Nomar and NKOTB are among the celebrities that are owed money by the Commonwealth. [Boston Globe] The state official who was caught on video while stealing from copying machines has resigned to "spend more time with his family." [Cambridge Chronicle] Tonight is the first of 11 public meetings where citizens can comment on the MBTA's newly proposed service changes, which mainly affect bus and ferry lines. [Boston Herald] A debate between John Kerry and......

In a revolutionary development for the MBTA, the organization has decided that it might be nice to tell commuters when trains are arriving. As we all know, some stations already have announcements like "The next Red Line train to Alewife is now approaching," but those announcements usually occur at about the time you can either see or feel the train on its way. It would be nice to know whether your wait will be 5......

Photo by Secretly Ironic Storms are kicking New Hampshire's butt. [Globe] Break out the boat, it's flooding time. [WBZTV] Commuter rail users may want to check for weather-related delays. [MBTA] You, too, can be an Olympian: in queuing. [Guardian] Ford lost nearly $9 billion last quarter. Maybe they oughta make their cars run on trash. [NYT] Beth Israel doctor suspended for "impairment" during surgery. [Herald] Cancer expert says cell phones may give you cancer.......

Cliff Francoeur, who lived near the scene of yesterday's commuter rail accident in Canton, took pictures on the scene and added them to the Bostonist photo stream. They show the emergency response and the passengers trying to grasp what happened. He writes, "People seemed to really come together during this, even the homeowners who’s lawn was being destroyed by the rescue effort were out offering for people to use their bathroom and to stay there......

Update: The number of injuries has shot up to 150, according to WBZ. A commuter rail train hit a boxcar in Canton at about 5:25 this afternoon. All commuter havoc aside, this railroad accident is frightening. The Herald reports that 50 people were injured, "at least two of them seriously." WCVB states that 10 people were taken to hospitals. The crash caused broken noses, and one passenger described flames and smoke. No one is sure......

Radio Boston had MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas on the air on Friday, and he took questions from callers about the T. He likely realized that he was about to put his feet to the fire, as Radio Boston began the show with a few quotations, such as "I hate the people on the T, I hate the service, I hate everything about the T." When Grabauskas had his turn at the mike, he repainted......

Noah Bierman at the Globe engages in a fun little exercise, comparing commuter-rail schedules from the early 1900s to the ones of today. And he discovers that the trains were faster back then. Here's some of his fine lines about the good old commuter-rail days: Everything that depends on technology moves exponentially faster, it seems. Everything, that is, except commuter rail in Massachusetts. A pair of yellowed train schedules from the first part of the......

--Old hotness: Late trains on the Worcester-Framingham line. New hotness: Changing the timetables so they don't look late anymore. [WBZ] --House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has offered up a budget with a sizable tax cut for corporations that would drop the percentage from 9.5 percent to 7 percent. Let's see--the state is in a budget crunch, so he wants a tax cut? The budget also didn't include casino licenses, which sets up another Battle Royale......

--Keith Ryan, the son of Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, was found dead in Pakistan. He was an attache for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Reports indicate he had shot himself. An investigation will follow. [Boston Globe] --Commuters aren't exactly flocking to use the new Greenbush line. [Boston Globe] --Speaking of the MBTA, financial shenanigans led to $55 million in borrowing costs, according to the state auditor. [Boston Globe] --Comments for news......

--Yet another explanation for why you should have a sinking feeling in your tummy any time you go over a bridge in Massachusetts. [Boston Herald] --Another storm is expected for Friday, but it's not prompting the mass freakout that the last storm did. [WBZ] --The city of Boston will build a statue that honors Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King. [AP/Boston Globe] --The Committee on Children, Families, and Individuals With......

If Amtrak workers follow through on threats to strike nationwide on January 30, Boston commuters of all stripes will find themselves deeply embedded in a giant snowball of crappiness. If you take the Commuter Rail, you'd better come up with a Plan B -- fast. During an Amtrak strike, South Station and the Providence/Stoughton line would basically shut down until it's all settled. Not so smug, everyone else, because you're screwed, too. If South......

What would Massachusetts be without some sort of infrastructure improvement? Today, the MBTA announced that it will overhaul the Columbia Road, Quincy Street, and Massachusetts Avenue commuter rail bridges. Here's the details from the release on how the construction might affect you--it's basically a lot of switching from inbound to outbound platforms: Work requires a temporary one track operation at Uphams Corner station which will continue throughout the entire project slated for completion Summer......

Update: The Ted Williams tunnel has reopened. [WCVB] --The railroad bridge in Beverly, which got hit by a barge this morning, shutting down the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line, is now fixed. So they loaded up the truck and moved to Bev-er-lee!! [Boston Globe] --BUT, even though the commuter rail is better, the Ted Williams Tunnel just got shut down by a crash. WCVB says a cement truck hit a sign. [WCVB] --While every other college......

A barge busted up a bridge so there is no MBTA Commuter Rail service between Salem and Beverly. Newburyport/Rockport line that is. Image courtesy vintageplayhouse.com......

The MBTA has renewed its contract with the MBCR. Statistics confirmed what everyone knew—that commuter rail in Massachusetts needs a major overhaul, yet the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Company will get three more years to do whatever it is that they do. So, when you're stuck on the train or waiting for the train, you know who to thank. For some background, Bostonist Noah Bierman's Globe piece on the history between the MBTA and MBCR.......

