Taking the Train to the Stadium

[fourthandmiles]

You might want to check and make sure that there is not a surcharge or something to get you near the stadium if you go the cab route.

 

[PatriotsReign]

Anyone else do it? You cant beat the price! $12 round trip and no traffic. Also, is there anything in particular I should know before taking it?

It is nice compared to sitting in traffic. However if you are taking it from Providence, there is some bad news. It only goes 15mph from Mansfield to Gillette and it takes about 35 just for that leg of the trip. I spoke with a member of the T and he said it was the law. The tracks from Mansfield to gillette are freight tracks and therefore not safe for high-speed travel.

Last week I went with my brother & 2 of my nephews and we got to ride for free. If the train fills up, the conductors can't make their rounds and collect train fare. I got on in Attleboro and the train filled to SRO at Mansfield.

 

[Mogamedogz]

It is nice compared to sitting in traffic. However if you are taking it from Providence, there is some bad news. It only goes 15mph from Mansfield to Gillette and it takes about 35 just for that leg of the trip. I spoke with a member of the T and he said it was the law. The tracks from Mansfield to gillette are freight tracks and therefore not safe for high-speed travel.

Last week I went with my brother & 2 of my nephews and we got to ride for free. If the train fills up, the conductors can't make their rounds and collect train fare. I got on in Attleboro and the train filled to SRO at Mansfield.

Im going to board in Providence. So I should be able to snag a good seat (near a door). Thanks for the heads up on the Mansfield delay. I'll probably just bring a walkman to listen to the pre-game shows. Im looking forward to trying it out. It's allot cheaper and easier for me if all goes smooth.

 

[pheenix11]

My wife and I flew in for the Jets game last week and we stayed in the city so we didn't rent a car. The train was a total clusterfuk last week. Because of the weather more people showed up than the they could handle. There was a line to buy tickets wrapped around South Station. Finally it was time to load the train so they just said screw the tickets and told people to board the train. It was packed to the gills and skipped every stop on the way down. Apparently they then got a 2nd train to get the rest of the people. We were on the first train and got there right at kickoff.

The stadium does not have an actual platform so you have to jump like 4 feet into the snow to get off the train and then trudge through the snow alongside the train until you get to the walkway into the stadium. I don't know WTF the train does when it gets to Walpole but it sits there for like 10-20 minutes and the engineer walks from one end of the train to the other to start driving the other way.

Going back, the game ended at 4pm, the train didn't leave until 5pm even though it is supposed to leave at 430pm. I don't think we got into the Back Bay station until 620pm or so and then had to ride body to body on an Orange line train.

This train has great potential but as it is now it is a friggin mess like everything else the MBTA touches. Kraft needs to build a real station and put real tracks around Foxboro. The MBTA needs to run more than 1 train and let people buy tickets at the kiosks or online. I think on a day when the weather is more normal it would probably work more smoothly. Its a great idea, just poorly implemented. If anyone has ever ridden public transportation in other cities like Wash DC, you would understand what a joke the MBTA is. They need to get their act together.

My advice: Go to South Station or Providence station, you need to get on the train at the first stop it departs from. If the train leaves at 11am get to South Station around 930 so you can avoid the long lines for tickets. I was worried about getting a seat on the train going back so I left the game a little early in the 4th quarter which kinda sucked. I am not sure if I needed to do this but the experience was kind of nerve wracking.