BOSTON — Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter train service saw a steep decline in on-time performance in September and October, CommonWealth magazine reports.
In other news Monday, the agency suffered the latest in a recent series of derailments, this time with one of the first cars in its order for new Orange Line equipment.
Statistics released at a Monday meeting of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board show on-time performance slid to 84.6 percent in October, the lowest level in a year. The worst showing was on the Franklin line, at just 79.2 percent. Mechanical breakdowns were cited as a reason for the problems on that line; elsewhere, slippery rail problems caused by autumn leaf falls were an issue.
The new Orange Line car — part of an order for 152 cars being built by Chinese manufacturer CRRC at a plant in Massachusetts — derailed in an MBTA yard around noon. It was not in service at the time.The last car of a six-car trainset derailed at low speed as it crossed a switch, an MBTA spokesman told the Boston Herald. An inspection revealed no significant damage.
The MBTA commissioned an outside review of its procedures after several derailments earlier this year, most notably a Red Line derailment that damaged signal equipment, leading to service disruptions that lasted for months. [See “MBTA Red Line subway derailment injures one, disrupts morning commute,” Trains News Wire, June 11, 2019.]
