Draft of new Framingham/Worcester Schedule, courtesy http://dbperry.weebly.com/blog/new-draft-schedule-available
New commuter rail schedules are in the works, but already some are generating complaints from customers and lawmakers. Along the Worcester/Framingham line that goes through Newton, an early peek at the spring schedule shows many changes. While some trains from MetroWest will now run express through Newton, peak trains will originate from Framingham and may be less crowded and more reliable. Those relying on the old schedule will have some surprises, however, as there appears to be a loss of service at peak hours. Is this an upgrade or a downgrade in service for Newton?
So much for Austin Streets “Transit Oriented Development “. What a joke ! Perhaps the ASP’s should add a few more cars in their parking plan .
Fewer trains rather than more? None heading into town from Newtonville during the afternoon? And still no way for me to leave work in Boston at 4:30 and take a convenient train home.
Bah.
Perhaps, though, when we figure in the amount of time that each train will be late, the actual, functional schedule will work out for the better.
I’m not sure, but I love the graphic. Colorful, useful, and different. 🙂
Let’s get our Newton State House delegation working on it. Calling Cindy, Kay and Ruth.
This is the HUGE problem with the theory or transit oriented development. The Commonwealth cannot afford to upgrade and maintain services to communities outside of Boston. Cutbacks seem minor but when you look at the fact that the north side of Newton relies on the commuter rail, service cuts make commuting a challenge. Then if you look to the Green Line you will note reduced service, coupled with inadequate parking to handle commuters.
Newton cannot hope to assist Boston and other cities with housing unless we also house the jobs for those residents. Commuting without a car is getting more complicated!!
An aging infrastructure is just that.
Returning from a recent trip to Northern Europe where I was able to ride on a variety of cities mass transit systems, it was embarrassing to return home to climb onto the MBTA . Our transit system is truly third world and to think we should be designing / planning our village centers around such a system is premature if not hallucinatory. Fix or at least get some semblance of a commitment for improvements to the system before embarking on changes to our built environment that might be misdirected if not completely mistaken. The Austin Street project should not go ahead on the basis of “transit oriented development”. It’s time to rethink this project.
Alderman Cote, instead, why not push for better transit? ADA station problems aside, is the infrastructure on that line so bad? Worcester and Framingham appear to be making out rather well with the new schedules. My guess is they’re actively lobbying Beacon Hill and not sitting around waiting to see what the state allocates for them. The Commonwealth can’t afford not to improve regional public transit. Researchers say Massachusetts drivers can save about $2.3 billion annually by 2030 — if drivers get off the road enough to lower the annual growth rate in driving by one percentage point each year from 2015 to 2030.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/11/21/how-much-can-massachusetts-save-from-driving-less/Qt1uTpbkYM9IBJCAF53TaL/story.html
I’m not aware of reduced service on the green line, but there too, advocacy is important.
@Adam: is the infrastructure on that line so bad?
Yes – the infrastructure was bad when I was working downtown and would take the Commuter Rail to South Station and apparently continues to be bad. I signed up for alerts and continue to get them on my phone on a regular basis. In fact, I just got one now: “Framingham Line Train 523 is stopped between Southborough and Westborough. Train is currently 25-35 minutes behind schedule.”
My son and his friends, lawyers, teachers and medical professionals, used to rely on the Newtonville commuter rail to get in and out of Boston. It is delayed so often, they have all come up with other ways to commute. The bus that goes into Boston from Newtonville only stops when the driver sees someone waiting. Now that it’s dark early, the drivers have passed by while people were waiting. The last time the driver told my son, going in for second shift at a hospital, to wave his smartphone flashlight so he would see him and stop next time.
This is not mass transit (well it is mass-achusetts transit) that is dependable.
The good in this proposed schedule, from the perspective of a West Newton rider:
1. Roughly half-hourly (“clock-facing”) trains inbound during the peak of rush hour, starting at 6:45 am, meaning you don’t really need to memorize the schedule, and the consequence of missing your usual train is only about 1/2 hr.
2. Roughly hourly trains outbound after the evening peak: if you go out after work, likewise you don’t need to memorize the schedule. Note: this feature is maintained from the current schedule.
The bad:
1. No inbound trains from 8:22 to 10:16 am, or from 1:14 to 7:28 pm. Forget going in late after a doctor’s appointment, or taking the train in for an evening on the town. Forget a reverse commute unless your schedule is shifted quite late.
2. Massive decrease in peak evening rush hour outbound trains. If you miss that 5:45 train (the only convenient option if you don’t work near South Station and work normal office hours) you’re waiting another hour.
3. Earliest outbound train arrives at 9:09 am. Which is OK because you already can’t reverse-commute to Newton from South Station due to the evening schedule.
They’ve withdrawn the plan after the outcry and may even have learned that there should be a public comment period before making major schedule changes.
http://www.universalhub.com/2015/after-uproar-state-withdraws-planned-changes-north
That article only mentions north and south side services. Are they reconsidering plan for west as well?
“North” and “South” side services refer to those lines that run out of North Station and South Station, respectively. The Worcester line (on which the Newton stations sit) runs out of South Station.
