BOSTON — The MBTA lifted some speed limits on Friday after concerns about improperly documenting track defects on the tracks led to delays on train lines, giving riders additional travel time.
There are no longer speed limits on the red, orange and blue lines, but there are still certain places on those lines where trains have to slow down. Train speeds on the entire Green Line and Mattapan Line are still slowed down to between 10 and 25 mph.
The T said the restrictions are a result of findings from a recent Red Line site visit between Ashmont and Savin Hill by the Department of Public Utilities. DPU requested documents from previous tests, but “MBTA leadership found the documentation inadequate.”
“This decision we made yesterday to slow trains worldwide was made out of an abundance of caution for their safety and that is now something we must remain fully committed to,” said interim MBTA GM Jeff Gonneville.
Gonneville said there were problems documenting track defects.
“We have delayed all trains globally throughout the system until we could verify and validate that all defects identified during this inspection have been corrected,” he said. “These defects can be anything: the distance between the rails is a bit too small, there may be a slight twist in the rail itself.”
On March 6, the DPU made a site visit to the redline between Ashmont and Savin Hill and requested supporting documentation for the completed work to address the findings of previous geometry auto tests. Upon review, MBTA leadership found the documentation to be inadequate.
— MBTA (@MBTA) March 10, 2023
Inspections of the track could take “a few days” and Gonneville would not say when speed limits will be lifted.
“We are asking riders to be patient and give us until the start of service on Monday to validate repairs and verify speeds,” said Gonneville.
The T also said shuttle buses are replacing service between Maverick and Suffolk Downs on the Blue Line on Friday morning due to a power problem at the airport station. Regular service resumed before noon.
Shuttle buses also replace service between Ashmont and Mattapan on the Mattapan Trolley.
“A piece of construction equipment fell onto the track at Milton Station during a demolition project. The equipment has now been removed and crews are inspecting our infrastructure,” said the T. tweeted.
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