Various stories on the MBTA Green Line extension generated many comments on BostonGlobe.com. The following is an edited sample:
Who’s going to pay for this and who gets fired?
When will we revolt?! When will we organize?! This is no longer laughable. It’s infuriating and embarrassing! Can we stop paying taxes?! (WashingtonMD)
The problem was known early in 2021. Why wasn’t it fixed and long forgotten before now? What’s the excuse, this time? (Trebla125)
Thanks for the memories, Charlie Baker! (RFC1211)
If there is a swear jar in Eng’s office, it must be the size of the gas tank on Interstate 93. (Solami)
The level of corruption within the MBTA is unfathomable. (Lacey9)
Probably the level of corruption exists in other state agencies, but the MBTA affects hundreds of thousands of people every day. It is the means for people to get to work and earn money to feed their families and pay the bills. These folks have little choice to commute, owning a car is very expensive and taking it into Boston is a horror show if you can’t afford the $40 a day to park. But I repeat, don’t forget that many of the folks who run the state and the MBTA drive to work and many get paid to do so. These people live way up on the hill of lifestyle and have no clue what real work is. These people have caused the backs of the working class to be broken. Last week I took an Uber to MGH, a 10-mile distance. At 1 p.m., the cost was $28. Going home at 3 p.m., the cost for the same distance was $75 for rush-hour pricing. Thank God I no longer have to commute to Boston. (ricard0)
Poor Eng — it’s tough to be the messenger and no one will be satisfied by the pace with which he can fix mistakes he inherited. (neveruse)
Please fire anyone who knew about the problem and didn’t immediately raise alarm bells! (jeffinbrighton)
We can’t fire Charlie Baker but at least he is gone either way. (Burt Sampson)
Wow. So ridiculous. Yes, the extension is safe. If you travel at 3 mph. This is a huge coverup. Hope some heads roll. Because the trains are not. (REB-57)
Only one question: Who pays for this? (pnntfvr@rcn.com)
So where did the $2 billion go if it wasn’t for quality rails? A nice breakdown by components would be insightful. (tmac182)
My question is why Baker was reelected. What a bad manager. State troopers, veterans nursing homes, and now this. (flabbergasted)
‘Mind-boggling’: Just when T riders thought they could no longer be shocked
I think it’s disingenuous to say “mistakes happen” in this case. When you’re spending this kind of money on a capital improvement you can’t make a mistake as fundamental as this without a level of dysfunction that is mind-boggling. I’ve rejected the Republican ethos of small government my entire life and this has shaken that belief right to the core. (JohnHenrysCarbonFootprint)
It’s time to start winding down the MBTA. Running trains on steel tracks was achieved in the mid-19th century. Yet the MBTA regularly fails at this function. Turn the keys over to a third party. (Nossir)
@Nossir: The T managers who led the GLX project, and who were ultimately responsible for the safe and correct installation of the new tracks, have been fired. Let’s not “wind down” anything when public transit is needed now more than ever. Give Mr. Eng time to fix this mess (not that he needed another mess to clean up). The contractors who installed the track will have to repair the tracks at their expense. I hope that the T sues them for substandard work. (morlamweb)
This level of incompetence defies belief. I don’t believe this is an isolated incident at the T, do you? Mistakes are likely covered up routinely. (pdmommy)
Charlie Baker and Steve Poftak are responsible for this disaster. The fish always starts rotting from the head. (MLSE)
The former governor, once the nation’s most popular governor, would not be elected dog catcher if he was still in the political arena in the state. (maurice1234)
This is criminal. People die because the T is so bad. (And the whole region suffers from a slow, inadequate system.) Prosecute the T officials and contractors who participated in the cover up! (readerofbooks)