Rush hour--Providence to South Station--when do seats on Commuter Rail run out? (Boston: living)

[jlyang]

Hi everyone,
My wife and I are thinking to move to Sharon; her job is in downtown Boston near South Station; she'd prefer living somewhere where she can get a seat on the commuter rail into town during rush hour.

She would probably be catching the train in Sharon at 8:16 or 8:47 am; these are the trains leaving Providence 7:40am and 8:10am, respectively. Occasionally she might take the train that leaves Mansfield at 7:26 and gets to Sharon 7:35.

A Sharon realtor told me that during peak rush hour, everyone in Sharon gets a seat on the train into town, but there's few seats available in Canton.

My friend's wife, who used to live in Mansfield, told me tonight that during morning rush hour, almost all seats are filled after Mansfield, so few people in Sharon get seats.

So, can anyone who takes one of these peak rush hour trains tell me if you think that:
0%
5%
50%
etc

of folks getting on the train in Sharon at 8:16 or 8:47 get seats?

I really appreciate your help. I would like to hang out at the Sharon commuter rail station for a few days during rush hour to see what really happens there, but may not be able to get enough time off from work to do this, and greatly welcome your input.

[ProvGuy]

I'd say that after Mansfield, you're pretty much screwed on getting a seat. I've seen it fill up completely after Attleboro on a few occasions. The 7:12 train from Providence doesn't even stop at Sharon, probably because there was never any room anyway at that time.