Petition aims to sway MBTA over commuter rail schedule

Lincoln residents who are unhappy with the planned elimination of rush-hour train stops in Lincoln are circulating an online petition to try to avert the schedule change.

The current Fitchburg line schedule has a train leaving North Station at 5:30 p.m. and arriving in Lincoln at 6:04 p.m. after stopping at Porter Square and Brandeis. Under the new schedule, which goes into effect December 14, a train will leave North Station at 5:36 p.m. with stops at Porter and Waltham, but will then proceed to South Acton without stopping in Lincoln, Concord or West Concord.

Evening commuters to Lincoln will now have to leave North Station at 4:54 or 5:55 p.m. “Commuters who work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with no schedule flexibility have only the later option, which would also include a 30-45 minute wait at North Station,” the petition says.

The T is also eliminating a 7:50 a.m. inbound stop in Lincoln, giving commuters the option of trains stopping at 7:34 and 8:15 a.m.

Lincoln resident Ruth Rothstein created the petition (which had 40 signatures as of Sunday night) and circulated a link over the LincolnTalk email list. Her petition doesn’t mention the loss of the morning train stop. “It’s a hassle, but nothing near the evening commute—but in no way does it mean that the morning commute isn’t a problem,” she said.

“My evening rush-hour commute choices were reduced by 30 percent. I’d like a 30 percent discount on my $239 monthly pass,” Rothstein wrote in a comment accompanying her signature on the petition. Other comments by signatories include:

• “As a two-income household, we rely on consistent public transport within the time constraints required by daycare. This schedule change will not allow for daycare pickup while using the MBTA. Our family will be adding to road congestion, pollution, foreign gas and oil to commute to Alewife if this schedule proposal is put in place. Please expand service on the oldest and most congested line in the system, rather than contract service offerings.” (Francis Carmody, Sudbury)
• “I can not practically leave work before 5, and would now have a to wait until the 6 train, allowing less time with kids before their bedtime. My alternatives are to commute from Acton (which already has too few parking spots) or drive to Alewife, which is also crowded and would increase Route 2 traffic.” (Derek Moran, Maynard)
• “My family just purchased a home in Lincoln in large part due to the convenient commuter rail options. Now those options are being taken away—no options to commute home at peak rush hour besides driving a car. There are other communities we could have chosen if we were going to drive anyway.” (Daniel White, Portland, OR)

The Boston Globe reported on Sunday that riders on the Haverhill and Lowell lines, which are also getting schedule changes, are unhappy as well. A petition to maintain an evening Haverhill line rush-hour stop in Wakefield had 1,118 signatures as of Sunday night. The aim was to add more rush-hour trains and cut down on delays by building in more time in between trains so delays for one train won’t affect every other train that follows it, according to the Globe.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo told the Lincoln Squirrel that the schedule change would go ahead as planned, adding that schedules are reexamined twice a year.

In an October 5 story, the Globe reported that the proposed changes were unveiled at a meeting of the fiscal control board, the body that oversees the T. An outside operator, Keolis Commuter Services, runs the commuter rail, but the MBTA sets and approves the schedules, the story noted.