Needham Line Questions / Discussion

just a friendly visit from the FRA today around the South side

When is a visit from the FRA ever friendly ?

Because they're from the government and they're here to help you......

Works for me lol

It looks as if Saturday service on the Needham line will resume soon:
http://www.wcvb.com/news/saturday-servi ... e/27259922" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

chrisf wrote:It looks as if Saturday service on the Needham line will resume soon:
http://www.wcvb.com/news/saturday-servi ... e/27259922" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Needham phase of the Route 128 widening project starts next year. Bet that's what's behind this.

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Needham phase of the Route 128 widening project starts next year. Bet that's what's behind this.

That can't hurt the case, but a savings of $300k annually compared to the loss of access was a weak case in the first place.

chrisf wrote:

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Needham phase of the Route 128 widening project starts next year. Bet that's what's behind this.

That can't hurt the case, but a savings of $300k annually compared to the loss of access was a weak case in the first place.

Indeed. IMHO, many transit service cuts in this country are theatrics, designed to make you think that money is "being saved" by eliminating or reducing frequency on a particular route while local taxes continue to skyrocket. Public transportation represents a relatively small amount of the total transportation budget. (when compared to roads and highways.) The prime example of course is that in Needham, taxes are STILL going up despite the elimination of Saturday commuter rail. IMO, it's best to derive some revenue rather than let the stations sit empty on weekends while the platform lights and security floodlights are still illuminated at Hersey, Needham Junction, Needham Heights, etc. on the weekends the train doesn't run. I am curious as to how much money is "saved" due to transit cutbacks! (when you consider the lost revenue of said services!)

I heard trains sounding their horns at Needham Heights throughout the day yesterday. Since the Needham line doesn't have Sunday service, I'm curious what was going on. Deadhead moves? Track inspection?

charlesriverbranch wrote:I heard trains sounding their horns at Needham Heights throughout the day yesterday. Since the Needham line doesn't have Sunday service, I'm curious what was going on. Deadhead moves? Track inspection?

Probably the rail cleaning train (scrubs the wet leaf residue to reduce slippery rail effect in the Fall).

charlesriverbranch wrote:I heard trains sounding their horns at Needham Heights throughout the day yesterday. Since the Needham line doesn't have Sunday service, I'm curious what was going on. Deadhead moves? Track inspection?

As the post above mine suggests, it was indeed the leaf washer train yesterday.

atlantis wrote: Indeed. IMHO, many transit service cuts in this country are theatrics, designed to make you think that money is "being saved" by eliminating or reducing frequency on a particular route

More properly, in any bureaucracy (whether we're talking government-ish or sufficiently large private concerns), there's a strong tendency to respond to a budget cut by cutting the more visible/essential things first (because doing otherwise makes it a lot less likely that the budget gets restored).

Just got this T-Alert:

Needham Line service will be suspended along the entire line beginning the evening of Thursday, November 10th, and continuing through Sunday, November 13th. Alternate busing will not be provided.

Beginning on the evening of Thursday, November 10, and continuing through Sunday, November 13, Needham Commuter Rail service will be suspended along the entire line due to the LaGrange Street Bridge Replacement in West Roxbury. Alternate busing will not be provided during this service interruption. Customers are advised to seek alternate modes of transportation. Normal service will resume the morning of Monday November 14.

Please utilize parallel MBTA bus routes for the following stations:

with a list of buses one could use from stations other than Hersey

'Nother rapid bridge replacement job just like Readville. Wasn't aware Lagrange was coming up that fast in the construction queue; I thought that was next year at earliest.


Lagrange may have been the only bridge on the line that wasn't rehabbed in 1986-87 when they were mass-rebuilding it all during the SW Corridor construction shutdown. Much poorer condition than the others.

No alerts today so this must have gone smoothly. I did hear a couple train horns/whistles during the 2nd quarter of yesterday's Pats game so it must have been done by then.