July 2022 – chelsea's corner

Mystic (Amtrak)

So, coming off the heels of RIPTA and a Miles meet in Boston, along with some MBTA shenanigans, let’s settle down in a more quiet, slightly more remote town. Ooh, why not Mystic?

Alrighty, so because this is the first station in Connecticut, I got nothing to compare it to, and as a result, I’ll be using Westerly as my point of reference primarily (for context, that got a 3.5/10). Is Mystic as bad as Westerly? Is there any saving grace? Or, am I going to be denied access to track 2 due to a southbound Regional or Acela at the wrong time?

So, getting off the Regional, immediately I notice the station doesn’t have level boarding, or even a mini-high, for that matter. Supposedly there’s a wheelchair lift, but I don’t buy that for one minute. The station building is a cafe that’s open 7 days, 8-2, and houses the Quik-Trak machine. I think it also has a restroom, but don’t quote me there. Wait, what’s that right ahead? Oh no…

What is that? No……not a grade crossing! THERE ARE ELEVEN OF THESE ALONG THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR, ALL IN CONNECTICUT. THE ACELA RUNS DOWN THESE TRACKS. THESE ELEVEN GRADE CROSSINGS ARE WHY THE ACELA RUNS AT A FREAKIN’ SNAIL’S PACE OVER HERE. Never mind that, it’s a safety issue! What if a wheelchair gets caught on the tracks?! Well, apparently this is how you get to track 1 (northbound).

There aren’t many parking spaces, but this station isn’t heavily used, either. Some spots are reserved for the cafe (which is, of course, a separate entity), but from what I’m aware, what’s pictured is all of the Amtrak parking. There’s a canopy from the cafe where southbound passengers can wait, should it be raining or snowing, while northbound passengers have what’s essentially a prefab shed that one can buy from Home Depot or Lowe’s. Also, why is the southbound platform much longer than the northbound one?

Looking northbound. Look at how long the southbound platform is!

The Quik-Trak machine inside the station building. And, look, brochures! Admittedly, I didn’t notice them earlier.

The good: It’s a small town train station, and I like the feel of these! Plus, Mystic Seaport (and Old Mistick Village to the north) are both major tourist destinations in the area, so it’s good that the train station is close by. Furthermore, SEAT (the local transit agency) runs 6 days a week in the area with the Stonington HOP microtransit service. Review on that coming eventually.

The bad: Really? Only 3 trains a day in either direction stopping here? If I did this on a weekday, I wouldn’t have gotten home until 10pm rightabout. Furthermore, the low-level platform without a wheelchair lift in sight is a major “oh no”. If there is not, in fact, one, screw you if you need accessibility. They really couldn’t put a mini-high near the street? Thirdly, the grade crossing. That’s a “screw you” if you’re in a hurry, because you could very well run the risk of missing a train due to it coming down at the last minute.

Nearby points of interest: I spent the day in Mystic Seaport, and got a lunch at Mystic Pizza (thanks mom, for giving me $20 to do so!). If you utilize SEAT’s Stonington HOP, you can get to other places in Stonington like Mystic Aquarium, where you can connect to the 108 to Foxwoods and New London.

Transit connections:
Amtrak (Northeast Regional)
SEAT (Stonington HOP)

Overall, I really like this station. I really do. Even in spite of its shortcomings, this is definitely a personal favorite of mine, and I feel like this is what Westerly should’ve been. However, I’d rather have seen a tunnel or bridge/ramp instead of hailing Mary across the tracks for getting to the other side. I’d also personally throw up a mini-high somewhere towards either end of the platforms.

Rating: 5.5/10 (but the train ride to/from is a 10/10 in scenery!)

BONUS: pictures from my journey that aren’t train-related!

A slice of heaven indeed. 10/10, would recommend.

Peeking into the ocean at the end of the Broadway extension

God, what’s with the CT section of the NEC being so darn scenic?!

204 Flex (Westerly)

Alrighty, so what do you do if you fail to catch the 95X in the early morning and can’t afford $8 for an Amtrak ticket? Why, you ride this Flex, of course! Let’s take a look.

WARNING: copious amounts of colorful language and caps ahead. Read at own discretion.

So after eating a calzone for lunch at a local bakery, I sit there waiting for the 204 Flex. And I wait. And wait. And wait. Eventually I see a Flex van pull in and- what???

***WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING IN REVERSE BACKING OUT OF THE PARKING LOT?!***

NO! NO! PLEASE NO! WHY ARE YOU GOING IN REVERSE, AND LEAVING THE PARKING LOT?! THERE’S SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO FUCKING RIDE THE 204 WAITING RIGHT HERE!! AND TO PROVE I’M NOT BEING A KAREN ABOUT THIS, HERE’S THE TIMEPOINTS WITH SCHEDULES.

12:15 PM!!!!!!! I WAS HERE AT 12:15 PM AND IT JUST NOPED THE FUCK OUT!

YOU CAN’T JUST NOPE THE FUCK OUT OF A BUS STOP LIKE THAT, WHEN YOU’RE LITERALLY THE ONLY WAY IN AND OUT OF WESTERLY OUTSIDE THE MORNING AND EVENING RUSH HOUR COMMUTES! THIS IS WHORE SHIT TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE, AND QUITE POSSIBLY EVEN WORSE THAN THE 54. YES, I’VE SAID IT. THIS IS EVEN WORSE THAN THE BUS ROUTE FROM HELL. AT LEAST THAT COMES REGULARLY. THIS THING ONLY COMES, AS YOU CAN SEE, THREE TIMES A DAY TOTAL, AND I WASN’T ABOUT TO FUCKING WAIT UNTIL 2:50 WITH A REAL RISK OF MISSING THE 3:40 INBOUND RUN OF THE 95X. UH, NO THANKS! LIKE, THIS SHIT IS INEXCUSABLE. I’M TALKING “WHOOPS, I ACCIDENTALLY CREATED PLUMBING ISSUES AT WALMART WITH MY COLLEAGUES” LEVELS OF INEXCUSABLE.

Now, let’s see where it WOULD go, if it showed up. From here, it’d get on US Rte. 1 and begin running express to Westerly, which takes a while with how remote it is. In between, much of the northern part of the city, along with the Walmart Supercenter, is in the Flex zone. The last timepoint (first, rather) is Westerly Station, where one can transfer to the 95X and 301.

The good: It’s a mission-critical link between Westerly and the rest of the state outside the morning/evening commutes!

The bad: IF THE FUCKING BUS DOESN’T SHOW UP, YOU’RE SCREWED.

Nearby points of interest: The Stedman Center and Salt Pond Plaza, along with Westerly primarily.

Overall, WHY IS THIS NOT A FIXED ROUTE RUNNING REGULARLY?! MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IF IT WERE, THEN NO-SHOWS WOULDN’T BE SUCH A MAJOR FUCKING ISSUE!

Rating: 2.5/10

203 Flex (Narragansett/S. Kingstown)

Alrighty, the second to last “extra” content for RIPTA: the 203 Flex. This one largely mirrors the Narragansett routes, so here we go.

So, I boarded at URI and went to Salt Pond. Not a crazy route. And, it happens this mirrored the 69 as well. So, we went down Rte. 108 through Wakefield and Peace Dale, just like the 69. There’s not really much to it since I’ve done all the routes, so I’ll talk about the zone itself. There’s four scheduled stops at Memorial Union (URI), Salt Pond, the Wakefield Mall, and the Oliver Stedman Government Complex (which houses the county courthouse, the DMV branch, upon other things). It also stops at …pretty much every beach, which the various fixed routes also do. Oh, it has weekend service!

The good: It lets you get to South County Commons and the Stedman Complex, I guess.

The bad: The area is literally covered pretty well in fixed routes, enough so to where one could reasonably make the argument that the Flex is, dare I say, unnecessary. I mean sure, South County Commons and the Stedman Complex aren’t served by fixed routes, but like, nothing says they can’t get a fixed route.

Nearby points of interest: Pretty much all of Narragansett and most of SK.

Overall, why? Just, why? I mean, at least it isn’t the 49.

Rating: 3/10

Wellington (Orange Line)

Alrighty, coming off the heels of a bunch of Green Line stations, we now have an Orange Line station! Wellington? Well, why not?

So, the station is largely linear in nature. You have the busway where all the buses drop people off. There was also a Commuter Rail bustitution when I came here with a friend, so it was more crowded than usual. This ended up hindering my ability to take pictures. However, you have a set of stairs (and I presume an elevator, as it’s an accessible station) going up to a footbridge. Underneath? The Haverhill Line and the northbound Orange Line track. In the mezzanine, a walkway crossing the Orange Line yard can be found, along with CharlieCard machines. There’s also bus schedules for the various bus routes stopping here.

Wait, the Haverhill Line is single-tracked?

