Dec 10, 2007 12:30 pm US/Eastern
'T' Vote On Poor Performing Commuter Rail Company
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The MBTA Board of Directors is expected to vote Monday on whether to rehire the company that operates the Commuter Rail trains.
According to the Boston Metro, The T's five-year, $1.2 billion contract with the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad runs out at the end of June.
The vote comes on the heels of a study by the Boston Globe that says Boston has one of the slowest commuter rail systems in the entire country. The Globe study found that the MBTA has the worst on-time performance of any of the four other large suburban rail systems.
According to that study, since January the T's commuter rail trains have posted their worst ever on-time performance. Researchers found just over 84% of trains have been on-time, as compared to an average of 94%.
The numbers the T got in October about delays were the worst they'd seen in years. The Globe reported that 30% of all commuter trains ran at least five minutes late in October. For example, the Worcester Line was only on time 48.4% of the time in October of 2007, as compared to 81.9% the year before. The Franklin line wasn't much better with 55.7% in October of 2007 as compared to 91.5% in 2006. The Haverhill line was also particularly bad, only on-time 70.9% of the time in 2007 as compared to 90.2% in October of 2006.
At the time, MBTA General Manager, Dan Grabauskas, blamed the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company, the private company that operates the trains. According to their contract they have to be on-time 95% of the time, and according to the Metro, the MBCR payed the T close to $800,000 in fines since July.
However the company says they're not to blame. Instead according to the Metro, they blame the delays on the MBTA and their "faulty equipment" as well as CSX Transportation, which owns the rails.
Some of the delays may also be because of a contract dispute according to the paper. Sources told the Metro that workers were "dragging their feet on the job" in order to get back at the company for unsatisfactory working conditions. The union denies those allegations.
Last month the MBCR made some concessions, and according to the Metro,
unions representing conductors and engineers reaffirmed their commitment to the safe, timely operation of the commuter rail.
Stuck in the middle of all this is the people who ride the rails to get back and forth between work and home.
"I just want to be treated decently. I pay $163 every month to ride the train", said commuter Laura
Michalski. "It has not been pleasant, over the past several weeks (in November), ten to fifteen minutes late, some not shown up, it's been a terrible commute."
According to the Globe, between September and October, the T refunded $262,142 in fares to disgruntled riders. According to the T, most of the refunds can be traced to the poor on-time performance of the commuter rail.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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