Boston-area commuter rail least reliable in U.S.

BOSTON – Commuters riding the rails around suburban Boston, including those served locally by the Newburyport/Rockport Line, have another thing to gripe about: one of the slowest commuter rail systems in the country.Over the past four years, Boston’s commuter rail lines have trailed the nation’s four other large suburban rail systems – Chicago’s Metra, New Jersey Transit’s commuter rail, New York’s Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.Since January, the system has posted its worst on-time performance. Just over 84 percent of commuter trains have been on time, compared to an average of 94 percent or higher for rail lines in other states, according to a published report.The Newburyport/Rockport line runs up the North Shore from North Station through Lynn and Salem to Rockport with local stops at the General Electric River Works, Lynn’s Central Square and the Swampscott station at Burrill St & Railroad Ave. Bus lines fan out from these rail terminals across the North Shore.On Monday, the MBTA board is scheduled to vote on whether to grant the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a long-term lease. One option is to give the company a three year extension, less than the five years the company is seeking.The company has operated the system for the past four years at a cost of about 29 cents per passenger mile. That’s lower than Chicago (31 cents), New Jersey (33 cents), Metro-North (46 cents) and the LIRR (49 cents).But that lower cost has come at a price of late trains and growing commuter frustration.Monday’s vote comes after the commuter rail’s worst two months. Three out of 10 trains were late in October and November.James O’Leary, general manager and co-owner of the railroad company, said he understands the frustration, but said the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company has performed well over the life of the contract, despite old trains and workforce problems.”You need to look at what we’ve accomplished over the last four and a half years,” O’Leary said. “We basically have achieved what the T has asked for.”Boston’s commuter rail system, which carries about 72,000 passengers round-trip every day, is the largest in the country run by a private company.Under its $1 billion contract, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company is required to deliver trains within a five-minute window 95 percent of the time.But the contract also allows for exceptions for late trains for circumstances beyond the company’s control. Taking into account those exceptions, the company has a 95.1 percent performance rate over the life of the contract.State Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen, who also sits on the board of the MBTA, has called the delays over the past two months “completely unacceptable,” and says he’s been disappointed with the company’s slow pace in revamping older coaches – a project a year behind schedule.Cohen, who worked for six months for O’Leary at the company, has decided not to vote on the company’s contract extension to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest.(Material from the Associated Press contributed to this story)