I've been away for a while, first just busy, then traveling for a week in London and Barcelona. I'll say more about that (and the excellence of the public transit in those two cities) in a later post. For now, I must remark on the best thing that has happened so far in my short time commuting on the Red Line.
Earlier this week, despite it being school vacation week and, one would expect, less busy for commuters, the train was completely packed. And I mean completely. Packed. Like sardines packed. I was most fortunate to have a seat, but sometimes those people standing, hovering above you can really put a shadow over your reading material. Plus I was really scrunched in between two other people.
But I digress. The great thing that happened was this: At Harvard Station, the conductor announced that the train was being redirected and would go "express" to Charles/MGH (bypassing Central and Kendall Stations). No doubt some of the riders were inconvenienced by this action, most of all those who were unable to translate the static-y announcement that was repeated several times at varying volume. But I was ecstatic. I mean, finally, sanity. The train is already too full. Why stop and let more people on? Really?
Why the T doesn't do this more often I don't know, but I will attempt to find out and report back.
