Smooth Rides, No Hooliganism: A Review of the MBTA’s World Cup Service

The MBTA this summer has undertaken the daunting task of ferrying tens of thousands of soccer fans — many from abroad, many a bit inebriated — to and from Gillette Stadium for the World Cup. 

Having been lucky enough to score a ticket to the England vs. Ghana match on June 23, I decided to try the service for myself. 

My expectations weren’t high. The Commuter Rail is not renowned for its reliability or punctuality. The T’s World Cup debut, on June 13, received subpar reviews from many fans, who complained of congested queues and long waits. 

The weather on June 23 portended another lackluster experience. The sky was a sheet of gray, and there was a light drizzle. 

My boarding group’s check-in period ran from 12 to 12:30pm, so I arrived at South Station at around noon. A chunk of Summer Street was closed off to vehicle traffic, allowing ample space for queueing. 

After the first match, T officials say, the agency added queueing space along Summer Street and updated signage. 

Staffing and security were plentiful; the T says 700 agency and Keolis workers – including in maintenance, customer service, and train operations – are in action every matchday. Some workers blared directions over loudspeakers, while others yelled commands like TSA guards. 

I picked up two free ponchos from T staff and entered a small gauntlet of metal fencing along Summer Street. I passed through ticket check and security with little hassle. 

Attendees were then corralled under the station’s covered patio. A dense blob of riders formed as we awaited permission to enter the platform and board. Some England supporters passed the time with chants, and some T workers wearing foam fingers reciprocated the good cheer. 

After about six minutes, by my tally, we poured through the fare gates and boarded the train. We set off south not long after. The trip took around 45 minutes. 

As we disembarked at Foxboro station, I overheard a group of riders with American accents compliment the journey. 

“That was quite comfortable,” one said.

My return trip involved a bit more waiting. 

The final whistle sounded at about 6 p.m.; the first northbound train was set to depart half an hour later. I descended from Gillette’s rafters, passed through ticket check, made a pitstop at one of the dozens of conveniently-located porta-potties, and wound through an even larger maze of metal fences linking the stadium to the station.

I stood in line for about half an hour. Those unable to pass the time by conversing with their friends or staring at their phones could watch a live TV broadcast on a massive screen overlooking the queue. 

According to an MBTA spokesperson, automated passenger counters clocked average queue wait times of around 13 minutes at South Station and roughly 21 minutes at Foxboro.

I squeezed onto a train at about 7 p.m. and arrived at South Station at 7:55. All told, the journey, from start to finish, felt remarkably smooth. 

Despite gripes about the $80 ticket price and Gillette’s distance from Boston, many other riders felt the same. 

Laurence Reid, a Brit living in the Boston area, attended the match with a friend visiting from the U.K. 

“We were a bit shocked by the price and why that had to be,” Reid said. “But the train rides were fun and logistics worked really well. So [we] thought the MBTA did a nice job!”

The $80 price tag — far more expensive than typical MBTA special event trains — led many to accuse the T of profiteering. But even if the T sells every available ticket (it hasn’t), it still expects to spend far more money on the event’s complicated logistics than it will reap in revenue.