The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has a new toy train to play with. The new state of the art train is a more efficient diesel-electric locomotive that debuted today with a ride from Worcester’s Union Station to Boston’s South Station. The MBTA says the state saves $78,000 per train each year. "These new locomotives are both more fuel efficient and more reliable, improving on-time performance for the benefit of our customers," said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. With MBTA on-time arrivals at their lowest levels in years, General Manager Richard Davey said new technology could help counter poor performance from extreme winter weather. The state DOT bought 20 new diesel-electric trains in 2010.
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Results tagged “southstation”
MBTA employees assisted a robbery victim and a Malden native was killed in action in Afghanistan last week. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
-- A 23-year old female from Boston was charged with disturbing the peace after being refused a refund at the 28th Annual Scooper Bowl on Thursday. [BPDNews.com]
-- A 19-year-old from New York faces weapons charges after carrying a loaded gun into South Station Wednesday morning. Drake Scott was sleeping on a station bench as an MBTA transit police officer approached him and woke him. The suspect admitted to having smoked marijuana despite not having any on his person. Police searched his backpack and found a loaded .380-caliber handgun inside of a red bandana. He pleaded not guilty on Thursday and is being held on $25,000 cash bail. [Globe, Herald]
Those of us working in Cambridge have long had the luxury of standing in a seemingly endless line while young people with iPhones take our orders for beet soup and vegetarian BBQ sandwiches. Boston workers, welcome to our world. Clover Food Labs, the darling of Kendall Square, opens its second food truck today in Boston. The truck will be at Dewey Square, which is what the maps call that zone outside of South Station where dudes used to give you free newspapers after 5. [Via Grub Street Boston]
- A Delta plane bound for Ohio returned to the gate at Logan Airport on Friday after a pilot smelled smoke. All 28 passengers were evacuated, and no injuries were reported. [WCVB]
- Massachusetts wants to buy the 16-acre US Postal Service mail-sorting facility near South Station in order to expand commuter rail service for the region. The plan would develop 11 tracks for commuter rail and Amtrak networks. [Boston Globe]
- Could the distribution of federal education dollars depend on local teachers unions? [Boston Herald]
The Silver Line now runs from Dudley Station to South Station. The bus is called Silver Line 4, SL4 on the maps, and it went into operation today. Bostonist joined a throng of real reporters and state and local politicians on the first SL4 to South Station, which left Dudley a little after 1 p.m. and arrived a little after 1:30 p.m.
So, the T saw two fires last night, just as rush hour was winding down. Bad wiring at South Station closed the Red Line, and, minutes later, a commuter threw trash on the third rail at Chinatown, starting a fire that closed the Orange Line and filled both Chinatown and Downtown Crossing stations with smoke. (Don't do that again, commuter!) Sections of both lines were closed for hours as the T put out the fires and repaired the damage. Shuttle buses were hard to find or, in some cases, completely non-existent. It was a frustrating night.
According to the Boston Globe, the Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, and South Station MBTA stations have been evacuated due to an electrical fire. Red and Orange Line service has been stopped in the area. No injuries have been reported. Substitute shuttle bus service is being provided.
WBZ, Boston.com and Universal Hub report a commuter rail train crash in South Station. The train involved was a Worcester Line commuter rail train, and at least 12 have been injured.
-- A Malden teen was shot during a drive-by in Somerville Friday night. His gunshot wound was minor, and he was released from the hospital a short time after being admitted. No arrests have been made in the case. [Somerville Journal]
-- A couple of drunks stabbed and robbed a Harvard student this weekend, authorities say. The two men, 24 and 26, accosted two victims on their way home from a party at Harvard's Eliot House early Sunday morning. After swiping the victims' wallets, the suspects stabbed one man in the chest, according to police. He survived the attack. [Cambridge Chronicle]
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.
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.
For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops.
For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. The Red Line offers so much variety that you just might get dizzy--or drunk: Central Square: 40s, vodka, burnt rubber, more 40s,...
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...
With Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaching, the time has come to focus on travel options. Vamoose buses now offer WiFi access and guaranteed seating, but perhaps it is time to take another look at its oft-maligned competitor, the Fung Wah Bus. Established ten years ago, Fung Wah, which is Cantonese for “magnificent wind,” has gained notoriety for buses slamming into guard rails and getting stuck in a toll booth. But even with these occasional...
Two of the big car-sharing companies are joining forces. Zipcar, which is based in Cambridge, and its competitor, Flexcar announced today that they will merge. Mark D. Norman, who is listed as the current CEO for Flexcar, will become Zipcar's new president and Chief Operating Officer. Scott Griffith will remain as Zipcar's CEO. In a conference call yesterday, Norman and Griffith talked up their companies' new WonderTwin powers. As is the case in any press...
Welcome to "Series of Tubes," in which Bostonist rounds up developments among local bloggers over the past week. If you want to make sure your blog is on Bostonist's radar, please e-mail caroline@bostonist.com or leave a link in the Contribute section. --David at Blue Mass Group describes the horrible conditions animals must endure at the Wonderland and Raynham dog tracks. His post and the facts described within are more than enough to make a person...
Just over a year ago (in June 2006) the ACLU threatened the MBTA with a lawsuit, alleging that their unwritten policy against amateur photography on the nation's oldest subway system was unconstitutional. Specifically the ACLU asserted that it was a violation of the first amendment rights (free speech specifically, though a fair argument could be made for freedom of press, we challenge you to give us a legitimate application for freedom of religion.) The...
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...
Update: Good Blotter news! Thank you, tipsters, for spreading the word. Police found Starsha Tupper through bank records, and she is safe, according to the Gloucester Times. --If you're a robber, and you're looking for the big bucks, where are you gonna go? Isn't it obvious? The Yankee Candle store! Some robber dressed all in black held up the Yankee Candle at Quincy Market yesterday afternoon. Boy, he must be a thug – he wears...
Zipcar and MBTA have formed an alliance, and Zipcars have been positioned at various MBTA stations to make life even easier for occasional drivers. A total of 24 Zipcars will be at the following T stops: Red line - Alewife, JFK/UMass, Savin Hill, North Quincy, Quincy Center, Quincy Adams Green line - Riverside, Woodland, Brookline Village Orange line - Forest Hills, Malden, Oak Grove Blue line - Left all alone at this time. Show the...
Bostonist heard the call while passing through South Station: "Girl Scout Cookies! Girl Scout Cookies!" A line stretched toward the stations' back doors as pre-teen girls and their moms raked in the cash. If you aren't swinging through South Station, there's a Girl Scout Cookie finder. The Patriots' Trail Council also provides a list of booth sales. Cookie sales run December through April, but you can find a booth near you. And, no, you cannot...
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...
Massachusetts political junkies didn't have an excuse to stay up late because the governor's race was over before it began. Democratic candidate Deval Patrick was projected as governor before the polling places closed. It was hardly a race. Patrick pummeled, pounded, and then mopped the floor with the competition. Anyone hoping for a little political drama was quickly disappointed, and they had to look elsewhere for suspense. The big losers were Republican gubernatorial candidate...
Governor Romney, only weeks away from being a lame duck, announced that the MBTA would resume random bag searches of transit system passengers. We thought at first they'd be riffling through our bags trying to find any tokens we still have in our possession, though really they are indeed looking for bombs. The announced plan will deploy portable machines outside of stations that will test baggage for bomb residue, and, with probable cause, police can...