I Do Not Like Downtown Crossing

My friend asked me if I am going to post station reviews on here. This is probably the closest that you will get to a station review. On 9/30/18, I took pictures of the station and pretty much made fun of it. Enjoy.

Here we have some art display at Downtown Crossing. It consists of some pipes, a liquid, and some wooden board. Hopefully Downtown Crossing makes more awesome art like this.

                                              Oh boy, a sneak preview!!

                              These were all over the station. You picked the wrong station to put this at!

                                         Hey MBTA, Amtrak doesn't have a C on it.

 

                                         What am I supposed to do when there is a fire??!!

                                                                           10/10!!

                                                               Like I said, 10/10!!
'

                                    The MBTA could have done more to stop this weird liquid.

                                   If you stand right here, you are hot and cold at the same time.

                                                          No dial tone on this bad boy.

                                                     These stairs have seen better days.

                                                            The CharlieCard Store

This is the CharlieCard Store. If you want to get a CharlieTicket or CharlieCard, this is not the place to go. It has horrible hours, from 8:30-5:00 and it is weekdays only. Basically, if you need a CharlieCard and you work average hours, I am sorry, but you can't get a CharlieCard. Ridiculous!

                                                         Not gonna question it. 

                                        With the amount of stuff here, you could play I Spy.

                                                 Why is there a traffic cone here?

                     Its been 35 years, and the MBTA hasn't updated this to say "To Alewife via Park."

Neoplans return to Quincy and Lynn! - MBTA news

2018 NFI XDE60 #1294 has arrived into Boston and is testing in the Silver Line Tunnel. This bus will go on the SL1, the SL2, and the SL3. Later in the year, the MBTA will get it's first all electric buses. These buses will eventually replace the AN460LF Dual Mode Fleet.

                                                              Catch these while you can!

Three AN440LF's from Albany Street have gone to Quincy Garage. Two AN440LF's from Fellsway have gone to Lynn Garage. This hasn't happened in a couple of years, and I am glad that these garages have some diversity. I would like it if they went to Arborway, but there's a small chance that they might.


In other news, I might have seen the weirdest Green Line Train. I was taking a ride on Type 8 #3820, and it had its seats replaced.

These are the same type of seats you would see on the Red Line and Orange Line trains. I did not sit in them, since the train was crowded. 

What a normal Type 8 looks like. Notice the green seats. 

Speaking of the Green Line, 5 Type 7's have been wrapped into Suffolk University ads. They are 3644, 3665, 3671, 3674, and 3639. They look really good!

                               Three of the Suffolk University ads. I have yet to catch 3674 and 3639. 


When I was taking a walk in the Longwood Medical Area, I saw a Neoplan AN440LF on the 8. Earlier I mentioned that Neoplans were going to different garages, but this bus is actually an Albany Street Garage route on a Cabot route. This bus was short-turning at Dudley probably for 2 reasons:

• return to Albany Street
• deadhead to Boston Medical Center and do a CT1 trip
• do a 170 trip 

                                               The bus at Longwood and Brookline Avenues. 

New website name!

I changed my website name from Bus and Rail Adventures to The Transit Planner. The reason I did this is because I never really write about "adventures" on this site. The Transit Planner fits this website perfectly as I write reports and news about buses and trains. My last blog talked about bus rides, and the name fit fine on that blog as well. I also have a new logo and new motto, which is News, Reports, and Other Fun Stuff. Other than that, the new change is not effect any of my writing

Report on Massport Shuttles

Once upon a time, if you were to only take public transportation to Logan Airport, the only way to get to the airport was the Blue Line to Airport, then the  MBTA 98 to the Airport.  It was not a great route, since it was crowded and infrequent. That's when Massport stepped in and made a shuttle system around the Airport. Today I will be doing a report on the shuttle system. I am going to be talking about Logan Express today.


Routes:

Route #11: 

The #11 serves every airport terminal on an endless loop. There is really not much to say about this route, because it is not that exciting.

The 11 leaving Terminal C.

Route #22 & #33:
These routes are the most used routes in the system. They use articulated buses, and they are always packed. These routes are kind of the same route. The #22 runs from Airport Station to the Rental Car Center and serves Terminal A and B. The #33 serves Airport Station and Rental Car Center and Terminal C and D. I have rode both of these routes before.

The #33 coming into Airport Station.

No idea why the #22 was at Terminal C, but here it is at Terminal C!

