The blog that started it all! Check out reviews of every bus route and train station in Boston, as well as ongoing reviews of the regional bus systems in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Recent Posts from Miles on the MBTA
CATA: Yellow Line (City of Beverly Shuttle)
Who knew Beverly had its own circulator route? And who knew it costs a mere 50 cents to ride, or 25 cents for seniors and people with disabilities? It has an 8 dollar monthly pass! Of course, to get where you want to go on the Yellow Line, you have to sit through...
Rockport
The final stop on the Rockport Line, and its namesake! What kind of epic terminal station does it have? Is it full of amazing amenities? No? Well, okay then... The parking lot. Rockport has a strange layout. The parking lot has 88 free (!) spaces, and it wraps around...
Manchester
I was gonna do the Beverly Farms/Prides Crossing combo during the morning rush one day in the summer, but nope - the conductor decided to just skip Beverly Farms, which is a flag stop, without asking anyone if they were getting off there. I ended up at Manchester...
Beverly Farms
A mere 0.8 miles away from Prides Crossing, we have a station that actually gets, you know, service. What does Beverly Farms have to offer over its microstation cousin? We'll find out. The platform. Okay, the outbound side of Beverly Farms has basically nothing, so we...
Montserrat
Wow, I totally forgot to post this after North Beverly, but anyway...this is going in reverse from what I actually did one summer day, but I walked from Montserrat to North Beverly in half an hour! Who knew they were within somewhat close walking distance? Well, here...
Mishawum
In the 90s, Mishawum was on top of the world. With its attractive highway location, it had a huge parking lot, a Logan Express bus connection, and tons of riders. Then, in 2001, Anderson/Woburn opened up. All of a sudden, Mishawum became almost completely obsolete,...
GUEST POST: Forge Park/495
Mike N. sent in another guest post, this time of the terminus of the Franklin Line: Thanks to my uncle Robert, I was able to get some footage and review the station at the end of the Franklin Line. Let’s hop right into this review! The station is very snowy, however...
Prides Crossing
Oho, a microstation! How many trains per day does Prides Crossing get? Three in the morning and five in the evening. Unlike your typical Hastings, though, Prides Crossing actually has itself some amenities. Let's see what they are... Okay, then. Huh. Well, it...
Beverly
Beverly: the point where the Newburyport and Rockport Line come together, as well as the third-busiest station on the whole Commuter Rail. So why is it so subpar? Looking down the platform. We'll start with a good part: the platforms. I gotta say, the shelter to...
North Beverly
Oh God, ew. We've taken a sharp turn for the worst since our last review, and all it took was a 4 minute train ride! Welp...here's North Beverly. Oh boy, great start! We begin with the station parking lot, which is tiny (87 spaces) and, at least in the summer, very...
James Asks…
What is the best setting for taking photos in underground stations...should you use flash or non flash? Has there been times when MBTA employees or train operators have had a problem with you taking photos of trains and stations? Thanks for an interesting question,...
Hamilton/Wenham
A modern Commuter Rail station located in a downtown? A modern Commuter Rail station with character? No, no, I simply can't believe it. And yet, here it is: Hamilton/Wenham. Wow, that's a lot of bikes! The station is well-connected to the immediate area by foot, with...
Ipswich
Alright, now we're getting somewhere! Ipswich is a huge destination in the summer and its station is right in its downtown. The barebones mini-high. Although it's accessible, the station is plagued with a truly nothing mini-high platform. I mean, literally...
Rowley
Why does the first outbound Newburyport train not make Rowley? Geez, what's a guy gotta do to review the place? Go up to Newburyport and make a mad dash across the platform for the one-minute connection to an inbound train to take one stop going inbound? Yes. All that...
South Weymouth, Abington, Whitman, and Kingston
Look, it's four Old Colony stations. No one's gonna mind if I just bunch them all together in one review, right...? Our first stop. South Weymouth is as basic an Old Colony station as you can get. It's just one track with a long high-level platform stretching way out...