BOSTON — A 13-day suspension of service for maintenance on a portion of the Orange Line led to the lifting of 20 speed restrictions, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced.
The ongoing, year-long Track Improvement Program has now reduced the amount of the MBTA rail transit system under speed restrictions to 1.8 miles, or 1%, according to the agency’s Speed Restriction Dashboard. At the beginning of 2024, it was 22.1 miles, or 16% of the system.
“We are committed to giving the public what they expect and deserve: safe, reliable, and improved service,” MBTA CEO Phillip Eng said in a press release. “This Orange Line diversion allowed us to perform long-deferred infrastructure work, eliminating all the speed restrictions to provide a smoother ride with shorter travel time, giving people precious time back in their lives. … Soon, the Orange Line will be completely free of slow zones. With only 1% of our system remaining with restrictions, we are on our way to fulfilling our promise to the public we serve, eliminating all the speed restrictions systemwide.”
The latest maintenance project, between Forest Hills and Back Bay, with a weekend project between Forest Hills and North Station, included replacing more than 27,500 feet of rail, more than 336 ties, and resurfacing approximately 1,900 feet of track, as well as the replacement of six switch machines at crossovers and extensive station work.
Additional Orange Line work is slated for Oct. 26-Nov. 1. Details are available here.
How much extra has this cost the MBTA having to rework all this deferred maintenance? Mt. Eng has certainly made progress in removing slow orders. I hope that riders will express satisfaction by wring many letters thanking MBTA of speeding up service. I hope orange line riders can now be patient as that appears to be last line with many slow orders.
I love the latest iteration of Newspeak – the “Customer and Employee Experience Department.” Formerly Maintenance of Way?
No, not MOW, I think it’s what we used to call “Public Relations.”
The Chief Customer Experience Officer reports to the General Manager and is responsible for improving the daily experience of MBTA riders and working to ensure a reliable, safe and pleasant experience for all of the MBTA’s ridership.
I guess this is the answer to our questions about the line closures on this system. they must have had a giant amount of deferred maintenance to address.