Our Commuter Rail Service Really Is The Worst

BOSTON, MA— It's not your imagination – the commuter rail really is the worst. According to federal data, no other comparable transit system had more trains break down last year. The Federal Transit Administration reported 338 mechanical failures on the T in 2016, well ahead of second- and third-worst finishers New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Railroad, which netted 236 and 132 breakdowns, respectively.

The commuter rail web includes 14 routes and 143 stations across Massachusetts, running a total of 24.1 million miles last year. For comparison, its counterparts logged a much greater distance with far fewer breakdowns: New Jersey clocked in at 64.7 million miles and Long Island recorded 76.2 million miles.

Chris Dempsey, director of the transportation advocacy coalition in Massachusetts, told the Boston Herald the commuter rail's reign is expected, especially among its daily riders.

"It’s a combination of years of under-investment, of a challenging contract with the private operator and some failures on the part of the operator itself," he said in an interview with the Herald.

Citing the CEO of Keolis, the private contractor that manages the commuter rail. the Herald reported that the bulk of the T's issues come from its locomotives. Scores of the newer models from 2014 and 2015 have had "turbocharger failures" that necessitate repairs, and Keolis is in the process of rehabbing five older trains.

According to MBTA data cited by Boston Magazine, 90 percent of commuter rail trains run on time. In fact, Keolis says it consistently has all 67 required trains available. As of 2016, though, 240 of the 500 active locomotives were past the 25-year lifespan.

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Image: File Photo