(The following article by Mac Daniel was posted on the Boston Globe website on October 12.)
BOSTON — On-time performance for commuter rail trains rose dramatically in the weeks after the MBTA hauled in top officials of the consortium that runs the system to answer to a flood of complaints from angry passengers.
But that improvement screeched to a halt on some lines in the weeks after the consortium’s head resigned in late August, according to the system’s latest performance figures.
Average on-time performance of peak-commute trains improved on nine of 13 lines in August, the month after the T demanded better service. But in September, while the on-time record continued to improve on three lines, it slid on three others.
The heads of the MBTA and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad pledged Thursday to continue trying to improve service, but said that the trends are headed in the right direction.
‘‘Overall, we’re pleased,’’ said new MBCR chief James O’Leary. ‘‘But we’re still pushing toward the goal of 95 percent on-time performance.’’
O’Leary took over on Aug. 23 as head of the commuter rail consortium after Paul Lundberg resigned under heavy criticism about late trains and chronic poor service, which worsened after the Big Dig tunnel closings sent more commuters to trains.
Lundberg had led the MBCR since it signed a five-year, $1.07 billion contract with the T in 2003 to run the nation’s fifth-largest commuter rail network, with 40 million passengers a year in nearly 80 municipalities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Daniel A. Grabauskas, the general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority who summoned top MBCR officials on July 27 after numerous complaints from riders, said the statistics show the consortium is headed in the right direction.
‘‘Overall performance on commuter rail improved from July to August and again from August to September,’’ he said Thursday. ‘‘That is, I believe, a very positive sign, and I think it indicates that MBCR has gotten the message and is working to improve.’’
After the across-the-board improvements of commute-time trains in August, performance was more mixed in September. Trains to and from South Station, which go to the southern and western suburbs and Rhode Island, fared better than North Station trains, which serve communities north and west of Boston.
In September, more trains ran on schedule on four of eight South Station lines during the morning commute and on six lines during the afternoon. The Worcester-Framingham line recorded the biggest improvement, jumping to 78 percent on time last month from 65 percent in August in the mornings, and improving to 100 percent on time in the afternoons from 91 percent.
But at North Station, more trains in September ran late on three of five lines during both the morning and afternoon commutes than in August. For instance on the Newburyport line, 92 percent of morning commute trains ran on time last month, dropping from 96 percent in August. Afternoon on-time performance on the line, which has the second-highest ridership out of North Station, declined slightly to 90 percent in September from about 91 percent in August.
When all trains, not just those during rush hours, are counted, performance has consistently improved since July. Nearly 93 percent of trains were on time in and out of North Station last month, up from 91 percent in August and 84 percent in July. At South Station, 96 percent of trains ran on time, up from 93 percent in August and 88 percent in July.
A total of 37 trains were canceled last month, 288 were five to nine minutes late, 57 were 15 to 19 minutes late, and 60 were 20 to 39 minutes late. That represents an improvement from July, when 58 trains were canceled, 582 were five to nine minutes late, 202 were 15 to 19 minutes late, and 245 were 20 to 39 minutes late. Figures for August were not available Thursday.
Trains are counted as on time if they arrive within five minutes of their posted schedule.
Some lines have specific issues, Grabauskas said, many of which are beyond the control of MBCR and the T.
On the Lowell Line, for example, on-time performance plummeted to 76 percent in September during the morning commute from 91 percent in August. T and MBCR officials blamed work that was underway replacing 7.5 miles of track, mostly during the morning. During the afternoon commute, the line ran at 96 percent on time last month, down from 99 percent in August.
In October and November, the system is likely to experience delays from fallen leaves on tracks, which are a problem for transit agencies throughout the Northeast during the fall.
The leaves coat rail tracks with a slippery goo, which gets even more slippery in rain, sometimes causing locomotives to slide on the rails and making it more difficult for them to brake. That forces lower speed limits at times. Other times, trains overshoot stops and have to back up, causing more delays. Some locomotives have to be taken out of service so their wheels can be fixed after locking on the slippery rails.
To combat the problem, the T and MBCR this week began using a makeshift high-pressure sprayer to clean the tracks of leaves. The $750,000 contraption — a diesel engine and pump mounted on a flatcar hauling a tank car holding as much as 22,000 gallons of water — will be run seven days a week throughout the system until the end of November. The sprayer was first used in 2003. A second vehicle is on order, but won’t be ready until next year, officials said.
‘‘We always see some decline because of wheel-slip problems,’’ he said. ‘‘Again, we ask customers to be patient.’’