The good: This station is clearly heavily used. It’s no Downtown Crossing or Park St., but it definitely felt crowded. However, if headways were normal with the Orange Line, I’m sure it’d be a slightly better situation. There’s also plenty of bus service, and the station layout is largely straightforward. Oh yeah, apparently a Transit Ambassador was letting people into the Orange Line platform for free, likely as part of the Newburyport/Rockport bustitution. For train nerds, you can also see a whole bunch of Hawker Siddlies from the walkway connecting the station to the parking garage, as this is where the Orange Line maintenance facility is.

The bad: I mean, it’s not a very pedestrian-friendly area. It can also get a bit crowded on the Orange Line platform during rush hour.

Nearby points of interest: I mean, there’s a few hotels and shopping centers – if you’re willing to torture yourself.

Transit connections: Orange Line
MBTA bus (97, 99, 100, 106, 108, 110, 112, 134)

Overall, I like this station, moreso than Heath St. Yes, it’s simple, but simple isn’t bad. It’s also largely a straightforward station to navigate with little in the way of making mistakes (e.g. going to the wrong platform can be fixed by simply rotating yourself 180 degrees). It’s also a decent park & ride, but I’d imagine the long walkway can be a pain if you regularly commute to/from here. Oh yeah, apparently an old Hawker Siddley train bursted into flames a week or so before writing this just south of here, too.

Rating: 6.5/10

Various Green Line (E Branch) street stops

Alrighty, so we did Heath Street, what about the stops in mixed traffic? Well….

Yup, all these are also bus stops for the 39.

Mission Park. What a weird-looking MBTA logo.

Riverway! Not to be confused with Riverside on the D branch.

The least-used “station” on the entire MBTA system – Back of the Hill!

See that? That’s Heath St., 30ft away from Back of the Hill!

Yeah…., not much to be said. They’re all bus signs, with the occasional shelter. At least the 39 will pull over, which the Green Line can’t do. Hell, if the GL could, it likely would’ve prevented the crash that led to someone being (non-fatally, thank God!) injured at Riverway.

The good: Ummm…., it serves a bunch of apartments?

The bad: These stations are unsafe! Unsafe enough to where people have been HIT BY VEHICULAR TRAFFIC when deboarding the Green Line at these stops! That’s even worse than Back Bay’s risk of black lung!

Nearby points of interest: Just use Heath St. instead, if you can. Or, Brigham Circle, if you’re closer to that. Or just use the 39 at these stops instead. I mean, there’s also Back of the Hill if you want to visit the least-used MBTA rapid transit “station”.

Transit connections:
Green Line (E)
MBTA bus (39, 66)

Overall, just, just don’t use these stations unless it’s a last-ditch effort. Or, if you have to, just take the 39 instead, as at least that can pull over to the stop for you.

Rating: 1.5/10

Heath St. (Green Line)

Alrighty, so from one Green Line terminus to another! Let’s take a look at Heath St.

So, the station layout is pretty simple. You have a platform on a balloon loop. There’s also a shelter on one side, and a parking lot in the middle of the loop. Overall, this station definitely follows the KISS principle (keep it simple,silly), and sometimes that’s all you need for a decent enough station. However, all the trains do NOT board/deboard on the side with the shelter. Yeah…

The inner platform for Heath Street with a Type 7/8 duo

The good: It’s pretty close to where people would want to be, with a school and the V.A. nearby.

The bad: I mean, if you’re willing to walk, the Orange Line isn’t too terribly far away (around a mile), plus the 39 being able to bring one to Forest Hills and Back Bay, both of which are also served by the Orange Line. And, this one isn’t a fault of the station itself, but the E branch used to go all the way to Forest Hills as well.

Nearby points of interest: Not much. Just some apartments and the V.A. medical center.

Transit connections:
Green Line (E)
MBTA bus (14, 39)

Overall, it’s not the most exciting station. However, it gets the job done and sometimes, that’s all that’s necessary. There are some annoyances though, as I’ve touched on earlier.

Rating: 6/10

Union Square (Green Line)

Alrighty, the newest rapid transit station on the MBTA (for now, that is!). So, with that in mind, surely this can’t be that bad, right? Right???

The track layout is pretty easy. You have an island platform, where Green Line trains terminate. The design doesn’t render any extensions (e.g. to Porter Square) too terribly difficult, however currently the operator has to get out, change to the other side of the train, and start driving on the other side. You also have the Fitchburg Line running parallel to the station (future Commuter Rail platform, anyone?) as well. It’s also nice that the entire platform is under a canopy of sorts, especially on a searingly hot summer day.

