MBTA Commuter Rail (Operations, Keolis, & Short Term)

I hope the Franklin Line eventually gets double-tracked between Forge Park and Franklin/Dean. An inbound train (#762) broke down today during the PM rush hour between Franklin and Forge Park, causing delays for the next outbound train, which had to wait ~35 min until the track was cleared. It might not be a frequent occurrence, but it's frustrating when this happens, and it will be a bigger issue if the line is ever extended further to Milford (I know, not likely to happen anytime soon).
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themissinglink said:
I hope the Franklin Line eventually gets double-tracked between Forge Park and Franklin/Dean. An inbound train (#762) broke down today during the PM rush hour between Franklin and Forge Park, causing delays for the next outbound train, which had to wait ~35 min until the track was cleared. It might not be a frequent occurrence, but it's frustrating when this happens, and it will be a bigger issue if the line is ever extended further to Milford (I know, not likely to happen anytime soon).
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Not likely to ever happen. The Milford Branch was historically only single-track, so the ROW pinches in spots especially around the wetlands in between Franklin Jct. and Forge Park where it runs on an embankment. The 495 overpasses outside Forge Park are also only single-track width. A Milford extension would come with passing sidings for juggling :30 service to the extension stops, but once the mainline is doubled up including Franklin Station there will probably never need be a need to double-up F/D-FP. I mean, breakdowns can mess up double-track too when there's a large distance between crossovers hobbling overall redundancy, so that alone isn't going to be a reason to do it. If the equipment has too-shit reliability, get or maintain better equipment like EMU's.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Not likely to ever happen. The Milford Branch was historically only single-track, so the ROW pinches in spots especially around the wetlands in between Franklin Jct. and Forge Park where it runs on an embankment. The 495 overpasses outside Forge Park are also only single-track width. A Milford extension would come with passing sidings for juggling :30 service to the extension stops, but once the mainline is doubled up including Franklin Station there will probably never need be a need to double-up F/D-FP. I mean, breakdowns can mess up double-track too when there's a large distance between crossovers hobbling overall redundancy, so that alone isn't going to be a reason to do it. If the equipment has too-shit reliability, get or maintain better equipment like EMU's.
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There's definitely space for a second track at Forge Park though, which would at least solve the issue where only one train can turn at Forge Park at a time. Obviously if a train breaks down on a singled section, that's still an issue though and the solution there is to have more reliable trains.
 
Riverside said:
New Commuter Rail Regional Rail passenger counts just dropped: https://www.massdottracker.com/latest-posts/fall-2024-regional-rail-counts

I haven't been able to dig into the data yet, but the fact that Lansdowne and Boston Landing (!) are both comfortably in the top 10 -- and that Ruggles is now closer to half of Back Bay's ridership (as opposed to a third in 2018) -- seems very notable.

View attachment 61265

EDIT: And note the use of "Regional Rail" branding terminology in the report.
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I never knew these numbers — these seem terrible. Is this to say that only a little over 30,000 people get off or on at North and South Station combined? That seems like a minuscule number for the geographic extent of the operations…
 
FK4 said:
I never knew these numbers — these seem terrible. Is this to say that only a little over 30,000 people get off or on at North and South Station combined? That seems like a minuscule number for the geographic extent of the operations…
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In February 2020 there were 114,241 daily weekday boardings on the commuter rail system. In February 2025 there were 97,969 daily weekday boardings on the regional rail system. Without diving into the station by station data I have to assume a larger percentage than 30% involves North or South Station

Ridership on the T | Performance Metrics | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com
 
KCasiglio said:
In February 2020 there were 114,241 daily weekday boardings on the commuter rail system. In February 2025 there were 97,969 daily weekday boardings on the regional rail system. Without diving into the station by station data I have to assume a larger percentage than 30% involves North or South Station

Ridership on the T | Performance Metrics | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com
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But what’s the number of people entering and exiting Boston each weekday and what percent is commuter rail? I guess I just thought more people took the train, but maybe not. Or maybe Boston swells by less people than I thought in the first place each weekday.
 
FK4 said:
. Is this to say that only a little over 30,000 people get off or on at North and South Station combined?
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No, 30,000 people get on at North/South stations. Those same 30,000 people presumably also came in by CR at some point and got off at North/South Stations 30,000 times as well. Therefore with 98k daily boardings, a little under 70% of trips on Regional Rail involve North or South Stations, and a little under 90% of trips involve North/South Stations, Back Bay or Ruggles. (Assuming nobody takes the CR from South Station to Back Bay or Ruggles.)
 
www.masslive.com

Commuter rail trains are lined up for these summer 2025 Gillette Stadium shows

Want to skip the hassles of parking and traffic at some of Gillette Stadium's hottest shows of the summer? MBTA Commuter Rail train service is available once again for concertgoers.
www.masslive.com www.masslive.com
  • AC/DC Power Up Tour (Sunday, May 4 at 7 p.m.) — Trains to and from Boston and Providence, Rhode Island
  • Kendrick Lamar Grand National Tour (Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m.) — Trains to and from Boston
  • Post Malone Presents: The BIG ASS Stadium Tour (Saturday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m.) — Trains to and from Boston and Providence
  • The Weeknd After Hours Til Dawn Tour (Tuesday, June 10 & Wednesday, June 11 at 7 p.m.) — Trains to and from Boston
  • George Strait Stadium Tour (Saturday, June 21 at 5:45 p.m.) — Trains to and from Boston and Providence
  • Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour (Tuesday, July 15 & Wednesday, July 16 at 6 p.m.) — Trains to and from Boston
  • Morgan Wallen I’m The Problem Tour (Friday, Aug. 22 & Saturday, Aug. 23 at 5:30 p.m.) — Trains to and from Boston on Aug. 22, trains to and from Boston and Providence on Aug. 23
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Why do the 250th Short turns terminate at South Acton, Instead of Littleton/495 (The Major Park and Ride in the area) if they want people to take public transportation there? (There are 2 trains, 7411 and 7416, but only those with all of the other short turns terminating at south acton)

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This ought to be an interesting weekend. We got extra service to Concord and on the Worcester Line for the Marathon given the cancelations for crew shortages the past weekend!
 
Pretty clearly they're trying to optimize for people coming out from Boston, so turning at South Acton makes sense.
 
ceo said:
Pretty clearly they're trying to optimize for people coming out from Boston, so turning at South Acton makes sense.
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Yeah, and South Acton does have a bit more parking - 287 spots versus 203.
 
It makes a bit more sense within historical context. South Acton has always been one of the more significant stations on the line - it was the junction for the branch to Marlborough (after the 1930s, Maynard), and has been a short turn terminal since the late 19th century. Littleton never was a significant station; the town was very small until I-495 was built in the late 50s. It had only 21 daily riders when service was dropped in 1975. South Acton was rebuilt around 1977 with a parking lot to handle the commuters from Route 2.

When the extension to Gardner opened in 1980, all the stations were built cheap and quick. Littleton was just a small strip of asphalt, with parking temporarily rented from a nearby factory; when that rental ended, it had just 15 official and 25 unofficial spots. South Acton was still the turnback point for half of service, with single track between there and Willows.

Littleton/495 has never been well-placed for a park-and-ride; it's on a narrow two-lane road and is more than 2 road miles from the 495 mainline. In the 90s, the town planned a new station with dedicated ramps from Route 2 and more parking - the first time the station was really imagined as a major park-and-ride - but that went nowhere. A private entity built a lot near the station around 2007, at which time the MBTA lot was only 47 spaces. The MBTA bought the private lot and expanded it when the station was rebuilt. Pre-COVID, there were plans to add more parking at Littleton/495.
 
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