Framingham MBTA Station Tips
Recently I wrote a blog posting with an update on the parking situation at the Framingham MBTA station. I want to follow up with some tips about the station based on my year and a half experience taking the commuter rail every day.
The cheapest monthly parking is at the Framingham parking garage on Pearl Street. Some business offer cheaper prices by renting out their space. The garage is the best option for the winter months because you don't need to dig out your car after a long day. (I have also seen some cars get flooded out because they park in the parking lot behind the Park Street Baptist Church.)
If you park at the MBTA parking lot, or the Framingham garage, your best bet is to take the cross over bridge if you take any of the evening rush hour trains to Framingham. This is because the walk is overall shorter and in the winter time the entire walkway is completely cleared. The Waverly street walkway is not 100% clear by the Old Station Steakhouse and can be icy.
The train is about 95% on time, so do what you can to get their early! The bells at the train station go off about 30 seconds before the train arrives. Most people that are in the Framingham MBTA parking lot will make the train. I have seen people drive in and park and sprint to the train and make it within plenty of time.
During the morning rush hour, there's usually 3 areas to board the train.The best place to board is towards the head of the train, which in the morning is just under the crossover bridge. The first cars are the closest to the entrance for Back Bay and South Station.
The quiet car is the last car on the train, and at the Framingham stop that's the handicap boarding. However, I have found that regardless of where you sit on the train most people are quiet. Every once in a while you end up near someone who just bump into someone for the first time in so long and you get the pleasure of hearing all about their business. (I once had the pleasure of hearing someone on a conference call for most of the duration to Boston.)
There is wireless access on the commuter rail, it was the first rail to offer such service, however its not always reliable as the wireless service is really bad in parts of Wellsley and Natick. This is true for cell phone services. I have found once I made it past route 128 in Newton, the cellular and Internet service is fairly reliable.
During really bad weather, the Natick Station can flood up and this will cause delays on the rail. There's nothing you can do, other than bring a good book to read or plan to take a later train and hope that the flood dries up.
There's always some taxis waiting at the Framingham train station. Almost every evening rush hour train I have seen several taxis waiting.
There is a shuttle SUV from Philips that drops off and picks up passengers. I don't know much about their service, but their they are the only company that provides this service. This is worth looking into if your considering applying for a job at Philips.
At the Back Bay station, the Framingham train always leaves from track five or seven. Since April, it has been track seven due to construction at the Yawkey Station. If you are coming from the Copley Square area you don't need to go through the station, you can enter through the stairs across the street from the station.