For the past six months or so the Framingham / Worcester line of the MBTA commuter rail has been running off schedule. In my experience, at least every other day the train will be between 5 to 20 minutes late. For someone who just worked a full day and is eager to get home, 10 minutes can seem like a lifetime. Not to mention Back Bay station is the most miserable place to spend any of your free time – dark, dingy, damp, and dirty!
Over the past month, things have been on the up-and-up and the delays were fewer and farther between. Just this week the MBTA revised the Framingham / Worcester schedule. They claim that recent delays have been a result of an increase in ridership and, therefore, an increase in the amount of time spent at each stop loading and unloading passengers. Seeing the MBTA taking action gave me hope. I thought to myself ‘this is a good sign.’
I should have known better.
This evening, as I waited in Back Bay station filled with hope, I could almost hear the announcement before it was made — “Framingham local boarding next on track 5.” Instead, the intercom kicked in and I was disappointed. The announcer proclaimed “For those waiting for the Framingham local, this train has been slightly delayed.”
It wasn’t too bad of a wait (maybe 5 minutes), but I hope its not a sign of things to come.
I also commute on the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line. The new schedule does not have me optimistic about any improvements. You would think they could run the trains “on time” during the first week of the new schedule. Nope – 1 1/2 days into the new schedule, the trains are delayed. Let’s hope this is a hiccup and not a permanent situation.
Good luck with your home search. ZipRealty (www.ziprealty.com) is also a good site to use because (1) it publishes address information for each home and (2) usually pulls in the photos available on MLS listings.
Best,
Train Rider
Thanks for your comment Train Rider. I stumbled across your blog when I was pulling together this post. The train WAS on time today
Thanks also for the suggestion. I think I’ve seen ZipRealty.com before, but I’ll be sure to check it out! – EBuzz