The end of the Green Line, and the Fitchburg Commuter Rail tracks

Unfortunately, that’s where the good stuff ends, is with the platforms and nearby transit-oriented development. Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. So, the farebox is on the other side of the train or ALL the doors are open (maybe both!), so getting to the farebox isn’t always practical. However, there’s also no turnstiles. So, how does the T handle their laziness? Let me explain.

You gotta go to a CharlieCard machine (like you’re adding value or buying a day/week pass). Then, you gotta tap your CharlieCard and then tap “Validate Fare”. However, that isn’t enough, as you also gotta tap it AGAIN. Finally, it’ll beget a receipt. A FREAKIN’ RECEIPT.

And do the operators check it? Nope! Does anyone check it? I’m not even sure. Maybe at rush hour, but I likely won’t know as I don’t intend on returning here, and I came here on a Sunday. So, in essence, fare validation is the honor system.

Now, let me ask this.

WHY IN THE HOLY NAME OF BILL WELD, DID THE MBTA THINK THAT IMPLEMENTING A SYSTEM THAT MAKES FARE EVASION EASIER WAS A GOOD IDEA?! WHAT KIND OF CRACK WERE THEY ON?! WHY WOULD ANY TRANSIT AGENCY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND THINK THAT GIVING PEOPLE RECEIPTS AND USING THE HONOR SYSTEM EVEN BE A GOOD IDEA AS A FORM OF FARE CONTROL, WHEN TURNSTILES ARE MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE?! Sure, you can hop the turnstiles, but for someone who’s, say, pudgy like I am, it takes hella more effort than just simply ignoring the validation machine and not getting a receipt, then getting on the back door of a D branch train. Like, this station was an idea for over 100 years, and actually in the works since the beginning of the last decade (the 2010s), and this was how they did it?

The good: It’s been a long time coming! It’s a direct link between the area around Union Square in Somerville to downtown Boston and the other Green Line branches. It’s also near some transit-oriented development, as well as a Target!

The bad: WHY DO WE EVEN NEED THE HONOR SYSTEM?! LIKE, HOW MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE COULD IT HAVE BEEN TO INSTALL TURNSTILES LIKE A NORMAL RAPID TRANSIT STATION?! And no, noone checks the receipts to actually prove you paid. They may as well not have the CharlieCard machines.

Nearby points of interest: There’s a Target nearby! Also, the neighborhood of Union Square, it’s quite nice actually.

Transit connections:
Green Line (D)
MBTA bus (85, 86, 87, 91, CT2)

Overall, this station would’ve been great. It could’ve easily been an 8 or even a 9, if it weren’t for the lack of fare control. And, whatever kind of drugs they were on when they decided on the vending machines over turnstiles, I’d like to know.

Rating: 6.5/10

SLW (Short-turn Silver Line)

Oh god. So, a mysterious figure appeared in the distance, walking right towards me and about 5 others. Alright, let’s find out who it is. And it was…..woah, woah, WHAT?!

…MILES?! *I spit my tea out in shock*

Yeah, Miles himself, from Miles in Transit, ended up showing up, along with about 9 others. Now that there was a party of 16 for Miles’ first phase in riding every overhead-powered bus route in the country, how were we going to go about this? Well, the T happens to run short-turn Silver Line trips between Silver Line Way and South Station that only run on the section shared between the SL1, SL2, and SL3. Eventually, after waiting in the shade and introducing ourselves (and some tomfoolery), all 16 of us boarded the next SLW bus to South Station. Weirdly enough, only the middle door opened and I felt a little uneasy committing fare evasion. But is it really fare evasion if the driver is only bothered to open the middle door? Once we all settled into the back part of the bendy bus, we were off to the races.

Of course, being mildly rambunctious, we were all collectively probably every bus operator’s worst nightmare. Nevertheless, once we got to World Trade Center, all of four people got on. “FOUR PEOPLE?! THAT’S ALL THE RIDERSHIP!” someone yelled. As we progressed towards Courthouse, we started singing Sweet Caroline, to get the full MBTA experience. And boy, was it a good time. Soon enough, we made it to South Station, round of applause for the operator (presumably for putting up with all our shenanigans), and everything. From here, we all gathered for a group picture in front of the inbound platform and we’d all head up to the food court for lunch before Miles and Jackson had to run off to catch the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago.

EVERYONE. IS. HERE!
(I’m in the Harvard hoodie kneeling). Credits to Miles for this picture.

