T to cut trains in severe storms

Now, 23 percent of commuter rail trains will be canceled in advance - to try to allow workers and equipment more breathing room to keep up with storm fighting while giving remaining trains a better chance of arriving on time. Buses and subways will see less dramatic reductions.

The change is a first for the T but follows similar measures taken by some peer agencies, including D.C.’s Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, whose winter schedule T officials studied.

“What we learned from last year is trying to maintain a full schedule will be difficult for us in a severe storm, both on subway and commuter rail,’’ said Jonathan R. Davis, acting general manager of the MBTA.

Commuter rail rider Jeff Bellin of Salem said the idea of running less service when the roads are most dangerous is infuriating.

“Instead of cutting back on service, they should be adding service,’’ said Bellin, an actor who rides the Newburyport/Rockport Line when he works in Boston, and whose wife, a state employee, uses it daily. “If the reputation is out there that the T is unreliable, that it’s uncomfortable, you’re going to be more likely to have people using alternative methods, which is going to make road conditions and accidents even worse.’’

Davis said he hopes customers will be understanding, particularly if the T does a better job of providing real-time information about problems and conditions.

Transportation woes last winter were compounded by communication issues, which included website crashes amid heavy storm traffic and difficulty relaying real-time information to customers about storm delays, cancellations, and reroutings - meaning passengers logged frozen and uncertain hours at stations before learning if or when their ride was coming.