Hi Everyone,
I have been writing to the MBTA/Keolis for a few months regarding trying to get the Providence line to stop at Readville station. As some of you probably are aware, there are three really nice platforms at Readville for the Providence, Franklin, and Fairmount lines, however the Providence lines are simply not used.
Some Providence trains do stop at the Readville platforms because there's a signal there, however it is not a stop and as such nobody can get on or off. There are even 3 tracks, with the track nearest to the outbound platform being often used for trains standing by to let Amtrak trains get through the rt128 univ ave station first. If only they would just open the doors!
The reason for this is that for commuters coming in and out of Readville to and from Ruggles or BBY, it is surprisingly difficult to get back to Readville in the afternoon since the Fairmount does not service those stations. Additionally, most of the Franklin line evening trains do not stop at Readville, and instead run as an express to Endicott, or Dedham Corporate center.
So as a result, if you are trying to get from BBY/Ruggles to Readville during rush hour, there's over an hour between departures; your choices being the 5:08pm, 6:20pm, and 7:55pm. Otherwise you need to travel to South Station to get to the Fairmount line, which takes much longer to get to Readville anyway.
If only there was a way to convince the MBTA to have some of the Providence line trains use the Readville platforms, it would be a fantastic option for getting back to the station.
Does anyone here know why the Providence line platforms are unused? Any advice for getting the MBTA to implement this change in the next schedule cycle? I keep trying to follow up, and Keolis seems to be receptive, but I fear that my suggestion is not going anywhere.
Thanks in advance!
I have been writing to the MBTA/Keolis for a few months regarding trying to get the Providence line to stop at Readville station. As some of you probably are aware, there are three really nice platforms at Readville for the Providence, Franklin, and Fairmount lines, however the Providence lines are simply not used.
Some Providence trains do stop at the Readville platforms because there's a signal there, however it is not a stop and as such nobody can get on or off. There are even 3 tracks, with the track nearest to the outbound platform being often used for trains standing by to let Amtrak trains get through the rt128 univ ave station first. If only they would just open the doors!
The reason for this is that for commuters coming in and out of Readville to and from Ruggles or BBY, it is surprisingly difficult to get back to Readville in the afternoon since the Fairmount does not service those stations. Additionally, most of the Franklin line evening trains do not stop at Readville, and instead run as an express to Endicott, or Dedham Corporate center.
So as a result, if you are trying to get from BBY/Ruggles to Readville during rush hour, there's over an hour between departures; your choices being the 5:08pm, 6:20pm, and 7:55pm. Otherwise you need to travel to South Station to get to the Fairmount line, which takes much longer to get to Readville anyway.
If only there was a way to convince the MBTA to have some of the Providence line trains use the Readville platforms, it would be a fantastic option for getting back to the station.
Does anyone here know why the Providence line platforms are unused? Any advice for getting the MBTA to implement this change in the next schedule cycle? I keep trying to follow up, and Keolis seems to be receptive, but I fear that my suggestion is not going anywhere.
Thanks in advance!