The good: Short-run trip between the four innermost Silver Line stations (at least, the ones on the busway coming out of South Station)! On paper, this is supposed to alleviate any congestion on the SL1/2/3 during rush hour (I presume). However…

The bad: This route isn’t all that great with nerfed headways, especially given every SL1 I’ve seen is packed, and not so much the SL2 or SL3, and plus my trip was largely empty, save for Miles, Jackson, and co.

Nearby points of interest: Pretty much the waterfront district in its entirity, if you walk out of any given station. Downtown, if you leave South Station, as well as access to the Commuter Rail, Amtrak, and the Red Line and SL4.

Overall, on paper it’s not a terrible route. In fact, I’d argue it’s the best Silver Line route. Unfortunately, though, I’d limit this one to rush hour and special events only (of which neither conditions were true when I rode this). Plus, if you’re going between the three BRT stops along the shared section of the SL1/2/3, odds are you’re gonna be using whatever comes first heading inbound, and it probably won’t be this.

Rating: 7/10

Also, a post-publish edit: shoutouts to everyone who was there. Y’all legit are cool people, and to be real, I had a good time. And to Miles and Jackson, if you see this, best of luck on your cross-country trolleybus journey.

Silver Line Way (Silver Line)

Alrighty, the last of the Silver Line stations for today! Let’s delve into it. The station? Silver Line Way.

Now, for one, there’s nothing really special about Silver Line Way, other than the fact it’s where the diesel-overhead transition happens. That is, if the bus is an old Neoplan. The Xcelsiors (diesel hybrids and BEBs) don’t need to switch over because they don’t have pantographs. The only other things immediately at the station are a turnaround point for the short-turn Silver Line runs and a parking lot.

A normal bus next to a disabled bus….facing the wrong way?

The turnaround point, and that darn bus again.

Overhead catenaries and the bus’s pantographs

Wait, what the? Who’s this walking towards me and the small gathering of people? Not the shadowy figure! Oh god, no, not like this. Please, anything but this. No, no, NOOOOOOOO!!!

TO BE CONTINUED…

The good: It’s right on the waterfront, near a major concert venue.

The bad: …there’s not much else of any major note in the area. Delays are also likely should the handoff between diesel and overhead fail.

Nearby points of interest: The aforementioned concert venue and the waterfront.

Transit connections:
Silver Line (SL1, SL2, SL3, SLW)

Overall, it’s “meh.” If the bus is in the middle of the street, good luck if you need accessibility. The handoff works great if it goes well, but if it goes wrong, it goes REALLY wrong and can cause delays a plenty. But overall, I’d say it’s about average. It does suck if you’re here for 40 minutes in the searing heat, though.

Rating: 4.5/10

Chelsea (Silver Line)

Ooh, another Commuter Rail station! This time, it’s a CR-Silver Line transfer point, and it isn’t in downtown Boston! Neat! Wait, what’s that?

Oh god, no, ***NOT A GRADE CROSSING!!!***

The worst part of the above grade crossing, is that it’s the only way to the other side of the tracks. So, if you’re in a hurry, you best hope the train doesn’t force the gates down and block the street. The station itself is fine, though. You have shelters, modern countdown clocks, and a reasonable amount of benches. You also have a shelter and a turnarond point for the buses in the busway (yes, this is a Silver Line stop!) There also happens to be a bathroom here, too, but I think it’s for MBTA employees only. Nearby is also a connection to the 112 and 114, as well as what seems like the world’s largest Market Basket. As a fun tidbit, further up the busway, one can spot the old Chelsea Station right next to Bellingham Square. While track work upstream led to no trains while I was here, the fact there were people getting on and off the Silver Line stop does suggest there’s ridership.

The quiet platforms heading inbound to North Station

The old Chelsea Station, at Bellingham Square

The good: It links Chelsea to downtown Boston and the south side by way of rapid transit! It’s also useful for people trying to get to the north side by way of Commuter Rail, and more local areas by bus. There’s also a Market Basket here, along with some healthcare buildings nearby!

The bad: THAT. DARN. GRADE CROSSING. God, that irritates me SO MUCH.

Nearby points of interest: There’s Market Basket! There’s also some healthcare buildings in the area along with some state offices.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport, Rockport)
Silver Line (SL3)
MBTA bus (112, 114, at Market Basket)

Overall, it’s a nice station. If I could change anything, it’d be that grade crossing, however that’d open up a whole can of worms I’m not ready for. I do like how it’s right at places where any reasonable person would want to go on any given day, too.

Rating: 7.5/10