stick n move
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Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail (South Coast Rail)
- Thread starter JoeGallows
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New England Born & Raised
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Freelake school bus struck by equipment at MBTA crossing
FREETOWN — On the second day of Southcoast Rail MBTA service, a Freetown-Lakeville school bus was struck by a crossing arm at a railroad track on Braley Road in Freetown. No injuries were reported in the incident, Acting Superintendent of Schools John Higgins told the Freetown-Lakeville School...
nemasket.theweektoday.com
Do the procedures for buses at railroad crossings include proceeding across the tracks even if "sightlines are significantly limited?" And if the driver started to go through the crossing before the lights came on, shouldn't they have continued through (even if they hadn't "reached the tracks yet")? There's a buffer period, and putting the bus in reverse seems like the wrong thing to do under almost any circumstance.Freelake school bus struck by equipment at MBTA crossing
FREETOWN — On the second day of Southcoast Rail MBTA service, a Freetown-Lakeville school bus was struck by a crossing arm at a railroad track on Braley Road in Freetown. No injuries were reported in the incident, Acting Superintendent of Schools John Higgins told the Freetown-Lakeville School...
That's a tough crossing. it's at the top of a rise in the road and it crosses the tracks at an acute angle. Maybe the gates are timed to go down too soon after the activation of the warning lights. I'm sure they are looking right now at what can be done to reduce the chance of this happening again.Freelake school bus struck by equipment at MBTA crossing
FREETOWN — On the second day of Southcoast Rail MBTA service, a Freetown-Lakeville school bus was struck by a crossing arm at a railroad track on Braley Road in Freetown. No injuries were reported in the incident, Acting Superintendent of Schools John Higgins told the Freetown-Lakeville School...
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MBTA: Close call with school bus was human error, not train problem
A crossing gate arm came down on the hood of a school bus in Freetown on Tuesday, transit officials say.
www.boston.com
I mean, if I were a kid and I’d thought my schoolbus was about to be smashed by an oncoming train, I’d probably still be a little freaked out the next day. (“See tracks? Think trains” is pretty heavily predicated on the concept that you’ll die if a train hits you.) And these are probably just the normal guidance counselors who would be there anyway. Nothing wrong with school admins giving some consideration to the emotional well-being of their students.
A bunch of us took our kids from Somerville to New Bedford on Saturday. A train ride and visit to the whaling museum.
A great day out! I haven't taken the CR in ages.
Some observations.
- The Arched ceilings in South Station are beautiful. It's great to see iconic public architecture still happens.
- The train itself was clean and functional but I can't believe the trains are similar to the ones whe had in Ireland when I was a kid in the 80's.
- The train seemed to be running behind from the start. It hardly ever picked up speed and we arrived in to New Bedford 30 mins late.
- I chatted a bit with a staff member who told me abutters had been out with blow torches damaging the tracks to sabotage the project and delay it's opening.
- The platform at New Bedford was clean, minimal and suitable.
- The new station seemed to be only designed for cars and not pedestrians. Signange, sidewalks etc, on the approaches were poor.
- Train back to Boston had to sit for 15 mins outside New Bedford due to single tracking.
- Train was 25 mins late overall. The train took twice as long as driving each way.
Great to be able to take public transport to New Bedford. But it should only take an hour. No one is commuting that long if the service is unreliable.
Hopefully it's the first step with major improvements coming.
In it's current form, I'm not sure who it's for.
A great day out! I haven't taken the CR in ages.
Some observations.
- The Arched ceilings in South Station are beautiful. It's great to see iconic public architecture still happens.
- The train itself was clean and functional but I can't believe the trains are similar to the ones whe had in Ireland when I was a kid in the 80's.
- The train seemed to be running behind from the start. It hardly ever picked up speed and we arrived in to New Bedford 30 mins late.
- I chatted a bit with a staff member who told me abutters had been out with blow torches damaging the tracks to sabotage the project and delay it's opening.
- The platform at New Bedford was clean, minimal and suitable.
- The new station seemed to be only designed for cars and not pedestrians. Signange, sidewalks etc, on the approaches were poor.
- Train back to Boston had to sit for 15 mins outside New Bedford due to single tracking.
- Train was 25 mins late overall. The train took twice as long as driving each way.
Great to be able to take public transport to New Bedford. But it should only take an hour. No one is commuting that long if the service is unreliable.
Hopefully it's the first step with major improvements coming.
In it's current form, I'm not sure who it's for.
Teban54
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Yeah, I've personally come to the conclusion that SCR Phase 1 is more useful for occasional trips to the two cities (for leisure, family etc), especially for those who can't or prefer not to drive, than for frequent commutes. Don't get me wrong -- that has value in itself, as I can already imagine myself doing a day trip to New Bedford for reasons unrelated to transit. But it certainly leaves much to be desired.
I rode 2026 from New Bedford to Middleboro, back to East Taunton on 1917, then to New Bedford on 2028. All in all, it was a pretty good experience. Looked like 25-35
cars in each of the two New Bedford parking lots. Probably the same or a little more at East Taunton. Cross platform from 1917 to 2028 was a breeze. 2028 had the newly rehabbed
1027 and a mixed set of flats and double-deckers.
FYI -SRTA has started this "Uber" type service in both cities. Spotted two of their mini-vans staged in the NB parking lot.
city.ridewithvia.com
cars in each of the two New Bedford parking lots. Probably the same or a little more at East Taunton. Cross platform from 1917 to 2028 was a breeze. 2028 had the newly rehabbed
1027 and a mixed set of flats and double-deckers.
