BOSTON — Recent work on the Red Line eliminated another 13 speed restrictions, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority says, as work continues on its year-long effort to address the backlog of slow orders on its rapid-transit network.
The work saw the rail line shut down between the Park Street and JFK/UMass stations between May 2-10, with additional evening suspensions of service between Park Street and Ashmont May 2-9.
As of Monday, May 14, the Red Line had 43 speed restrictions covering 7.3 miles, or 15% of its length. That is down from 52 restrictions 30 days earlier. Systemwide as of that date, there were 83 speed restrictions on the four transit lines, down from 110 a month earlier, according to the MBTA’s speed restrictions dashboard.
There were some 190 speed restrictions systemwide when the MBTA outlined a 14-month process to address the issue last November [see “MBTA announces plan to eliminate all slow orders …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 10, 2023].
“With each diversion, we are delivering a safer and more reliable service to our riders,” MBTA CEO Phillip Eng said in a press release. “We continue to make great progress on this critical work to maintain the system. I thank our riders and the communities that we serve for their patience as we completed this critical work along the Red Line, and I especially want to thank our dedicated workforce and contractor crews.”
The latest work on the Red Line included replacement of approximately 11,500 feet of rail, 225 ties, and 3,800 tie plates, along with more than 24,000 feet of resurfacing and tamping. Other work included replacement of plates and regauging of about 1,200 feet of track in a curve between South Station and Broadway; regauging a crossover at Broadway; replacement of rail at South Station, and welding of crossover frogs at South Station and Ashmont. A variety of work was also done at several stations and to improve signals and power systems.
