PROVIDENCE, R.I. — UPDATED 4:15 p.m.: With the rush of people headed to Boston for the Patriots' Super Bowl Victory parade, commuter rail trains were left covered in litter and understaffed on Tuesday.

"It's honestly embarrassing for the company," said a conductor who asked to remain nameless. "This isn't the image we want to project for riders." A train stopped in Providence had empty alcohol bottles, spilled coffee cups, and other assorted trash strewn across seats, floors and vestibules.

Discarded beer cans litter a commuter rail train car Tuesday afternoon. The large number of passengers, many of whom were intoxicated, forced the train employees to shut down the on-board restroom.

"It was full to capacity, so we had no choice but to close it," the conductor said. "You've got a large crowd of folks who've been drinking, and that's a bad situation."

Puddles were visible on the floor of several cars where passengers had appeared to have either spilled beverages or relieved themselves. Several liquor bottles appeared to be filled with urine were left abandoned on train seats. Trash and spilled liquid fill a commuter rail car on Tuesday afternoon. With Boston sports victory parades becoming the norm, the conductor said the MBTA needs to plan ahead to improve service on peak days.



"It's not our first rodeo here, and I don't understand why things haven't gotten better," he said. "There needs to be an increase in cleaning crews throughout the day to keep the mess to a minimum."

Rather than having cleaning crews come through just once per day, the conductor stressed the need for maintenance throughout the day on peak days, with crews coming on-board and cleaning the trains while they are in motion or quickly picking up trash when the train is stopped for a longer period of time.

He believes the main obstacle is funding. "I get it, adding these extra crews will cost money, and people will probably have to be paid overtime. The company doesn't want to spend a ton of extra money," he said. "It's a tough position for us conductors, we see the company's perspective, but also that of the rider. This isn't the image we want to give to our passengers."