Right, and although the withdrawn (postponed?) north winter schedules provoked such a strong response, I don’t think the south schedules are as far along. Changes are still likely coming.
@amysangiolo: there are many possible reasons for delays. I read there’s some multi-million dollar contract for track work going on since the T purchased the line, something to do with expansion due to extreme temperatures. Aside from that, I have to wonder if the infrastructure is really to blame or if it’s operations or old equipment. Some problems are more easily fixed than others.
As someone who LOVES Newtonville for its transit options, let me briefly weigh in:
1) Commuter rail has issues. Major issues. Newtonville Station is decrepit, and needs handicap access. The stairs are dangerous in the winter. And while the delays are annoying, I look to my right most days during rush hour and watch the traffic slowly crawling on the Pike. If you are heading to the city during rush hour, the delays are annoying, but the trains run often enough that it is at most a 20 minute delay. And they now have signs to tell you how long. I’d love a longer enclosed vestibule to stay in during the winter, but it is still faster than the green line and the Pike. And most days the delays are less than 10 minutes. Coming from South Station, the delays are also limited, and there is now a CVS and a few restaurants. A pleasant place to waste 30 minutes. Now before I get yelled at, if I had to come home for day care or school or kids, the delays would be incredibly frustrating. But if I was driving I’d need to leave plenty of extra time for traffic. So I take the delays as they come most days.
2) The Express Bus options in NEwtonville are pretty good and they run pretty late. If you work near downtown crossing, the 555 is usually on time. Now during rush hour you are sitting in traffic, but for folks on delayed schedules or with flexibility, not having a mid morning train just means I’m taking the bus. And the bus is cheaper!
3) Washington Street rarely has major traffic. The Pike is horrible lately due to the construction project but it used to be pretty good after exit 17. On less traffic times I can make it to downtown from my house in 15 minutes. 20 minutes in some traffic, 40 minutes more rush hours. That is still pretty awesome.
4) the Green line is 2 miles away. I walk it sometimes, sometimes I get picked up or take a cab.
Folks need to understand how bad traffic and transportation are in MA. We are living with Commuter Rail, Express Bus, Green Line, and the Mass Pike. Other communities would kill for those options. Yes, all of those options are not maximized. Yes I’d LOVE LOVE LOVE the indigo line, and I’ll be advocating for that for the next 20 years.
But one of the main reasons I moved to my house and to Newton was the transportation options. Having a 20 minute commute most nights if I drive, or a 30 minute commute if I take the commuter rail gives me more time with my family. My commute to Brookline was longer by 10 minutes (the green line C and B branches are not so great). Unless you are living downtown and have no commute, Newton is one of your best options.
Thanks for such a comprehensive post fig.
Greg:
No problem. One other item to add. The D line of the Green line is by far the best line for a daily commute. Again, not perfect, but anyone living near the B or C lines can attest, it can take a full hour to go from downtown to the end of those lines. That is a brutal commute if you are standing. Lots of stops and starts.
Also, I really do think the Indigo line will happen. It makes too much sense not to. But a 15 year time horizon is realistic for it, based on the issues with the MBTA.
If the Indigo Line is 15 years away from some semblance of true functionality should we be building Transit Oriented Development ( Austin Street ), today for some future promise. Historically the transportation preceded village development. Isn’t this a bit of crystal ball prognostication?
As Fig carefully outlined, Newton is in a far better position in regards to public transit than many surrounding communities. So yes, we should be building Austin Street now.
Bill: yes.
The best option is to live in Newton and work in MetroWest. I commuted downtown for 7 yrs — each year it got worse and costs went up. It’s something like $179 a month plus parking to go from Newtonville. Last winter was like living in a combination of the third world and the last cars in Snowpiercer.
In freezing cold weather, it’s actually a better wait on the Green Line. There are heated enclosures in all Newton stops and tracking that tells you when the next train will arrive. (The commuter rail’s info was never accurate when I was taking it last winter) vs. standing on the platform in Newtonville (once you’ve safely made it down those scary and visually shaky stairs)
The express bus offers options that folks in Wellesley don’t have — but they also have more frequent trains. I’d rather have more frequent trains and a staircase that doesn’t seem permanently temporary.
Our transportation infrastructure is really crappy. I’d much rather have our governor focus on that vs. trying to regulate prescription pain killers (over the judgment of physicians) or make things tough for Syrian refugees. He did a really good job speaking up about the MBTA issues last winter, but I don’t really think that he has done anything about it. Ths is gonna take public investment that results in it being so much cheaper and easier to take public transportation vs. drive. The Eastbound traffic on the Pike every day says that we haven’t achieved that.
I recently heard that there was a survey that said the state of public transportation is really important to how young professionals look at staying in Boston. I’d say that we aren’t looking good.
And isn’t there a plan to open another train station on the Framingham line in Brighton to service commercial development around New Balance?
Greg, you’re right. Austin St. offers a crappy view of the Pike and Star Market and a hellacious public transportation commute. So, hopefully the market will prevail and nobody will pay 3 grand for that lifestyle. But who’s left holding the bag if within a few years it’s very clear that the market won’t?