Baker Done With Commuter Rail 'Excuses'
BOSTON (CBS) - With Commuter Rail trains not weathering the recent storms, passengers have been looking for a lifeline.
"This morning I waited for my 6:10 train, it didn't come another 20 minutes to a half hour because of frozen doors," said commuter Sarah Baun.
Now Governor Charlie Baker has stepped in demanding that Keolis, the Commuter Rail operator, provide more reliable service. "I'm done with excuses. My team is meeting now to discuss the details of a recovery plan and what the state can do to help," said Baker.
The board at South Station has both "on time" and canceled signs, but commuters say they can never be sure if their train is coming or not. "My train is canceled right now and I don't have another one to Stoughton until 4:00," said Joshua Williams about 2:00 this afternoon.
A Keolis spokesman says the company is continuing to work on a solution. That includes fixing some 20 locomotives whose brakes and hydraulic systems are disabled by the snow, stepping up snow removal operations on the tracks, and better communication with passengers.
"The information doesn't get too bad, but when it does it's horrible," admitted Keolis spokesman Mac Daniel. "That's the better job we're focusing on."
Keolis says it could be a week to deliver accurate information to passengers and is working within the MBTA's thirty day time-frame for a return to normal service.
As for the MBTA, the National Guard will help with snow removal on Thursday to get the Red Line restored to Braintree.