The MBTA’s commuter rail weekend service through Lincoln has been suspended until November 24 for a major overhaul to the Fitchburg line that includes an extension from the current Fitchburg terminus, upgrades to the South Acton station, and other fixes.

According to an MBTA website, “ridership levels on the Fitchburg commuter rail line have been adversely affected by poor reliability, infrequent service, and long travel times, the longest in fact on the MBTA commuter rail network.” The line has has one of the worst on-time performance records in the commuter rail system but also  the oldest infrastructure, according to the website.

The project  includes replacement and realignment of the track structure, replacement or repair of eight bridge structures, upgrades to the signal and communication systems, and resolution of freight-passenger rail conflicts. The result will be modernized allowing 80 mph travel speeds and service reliability increase from the 83 percent to over 95 percent on-time performance.

When it’s completed, the new end of the line will be Wachusett, located at the intersection of Routes 2 and 31 in Fitchburg. The MBTA hopes this will encourage car commuters who use Route 2 to switch to the commuter rail.

Click here for a current train schedule.

 

By Alice Waugh

Update, July 19 at 1 p.m: Lincoln Police say that an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death was conducted late Thursday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and no signs of trauma were found. The autopsy results are pending toxicology, which generally take several weeks to complete

The Boston Globe reported this morning that, while the cause of Stephen Rakes’ death is still undertermined, “authorities believe that he may have died elsewhere and that his body was dumped near a popular walking trail off Mill Street, where it was found, say several people familiar with the investigation.”

“Investigators were trying to determine Thursday how Rakes, who was not carrying a wallet, ended up in Lincoln, say those familiar with the investigation,” the Globe reported. His body was found by a jogger Wednesday afternoon on Mill Street near the entrance to a walking trail and gated access road to the Cambridge Reservoir.

Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Mooney said on Friday that the body was found 15 feet from the road. Lincoln police are involved in the ongoing investigation along with state police detectives in a joint effort under the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

In another piece in today’s Boston Globe, columnist Kevin Cullen reported that “cops say the death is suspicious, probably because they don’t believe the body ended up there by accident.”

Rakes was expecting to testify against James “Whitey” Bulger in the alleged mobster’s trial now going on in Boston. Rakes had said that in 1984, Bulger threatened him with a gun in front of his children if he didn’t sell his liquor store. However, prosecutors recently decided not to call Rakes as a witness.

By Alice Waugh

Lincoln police have confirmed that the body of Stephen Rakes, 59, of Quincy was found off Mill Street in Lincoln at about 1:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Rakes had hoped to testify against mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger, claiming that Bulger forced him under threat of death to sell his recently opened South Boston liquor store in 1984, according to a 2001 Boston Globe article.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, though there were no obvious signs of trauma, according to a press release from the Middlesex District Attorney press office.

The Boston Globe reported today that Steve Davis, the brother of alleged Bulger murder victim Debra Davis and a close friend of Rakes, said Rakes had talked about buying property in Lincoln and suggested that Rakes may have been in the town to look at property. The Globe also reported that Boston attorney Anthony Cardinale, who represented Rakes’s ex-wife, Julie Dammers, said he doubted that Rakes’ death had anything to do with the the Bulger prosecution. According to the New York Times, Rakes recently learned that we would not be called as a witness in Bulger’s trial.

When asked on Thursday by the Lincoln Squirrel precisely where on Mill Street the body was found and by whom, Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Mooney referred all questions to the DA press office, which declined to answer further questions. The incident remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Lincoln Police Department.

 

 

By Alice Waugh

As the Route 2 project continues to affect residents, the town is looking at ways to deter drivers from trying ineffective and unsafe methods of avoiding the construction, and the Route 2 Oversight Committee has begun meeting regularly. The Board of Selectman outlined the project’s scope and the town’s response in the latest Selectmen’s Newsletter.

[Read more…] about Town keeping close watch on Route 2 project

Here are the results of the June 25 special election for U.S. Senator in Lincoln and surrounding towns, courtesy of boston.com. Ed Markey won the statewide vote by a margin of 55% to 45%.

	Gabriel Gomez (R)	Ed Markey (D)	Richard Heos (Twelve Visons Party)
Lincoln	526 (27%)	1,386 (72%)	3 (0%)
Weston	1,431 (48%)	1,545 (52%)	11 (0%)
Sudbury	2,303 (42%)	3,179 (58%)	32 (1%)
Lexington	2,305 (25%)	6,877 (75%)	17 (0%)
Concord	1,671 (32%)	3,622 (68%)	10 (0%)
Wayland	1,303 (36%)	2,311 (64%)	8 (0%)