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2004 US Presidential Election
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July 30, 2004
Boston | T quietly ran trains for delegates

BOSTON GLOBE: T quietly ran trains for delegates

The MBTA quietly provided special Orange Line trains for people exiting the FleetCenter on all four nights of the Democratic National Convention, opening the otherwise closed North Station so that some 3,200 delegates, journalists, and others with convention credentials could be whisked to Back Bay Station, free of charge.

Five to six of the special trains were swept for bombs at a railyard and then pulled into North Station, starting at about 10:30 each night. The trains departed regularly, and each made an express run to Back Bay until about midnight, primarily as a security measure to clear the FleetCenter area quickly, said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Regular trains ran in between the special trains, so there was ”no impact on service,” Pesaturo said. People on the platforms at the five stations between the FleetCenter and Back Bay ”saw a train full of people go by, but there was a train right behind it” to pick them up, he said.

Still, word of the special service did not sit well with T riders who have had to put up with baggage inspections and forced transfers to shuttle buses.

”It seems like they’ve overlooked the people of Boston and regular commuters,” said Susan McLay, 23, of Billerica, who takes commuter rail and the Orange Line to the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Charlestown. North Station has been closed to everyone but the conventioneers, she said, which has caused major disruptions in daily routines.

”That doesn’t smell very good to me,” said Julianne Ture, an Orange Line rider who took the week off. ”The whole convention has been such a fiasco.”



Posted by Laurence Simon at July 30, 2004 03:09 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I JUST DONT LIKE THEM…

It is indicative of the elitist Democrat culture. The choice of Boston, Kerry’s home town, yet a venue miles from the city and the common folk. Forced shutdown of the surrounding area, without regard to local businesses. The convention hours where 4:00PM-11:00PM, keeping conventioneers in the Fleet Center, buying DNC merchandise. Sheltered from Boston. Then there is the above special train accommodation. While it may be a safe, even smart idea , that is not really why they did all of the above. If you want to know why, just ask Clinton - it’s BECAUSE THEY COULD.

Contrast this with the Republican choice of New York, the city that never sleeps, and that you can not stop. This is hostile territory, to say the least, yet there they will be in the heart of the city. Think you can shut down businesses in NYC? Fuggeddaboutit! Now surely the President of the United States could have all manner of special accommodations. It is also clear that with the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, NYPD, and National Guard behind them - the RNC could “occupy” New York. THEY COULD - but THEY WONT. There will be no subway shutdowns, and the convention is only from 8:30PM-11:00PM! Leaving time for 50,000 delegates to enjoy the city, that they are not sheltered from, but can not escape!

Is it a recipe for disaster, or triump? Is it naive or true optimism? Does it open the door for protestors in New York, or place faith in the people of New York?

In the end the invasion will be by Democrats - the protestors and the press. Their goals will be to cause disruption and to highight it. But if you ask Mayor Koch (one of New York’s most popular Mayors - a Democrat - Voting for Bush) - the joke is on them. New York can be better than Vegas when it comes to parting fools and their money.

If you dont know Koch - see this recent interview.
It is priceless! He should speak at the convention!
http://www.cbsnewyork.com/sunday/

This may change your view of New Yorkers, a stark contrast to the Hollywood elite. Forget about Florida, New York may just go to George W. Bush…

Posted by: Agrippa [TypeKey Profile Page] at July 30, 2004 04:36 PM

I thought it was the Department of Homeland Security that shut down the surrounding area due to the possibility of a terrorist attack not the DNC, maybe what I heard was inaccurate.

Posted by: rjsfg4 [TypeKey Profile Page] at July 30, 2004 04:45 PM

Ohferchrissakes!

If the transit authority wants to run special trains for delegates, the better to handle the flow, how would that be different in practice than running special buses for the same purpose elsewhere? Which also happens.

Is there no matter too trivial to attempt to blow up into a Major Whine, just because it’s tangentially related to Politics?

Gimme a break!

Posted by: Don [TypeKey Profile Page] at July 31, 2004 10:52 AM

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