Providence Line and Readville

[level4]

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!

[Trinnau]

You're probably fighting an uphill battle. According to Wikipedia the stop has not been made since 1987.

Your request is also a matter of convenience and perhaps preference for mode. There are several options from Back Bay to South Station to catch a subsequent train to Readville. Or you could take a train to Hyde Park and take the 32 bus the rest of the way, or walk to Fairmount from there to catch the last leg of a train to Readville. It's a two-seat ride but it is an option that exists and you can be sure the MBTA schedulers are aware that you have those options. All you have to do is look at the schedules they are running for diversions on the weekend and what stations are not given substitute bus service because they have other existing service to get around. I'll add that all of these options are available for the same charge if you are using a Zone 2 monthly pass.

[MBTA F40PH-2C 1050]

Providence line trains make enough stops, there is more than enough service for Readville folk, and soon to be an additional 8 trips on the Fairmount line starting this May

[highgreen215]

I have been stopping by Readville to watch trains since the days of the I-5 Shoreliners and the Comet. There may have been exceptions that I missed, but in all that time I never saw that platform used for regular scheduled service.

[level4]

You're probably fighting an uphill battle. According to Wikipedia the stop has not been made since 1987.

Your request is also a matter of convenience and perhaps preference for mode. There are several options from Back Bay to South Station to catch a subsequent train to Readville. Or you could take a train to Hyde Park and take the 32 bus the rest of the way, or walk to Fairmount from there to catch the last leg of a train to Readville. It's a two-seat ride but it is an option that exists and you can be sure the MBTA schedulers are aware that you have those options. All you have to do is look at the schedules they are running for diversions on the weekend and what stations are not given substitute bus service because they have other existing service to get around. I'll add that all of these options are available for the same charge if you are using a Zone 2 monthly pass.

Come on man, the 32 bus from Hyde Park to Readville is a slog, and timing the Fairmount would be slower than just walking.
My point is that the level of convenience to get from Readville >> Back Bay and from BBY back Readville should be the same in both directions... and it isn't.

And believe me I have taken the 32 bus myself, several times.... Sure, but I could also just walk. IMO, if we're going to fix the traffic situation in this city, public transit should be as convenient as possible, or people will just drive.

[TomNelligan]

Mr. Highgreen, I'm sure it was easy to miss, but a quick check of an old New Haven timetable that I grabbed at random (October 30, 1966) shows one weekday rush hour Providence train in each direction making the stop on the mainline level of the Readville station. These were also the only Providence trains stopping at Hyde Park. At the time Readville was also a stop for two Franklin trains each way plus the last surviving run that covered the Dedham branch. Service there is a lot better today!

[Commuterrail1050]

Getting the providence and Stoughton trains to stop at readville is a pipe dream. It's never going to happen plus some of them do stop at hyde park which is down the street from readville. You can take a 32 bus from HP to readville, take a fairmount line train to readville, or use one of the Forge Park/Foxboro trains that stops at readville as most Forge Park trains during the rushour that operates as express does not stop there. Only the locals stop at readville. They have platforms along the NEC at readville in case the HP station closes for any reason. Other than that, they will never stop at readville as I originally stated earlier. Not that many people board the train at readville to have those trains stop plus they are too full from the current ridership at the existing stations. Idk about the Attleboro-providence stations but Mansfield and Sharon are the busiest stations along the route. I board at Sharon daily and there's always mobs of people getting on in the morning and off in the evening. For those reasons, your statement makes zero sense from a passenger's perspective. Not to mention the NEC is busy enough as it is plus Amtrak traffic.

[Commuterrail1050]

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.

Umm it's only 30 mins from south station to readville on the fairmount line versus 18 mins on the franklin line via NEC. You aren't saving that much time either way. If it was an hour I would agree, but it isn't. And yes I've read both schedules so it's fact.

[BandA]

If the regular trains are overflowing, they need to add short-turn and/or local trains. And not just the NEC but also the Framingham Line.

[Trinnau]

There isn't capacity to do that. Not enough infrastructure on either line to run that kind of service and still serve points west. The Fairmount shuttles are effectively that. They just don't work for level4's specific commuting situation.

[atlantis]

I seem to recall a few years back, there was some kind of service disruption on that route where the Providence/ Stoughton trains were stopping at Readville utilizing the mainline platforms. This was before I was back in the area full time so I cannot recall the nature of the service disruption. As F40 PH and others have said, there are a large number of stops and any service needed in the area for the Providence line is probably sufficiently covered by the Hyde Park station, as Readville is in close proximity to the latter. As commuterrail 1050 pointed out, the mainline platforms are a "just in case" the HP station is out of service. I was on the train from Route 128 to Boston and there are still signs on the southbound mainline platform at Readville reading "outbound to Attleboro", and not Providence, indicating that regular stops were discontinued before the trains were reinstated to Providence.

[wicked]

I would imagine with the track limitations that adding even a handful of trains stopping at Readville would foul up schedules.