Since Intel is located equidistant between the Fitchburg/South Acton and Worcester lines, I sometimes forgo my normal commute and take the opportunity to commute into the city with a co-worker on the Worcester line. I have done this twice in the last couple of weeks and have come to the conclusion that the Fitchburg line is superior. Sure, we have issues with trains being late and often get held up waiting for the single track to open up through Waltham. However, the majority of our trips are spent traveling near top speed for commuter rail, around 60 mph so it feels like you're actually going somewhere.
Compare this to the Worcester line where, since they added 12 minutes of buffer into the schedule, the trains seem to crawl along through Framingham and much of Natick at perhaps 25 mph. It doesn't make much sense to me since the line is almost fully double tracked. I feel that if they were able to optimize the line so you're traveling at or near top speed the whole way, it would make the train an even more attractive option for those commuting from the western suburbs. Perhaps this will happen now that the state has bought the rights to the tracks from CSX. Only time will tell. Until then, I'll stick to my Fitchburg trains.