The #55:

The #55 only runs during Peak Hours and Early Mornings. It is pretty much the same thing as the #11, except it serves Airport Station and the Rental Car Center. Also, it uses articulated buses. It doesn't get a lot of ridership from early morning travelers. 

The #66:

The #66 serves all of the airport terminals, Airport Station, The Logan Office Center, and The Water Transportation Dock. As you can see, the #66 has a major responsibility. The route does not get as many people compared to the #22 or the #33. Still, this route gets 12 minute headways. Some of the busiest MBTA routes get 20 minute headways!

The #66 heading to Water Transportation Dock. 

                               

                                                                The #77:
This is an Employees Only Route that goes from the Chelsea Garage to the Airport. They apparently don't check badges, so you can just ride it if you want to. The route runs very frequently. Also, this route seriously delays the SL3. The route starts out at Eastern Avenue Station and uses articulated buses. Since the SL3 also uses articulated buses, it is very hard to navigate through the Eastern Avenue Busway.


                                                              The #88:
According to Massport, this route does not serve Airport Station. When I rode it, it did. This shuttle serves all of the Airport Terminals, including Economy Parking. It gets lots of ridership and is well used.

                                                         Next stop, terminal E!


Fleet:
When Massport was new, they had a fleet of Novabus RTS 06s, and AN-440s. Now, they have a fleet of all NABI buses. The fleet is very simple. Now they have NABI 42s and NABI 60s

2 NABI 42s at Airport Station. 

                                                          NABI 60 on the #22 leaving Airport Station.

Paint Schemes:
Massport has a total of 3 paint schemes. The first one is the regular blue one. The second one is the "Massport gone green" scheme. The third one is the "Back bay Logan Express scheme." Massport runs a Logan Express bus route out to Copley. It uses the regular NABI 42 buses.

The "Massport Gone Green" scheme 

Sorry about the bad quality. Here is the "Back Bay Logan Express" scheme.

Finally, here is the regular scheme.

So what do I think of Massport? It is a very good system. It is pretty slow, and they are very crowded. But if you wait for the next bus, it is pretty much empty! (That is what happened to me on the #22.) If you are an Orange, Blue, and Green Line user, this is the best way to get to the airport.

My top 5 least favorite MBTA Routes!

Today, I wanted to make a fun little post. So what I am going to do is discuss my least favorite MBTA routes!

5. The 55

This route is weird. On the weekdays, it goes from Park Street to Queensberry Street. On the weekends, it ends at Copley instead of Park Street. But the question is why? Why can't you just take the D from those destinations to Fenway? These are the only good things about the 55: It saves you from a 10-minute walk, plus it is cheaper then the Green Line. Hooray?

                                              The 55 at Copley.

4. The 429

This one is not that bad, it's just a pain in the rear to ride. It goes from Northgate Shopping Center to Lynn Station. Let's just take a look at the map, shall we?

Oh dear...

Hey, at least it has some sort of express section, right? Wait, hang on, the highway is on Route 1 Saugus? Oh dear... 

You know what the 429 does before it goes on the worst highway ever? It serves the Square One Mall. After its done on Route 1, it serves the Saugus Plaza! You know what is funny about Saugus Plaza? It is right next to the Breakheart Reservation! Hilarious!

The 429 also serves a housing development that picked up no one during my ride. We drove around every inch of that development, but no riders. During the ride, the 429 also serves Linden Square. It's amazing how the MBTA came up with a route to kill me on the inside. 

This is not a destination sign: It's a warning sign.

      3. The 5

     This one is useless. It runs from City Point to McCormack Housing. First off, the last trip of the day is at 3:30 PM. Second, my ride got 10 riders. 9 of them got on because they missed the 10. One person rode it to McCormack from Andrew. She could have used the 16. Also, for some reason, random trips go to Andrew. So what's the point of this route? Well, it's a route for shopping. Oh wait, the 16 goes to South Bay Center! So what's the point of this route? You tell me. 

                                             The 5 laying over.

2. The 112

Wow, there is a route that goes from East Boston to Medford? Wow, sounds awesome! Let's just take a look at the map!

Never mind...

The route itself is fine in East Boston and Everett, but in Chelsea, this route is terrible. The bus should not have to serve Admiral's Hall or Quigley Hospital. It is insulting going past the Market Basket, thinking that the bus is gonna serve it, but it serves Admiral's Hall and then comes back and serves it. That must be very confusing to newcomers. Also, once you enter the Everett, the bus goes back to Chelsea to serve some hospital that is nowhere near the non deviatory mess. You know what? Here is what the 112 should look like:

The 112 would still serve Market Basket, since it gets some riders. The 112 would be direct from East Boston to Everett. Also, if this happened, the 112 would be knocked off the list.