FYI -SRTA has started this "Uber" type service in both cities. Spotted two of their mini-vans staged in the NB parking lot.
MicroConnector | On-demand rides to and from South Coast Rail
Book a MicroConnector ride and get to & from the South Coast Rail stations in Fall River and New Bedford on demand. Forget the parking hassle and download now.
city.ridewithvia.com
On what planet does driving between Boston and the South Coast during rush hour take less time than the train, because it isn't this one. I had the pleasure of driving down there yesterday. It took two and a half freaking hours and I left at 7:30 in the morning. In fantasyland, where everyone can go at least the speed limit with no accidents, construction or cops looking to meet a quota along the way, sure maybe you can make it there in less than 90 minutes. In reality, does that ever happen? Let's have a bit of honestly here when assessing the actual commute for most people, and if you still prefer to drive so be it.
Yeah I'm deeply skeptical of those times. Back when my commute involved it, I would regularly spend 30 minutes just to get from the 95/93 split to the 93/3 split.
When I was commuting Quincy<->Lynn I could easily spend 30 minutes just in the tunnel. Heaven forbid the HOV lane was backed up.
I think what it comes down to is consistency/reliability. Traffic is god awful, but it's pretty reliably planned for. Transit has improved a lot in the past year but has a ways to go.
bigeman312
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Google Maps estimates the following drive times based on traffic estimates:
- New Bedford Station to South Station, arriving at 8:30am on a Wednesday: 1:15-2:10.
- Fall River Station to South Station, arriving at 8:30am on a Wednesday: 1:05-2:00.
- South Station to New Bedford Station, departing at 4:00pm on a Wednesday: 1:15-2:10.
- South Station to Fall River Station, departing at 4:00pm on a Wednesday: 1:10-2:00.
No problem. Try doing that commute yourself and let me know if you actually get to Boston from Fall River in the morning in a hour and 5 minutes. Oh, and the car you're driving can't be using lights and sirens as you travel up the highway.
Eh, I did this commute for 3 years (2014-2017). The low end of those Google estimates are basically the drive times with no-traffic, under ideal conditions (basically, no weekday morning/evening ever). The high end is closer to the norm under normal circumstances. Add additional time for an accident, HOV lane breakdown, light rain, etc.
I agree that the SCR times are less than ideal and won't realistically attract new daily commuters. They're just too long. But I'd argue that the real world travel times probably compete with or beat real-world drive times for most Boston area commuters. Back Bay and Longwood are probably a quicker drive under most conditions since the transfer options are limited and slow. But Financial District, Government Center, Beacon Hill, North Station and just about anything in Cambridge/Somerville that's not immediately off of I-93 is probably better via the train. Even with a transfer.
I think Phase 1 is going to mostly improve travel comfort for people who are already making the commute. It'll also make visiting Boston easier for a day trip. If I still lived in the area, it would easily be my default mode of commuting now. But it's certainly not going to entice new Boston commuters to FR/NB.
all the more reason the train should be fast and reliable.
I think the question is more what the total transit time is, including getting to and from the termini stations. If you live close to a stop and work close to South Station, great. But I’m sure there are people who park in a garage that’s close to the office, yet work might be a 20 minute T ride or walk from S Station. Even so, it blows my mind how people sit in traffic for so much of their lives. Being able to relax on a train and maybe get work done or read vs trapped in a car and having to focus on driving is a no brainer to me.
It’s a shame we don’t have the Stoughton route, since at least that way there’d be access to Back Bay as well.
bigeman312
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I could not agree more. It’s just such a missed opportunity, as Phase 2 would actually cause a mode shift towards transit.
This will allow those who are currently parking and riding from stations further from their home to be able to drive less and take a train the whole way from South Coast to a day trip in the city or their jobs downtown.
Phase 2 would entice far more who not only work downtown, but also places like Back Bay and LMA, in addition to enticing far more of those who are driving Downtown or to Cambridge, etc.
Phase 1, at face value, is good. But the massively missed opportunity it’s important to point out. This should not be the finish line.
The MicroConnector service is discussed in a little more detail in this article, too. The gist of it appears to be: 1) SRTA started from a place of not wanting to alter their fixed-route bus networks in Fall River and New Bedford, and 2) they instead decided to offer standalone microtransit connections to the cities' stations.
In the case of Fall River, I agree that it doesn't make sense to relocate the bus hub out of Downtown, especially since the city's roadway network naturally feeds into Downtown, but a city of 94,000 people...with a population density near 3,000/sq. mile...with an 11-route local bus network of its own...probably generates enough transit demand that microtransit is not the ideal way to serve a commuter rail station. Since relocating the bus hub doesn't make sense, maybe running an express shuttle between the Downtown bus hub and FR Depot station would.
As for New Bedford, where all routes seem to terminate at the Downtown bus hub, I wonder if through-running a couple routes would be a practical way to expand one-seat ride access to the city's main rail station without upending the existing bus network design. Admittedly I don't know New Bedford's bus system well, but to illustrate the point, maybe Routes 202, 204, and 211 could be matched with 201, 203, and 205, creating a common north-south trunk between Union Street and Logan Street (ignoring the fact that the 211 technically travels on Acushnet, not Purchase).
I don't know what the target percentage should be for bus transit's share of the modal split for rail station access (maybe 15-20% is realistic out here?), but it probably shouldn't be so low in absolute number of riders that microtransit is the most efficient way to serve that cohort. In cities of this size, you shouldn't be expected to drive or squabble over rideshare seats just because you aren't within easy walking range.