Overnight rail work in Natick and Wellesley, June 9-10

June 8, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

This from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA):

Advisory: Overnight Rail Work in Natick and Wellesley June 9-10.

MassDOT and the MBTA are undertaking federally mandated Positive Train Control (PTC) infrastructure installation which will increase the safety of commuter rail customers and would like to advise the community of upcoming overnight welding and rail work within the right-of-way along the MBTA Worcester Commuter Rail Line in Natick and Wellesley.

Due to the equipment necessary to perform this work, higher noise levels can be expected. Starting Saturday June 9 at 5am and overnight into Sunday June 10, 2018 until 5 pm, the PTC Systems Integrator Ansaldo STS USA, Inc. is scheduled to perform welding activities along the rail. The work will take place along the Worcester Line at locations in the vicinity of Marion Street in Natick, at locations in the vicinity of Wellesley College, on the rail line behind Linden Street (between Crest Road and Weston Road) in Wellesley, and on the tracks north of Route 9 in Wellesley.

Please note this work is being done only along one track and crews will return at a later date to complete the second track. For further information regarding PTC please visit: mbta.com/ptc. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. We appreciate your patience as the MBTA takes this important step in making the railways safer for customers with the implementation of the PTC program. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact the PTC program at 617-721-7506 or [email protected].

Pedestrian struck and killed on train tracks in Wellesley Square

May 29, 2018 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

The MBTA Transit Police report that a man struck on the Wellesley tracks by a train traveling to Boston from Worcester has died. His name has not been released.

When we got a couple readers asking about all the sirens in town, we contacted the Wellesley police, whose spokesperson said, “The trains are stopped. There was a pedestrian on the tracks struck by the train. It is being investigated by the Transit Police Department.” The incident occurred at approximately 3pm.

WPD and the Transit Police investigated the incident on the train tracks near Central Street and Weston Road. Wellesley Police say the incident does not appear to be suspicious. MBTA Transit Police referred to the deceased as a trespasser, as they typically do when it comes to these types of situations.

Another man was killed on the tracks after being struck by a train near Wellesley Square in late 2016.

Would bike sharing catch on in Wellesley?

May 27, 2018 by bbrown Leave a Comment

Wellesley was not among the more than a dozen Boston-area suburbs chosen for a new regional bike-sharing program, but there could be interest in bringing this transportation alternative to town.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council recently announced it has partnered with a couple of dockless bike sharing firms that will let you rent a bike in communities such as Newton and Needham by this summer using a smartphone app (or possibly other means) and pick up/drop off the bikes all around. Dockless bike sharing differs from the Blue Bikes (formerly Hubway) system in Boston where bikes are rented from fixed docks, such as South Station.

Dockless bike sharing systems are still working out the kinks. A friend who was recently in Seattle said shared bikes are scattered all over the place. Boston has been confiscating dockless bikes abandoned within its jurisdiction, where the docked Blue Bikes rule.

Wellesley College launched a bike sharing program in 2012. It will be interesting to see whether the rest of the town gets into the act. We know sustainability-minded residents and those involved with the town’s emerging Unified Plan are exploring Wellesley’s overall transportation scene and that bike sharing is among the opportunities being discussed.

Stay tuned for more, and feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

Wellesley Middle School bike rack

Wellesley parking don’ts

May 23, 2018 by bbrown 1 Comment

Wellesley has its share of parking challenges, but sometimes people go to extremes.

A reader shared this photo from the limited parking lot at the Wellesley Hills train station one morning last week (“That lot is small as it is without taking up two spots.”).

parking wellesley hills train station — Now we don’t know if this driver was forced into this overlapping position by a vehicle previous parked nearby, but it’s not a good look

Separately, bikes are growing on trees outside of Peet’s in Wellesley Square.

bike tree wellesley peets

Weekend commuter rail passengers must catch the bus starting May 26

May 22, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The upcoming temporary MBTA Worcester line commuter rail schedule changes we reported about early last year will become a reality on May 26, according to a Massachusetts Department of Transportation press release. On that date, the MBTA will replace the weekend Worcester line service with free buses for 11 weekends, which will take the temporary changes through August 5.

The MBTA is making the late-spring through mid-summer change in order to satisfy a federally mandated requirement to install Positive Train Control (PTC) infrastructure. PTC is a safety control system designed to reduce train speeds as needed and prevent train-on-train collisions.

The project will be completed in two phases, and it’s the second phase that will most affect Wellesley residents.

Phase 1: May 26 to June 17 free bus service will replace the trains between Worcester and Framingham stations.

Phase 2: June 23 – August 5 free bus service will replace the trains between Framingham and Wellesley Farms. This free bus also will connect to the Green Line at Riverside Station. During this Phase there will be no weekend trains between Framingham and South Station.

The timing of the buses are expected to be similar to the train schedule. Calculate your fare here.