BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority eliminated eight speed restrictions during a 10-day shutdown of portions of the rapid transit Red Line that concluded Feb. 14, the agency announced Friday.
The latest shutdown, part of a year-long effort to eliminate slow orders on the rail network, saw the Red Line shut down completely between the Alewife and Harvard stations beginning Feb. 5, with evening service suspended to Park Street during the same period.
“We are committed to rebuilding our infrastructure, and the amount of work we were able to accomplish will improve service and reduce travel time along the Red Line,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said in a press release. “This is another major step in the right direction. While we successfully completed the work and eliminated these speed restrictions, we continually look for lessons learned to minimize impacts as we move forward and accomplish even more work during future outages.”
Work included installation of 2,500 feet of rail; installation of a switch; regauging of the third rail and other work at the Alewife crossover; replacement of signal bonds, approximately 3,500 feet of signal cable, and repairs on track circuits; tunnel inspections; and various station inspections and repairs. According to the MBTA’s speed restriction dashboard, Red Line restrictions now cover 7.9 miles, down from 8.7 miles.
Completely shutting down a line is the only way to really fix sections completely otherwise it is only short term fixes. .