will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday.
Two lanes of I-93 north through downtown Boston will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday.
The Essex Street onramp to I-93 north will close 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. tomorrow through Friday and 11 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The underpass from Storrow Drive east, and the ramp from Leverett Circle to I-93 north and the Tobin Bridge will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Exit 23 (Government Center) off I-93 north will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday.
The ramp at Exit 24 (I-93/South Station) off the Pike east will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday.
One lane of the Pike east between I-93 and the Ted Williams Tunnel will close 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow through Thursday and 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday.
One lane of the Pike east around Logan Airport will close 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow through Thursday.
Drivers on the Pike east around I-93 will be subject to intermittent, brief delays of not more than 10 minutes from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday.
The onramp from Congress Street to I-93 in South Boston, and Exit 24 (I-93) off the westbound Pike will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday.
One lane of the westbound Pike around Logan International Airport will close 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow through Thursday.
The Atlantic Avenue onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.
The Haymarket onramp to I-93 south and the Callahan Tunnel will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Exit 20B (Pike west/Albany Street) off I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday.
Two lanes of I-93 south approaching and through downtown Boston will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday.
Exit 20A (South Station) off I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.
The Storrow Drive onramp to I-93 south will close 11 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.
The exit ramp from I-93 south to Government Center and the Callahan Tunnel (Exits 24 A&B) will close 11 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.
The Congress Street onramp to I-93 south and the Pike west will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday.
Route 1A north near Logan Airport will close 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow through Thursday.
One lane of the Pike west between the Ted Williams Tunnel and I-93 will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Saturday.
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