Complaints about the MBTA are typical, but the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company [MBCR] is about to feel the heat of the spotlight. Noah Bierman at the Globe released some depressing news for regular rail riders--compared to other similar commuter rail services, the MBCR is the least reliable. It gets worse: "And since January, the system has posted its worst on-time performance yet: 84.5 percent of the commuter trains have been on time, compared......

If the amount of T alerts entering our inbox is any indication, the new T Alert system appears to be working just fine. In fact, it proves what we already knew--that the green line is a sluggish nightmare thanks to disabled trains. An alert appears when a 15-20 delay happens. But one commenter, boston_sean, left us a note that the T Alert system needs a little work when it comes to the commuter rail: I......

It's official. You can now put Charlie in your cell phone or on your computer. The T has a big, fat announcement on its home page, featuring an image of a gleeful woman. She's happy now, but she hasn't seen the charges that will result from all her text messages. Anyway, Bostonist has signed up. You can choose the "mode of service" you prefer: commuter rail, subway, bus, silver line, and boat. (Thank goodness......

-- MBTA and MBCR in a war of the quips over why the commuter rail sucks. Massachussetts Liberal says "Grabauskas must go!" (via Universal Hub) -- Senator Steve Baddour wants to milk some sacred cows. It sounds dirty, but he just wants to get rid of the police details. -- ACLU reminds Boston residents targeted by the BPD Safe Homes project about a crazy little thing called rights. -- Get ready to learn about Downtown......

Do you have any spare toiletries? Books? Magazines? Anything to relieve the irritation and boredom that the troops in Iraq feel when they're not getting shot at? Bring 'em down to South Station today, then. A coalition of people, including the Commuter Rail Union, the Firefighters Union, the Teamsters, MBCR, and the MBTA are at the station. They have large bins decorated with American flags both inside and outside the station. The items must be......

Machetes, hatchets, hedge clippers. People from Massachusetts are nothing if not creative when it comes to assault charges. In Framingham on Friday, a woman went for her hedge clippers when she got pissed off at her sister. Apparently the sister said Melissa Pierce looked "messed up," and Pierce didn't take it too well. Neighbors managed to separate Pierce from the hedge clippers before anyone got hurt. --That's not the only sibling brawl in the area.......

The Celtics earned a little Valentine's Day present by finally snapping their 18-game losing streak against the Bucks last night. It didn't look pretty at first. The Bucks, who were also laboring under a rotten record, were pounding on the Celtics and closed the first quarter 32-19. And then Paul Pierce and Gerald Green, who is gearing up for the All-Star Slam-Dunk competition Saturday night, caught fire. We remembered why we love Paul Pierce so......

In case you're passing through South Station Friday afternoon or evening and you wonder what's with all the people and probable increased police presence, it's just the MBTA trying to bribe you with a free Jewel concert. OK, we're kidding. But Jewel will be playing for free tonight at South Station at 7:00 pm. And it's Verizon Yellow Pages trying to bribe you, not the MBTA. Beforehand, she'll ride the Green Line, which will be......

Today most of the MBTA system will be running on a Saturday schedule anticipating lighter rider-ship on the Martin Luther King holiday. Of course there's to "advisory" posted on the website, it's just a press release. The Saturday Schedule might be better for a T rider looking to get to Jamaica Plain than, say, a Friday Schedule. A tip to the blog Charlie on the MBTA indicates that the T’s Trip Planning website is having......

Just two days after the fatal commuter rail accident in Woburn, a Green D Line trolley ran into a man on the tracks. WHDH is reporting that Brookline police are looking into the incident which happened in a tunnel. The trolley reportedly struck a homeless man who was walking along the tracks. He is expected to be ok, though no specifics were given on his condition. We heard few complaints from people that there was......

A horrible incident occurred on the commuter rail system yesterday afternoon when a train slammed into a work crew replacing railroad ties in Woburn. According to the Globe report, two workers died, and one was critically injured. The crew and the train were on a collision course: MBTA officials said investigators are trying to determine why a track switching device was improperly positioned. The switch should have directed the commuter train on a track......

There's been a lot of press for some of the changes that have come to the restructured fares and associated increases on the MBTA system. It costs more for the buses and the trains on per ride fares, more if you use cash or a CharlieTicket. The Green Line above ground outbound rides are no longer free. The inner and outer express buses cost more, as does the commuter rail. Of course the MBTA is......

While you were waiting in line for the CharlieGate to open the MBTA has been hard at work. Fixing escalators? No. Running busses on schedule? Of course not. Giving their website a complete overhaul? You got it. This morning browsing over to the MBTA.com website brings up a whole new page. Compared to the last 2002-esque design of the T website of yesterday the new implementation is in the flashy web 2.0 vein. For......

The MBTA Police Union is seeking a merger with the Massachusetts State Police. Back in 1992 the state dissolved the Massachusetts Registry Police (enforcing registration and inspection) as a separate entity. Registry Police duties were included in the responsibilities of the State Troopers. We don't have immediate access to data supporting whether or not the initiative was effective – but anecdotally we definitely see more State Police cars than we ever did Registry Police. Today's......

Before we start we need to say two things: don't try this yourself and it's good that he's doing alright. Fifteen year old Jake Todaro jumped off a moving commuter train yesterday outside of Natick when the train began the express route to Back Bay Station. To the experienced rider of the MBTA Commuter Rail the system may seem perfectly navigable and phrases like "running express" may be synonymous with running without any stops –......