My new commute is: An 8-minute walk to West Natick station, a 30 minute (express) or 48 minute (local) train ride, and a 5 minute walk from South Station to the office. Although it still involves a train, it is quite different from the Red Line. I expect a dearth of prime Tales from the T material. The prevailing mood of the commuter rail is bored and somber. Wackiness rarely ensues.
People ride the Red Line for lots of reasons, but recreational use is not sufficient reason for the commuter rail’s existence. It is functions solely as transport for suburbanites to and from urban offices. Standing on a woodsy commuter rail platform with scores of unmoving smartly-dressed professionals fiddling with their Blackberries and WSJs is vaguely uncomfortable. It underscores the train’s purpose, and we are like ants marching towards sustenance, and then marching back to our anthills to enjoy the windfall.