The 112 coming into Wood Island

1. The 114:

Welcome... to the most useless route... and the worst route in the system... the 114! "Now, why is it so bad?" You may ask, well I am here to tell you. The 114 sometimes ends at Market Basket, or ends at Bellingham Square. Depends on its mood. Also, it is supposed to be a supplement route for the 116/117. The thing is, the 116/117 do not need supplement routes. If the 116 is too crowded, the person could just wait for the 117! They are both key bus routes, so they come often.  The MBTA changed the 114's name to the 116/117 a while ago, but then changed it back to the 114! Why? I don't know...

The 114 costs 83 Cents to run. If we multiply 0.83 x 365, we get $302. The MBTA could do so much with that money! Maybe they could add a bench to a station. Maybe they could invest that money into the Green Line Extension. Maybe that could all happen if this stupid route was cut. 

The only good thing about this route is that if you are riding this from Bellingham Square to Market Basket, it is faster then the 112. The 112 goes to the Admiral's Hall, then back to Market Basket. The 114 goes straight to the Market Basket. Good, right? If the 112 did not serve Admiral's Hall, this route would be totally pointless. So... Hooray?

Phew, think I covered it all. That was a fun post to write. Maybe I'll make a sequel! 

MBTA Genset on the PTC Extra!

Recently, I went to Canton Junction and caught some good catches like the MBTA Davisville Extra. I also caught the Positive Train Control extra or the PTC Extra for short. Usually, the PTC Extra would have MBTA Veterans leading, 3 single-level coaches, and a Locomotive. But today was different. For the first time ever, the PTC Extra had a 3GS21B, also known as a Genset on it.

2 shots of the Genset. 

Besides the Genset, the set was normal. 

HSP46 #2005

MBTA Veterans #1528.

The genset was dropped off at Stoughton, MA. I think later it deadheaded to either Readville or Boston. 

Farewell to the Original Type 7's and RIP C40LF!- MBTA news.

August 28, 2018 was the last run of an original Type 7. The last one was 3704, better known as the "Lyft train." The other Type 7 that was a Lyft train was 3701, which was my favorite Green Line Train. When the brakes went off, it sounded awesome.

3701 at Longwood. 

                                       

 3704's last run was on the B Train with Type 8 #3847. The last time I saw 3704, I was on the CT2 heading to Kendall Square to catch CSX B721. I got a horrible picture of it, since I was across the bus. I rode 3704 just days before it got shipped out to Alstom. I also rode it on third to last set, with Type 8 #3800. I rode it from Fenwood Road to Lechmere. Its final trip was also on the E, and it was running solo.

3704 doing a trip to Heath Street.

For those who do not know:

This is a rebuilt Type 7.

This is a non rebuilt Type 7.

Speaking of The Green Line, the Type 9s have arrived at Riverside and are supposed to be going into service. Sadly, I did not see any testing. They were built by CAF, which is a train manufacturer in Spain. I am very excited to ride them.

The Red, Blue, and Orange Lines all got new Countdown clocks, which tell you if your train has stopped and how many stops away your train is. These will eventually hit the Green Line and the Mattapan Line. 

Moving onto the Commuter Rail, 10 F40PH locomotives are at MPI for rebuild. They are 1028, 1031, 1032, 1035, 1050, 1054, 1063, 1068, and 1065. Both MP36s are at the South Side, 10 F40PHs are south, as well as 8 GP40MCs and 20 HSP46 locomotives. Meanwhile, 14 F40PHs, 13 GP40MCs, and 10 HSP46s are north. Here is where I got this information from. 

Moving onto buses, all Neoplan AN440LFs from Cabot have been moved to Fellsway, Albany Street, and Charlestown Garages.

a sight from the past.

I think that some Neoplans should go to the Arborway yard. Arborway could use a little diversity. 

I mean...

The only non XN40 bus at Arborway is this--

This is a NABI 40LFW. Currently retired at Arborway.

UPDATE 9/10/18: This bus has been scrapped. 

The only buses that the Arborway can own are CNG. AN440LFs are CNG, so why not bring some over here?

Also I found out some sad news. Every MBTA C40LF has been scrapped. Those were the first low-floor buses that the MBTA bought. These were up there with the best MBTA buses. They retired January 2016, and now they are finally scrapped. I wish they preserved one and sent it to The Seashore Trolley Museum. But not all good things can happen.