As Red Line repairs continue, plan for another longer commute Monday
Riders on the MBTA’s Red Line should plan an extra 20 minutes for Monday morning’s commute, as crews continue repairs following a derailment Tuesday outside the JFK/UMass station that disrupted service and forced Braintree riders to switch trains for days after the accident.
Late Saturday night, the MBTA announced that while direct Braintree service had resumed, trains will continue to operate at reduced speeds as crews make repairs to the Red Line’s electronic signaling equipment, which was damaged in the derailment.
Steve Poftak, the MBTA’s general manager, said in a statement Sunday that although direct service to Braintree has resumed, much work remains to be done.
“Recovery operations are continuing with a goal of full service, but riders should allow additional time for their commutes because track switches must be operated manually until repairs are completed,’’ he said.
Early Tuesday morning, a Red Line train derailed outside the JFK/UMass station early that morning, damaging nearby electronic signaling equipment. One person suffered minor injuries when the train traveled about one-third of a mile with one of its cars off the rails.
That crash remains under investigation, but the MBTA last week tentatively ruled out driver error as the cause.
For days after Red Line derailment, officials told Braintree branch customers they would need to change trains at JFK/UMass. Braintree service was finally restored late Saturday, the MBTA reported in a tweet that night.
But riders have faced repeated delays, which are expected to continue, according to the MBTA.
More than 150 MBTA workers and contractors continued making repairs Saturday on damaged signals, switches, and bungalows, the statement said. The damaged third rail — about 200 feet — was repaired or replaced, as well as 200 feet of rail near the track switches.
During Monday’s commute, the MBTA will offer additional commuter rail trains running and will update riders on the schedule on the agency’s website and through Twitter, according to the statement.
Red Line commuters coming from the South Shore also have the option of using the Kingston, Middleboro, and Greenbush commuter rail lines by showing a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket to the commuter rail conductors, the statement said.
The MBTA will also offer supplemental morning inbound service on Monday at the following stations and times:
Braintree — 6:20 a.m., 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m.
Quincy Center — 6:30 a.m., 8:10 a.m., 9:37 a.m.
JFK/UMass — 6:50 a.m., 8:20 a.m., 9:45 a.m.
South Station — 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:55 a.m.
Supplemental outbound service will include:
South Station — 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:20 p.m.
JFK/UMass — 3:06 p.m., 4:36 p.m., 6:10 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Quincy Center — 3:20 p.m., 4:50 p.m., 6:20 p.m., 7:37 p.m,
Braintree — 3:25 p.m., 4:56 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m.
Days before the Red Line derailment, a Green Line train carrying about 150 people derailed as it was traveling outbound on the D-Line just after it left Kenmore around 11 a.m. on June 8, where the tracks for the MBTA’s C and D lines split.
Eleven people were injured in the crash, which the MBTA has blamed on the train’s 62-year-old driver, concluding the accident “does appear to be operator-related,’’ Deputy General Manager Jeffrey D. Gonneville said in a previous interview.
The driver, who has been with the MBTA for about three years and was injured in the crash, was suspended after a preliminary investigation.
Poftak and Gonneville are scheduled to report on a review of derailments and related safety matters during a joint meeting of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board and the MassDOT Board at the State Transportation Building at 11 a.m., according to the statement.
According to MBTA data, there have been 14 Red Line derailments from 1999 to March of this year. During the same period, the Green Line had 120 derailments before the June 8 incidents.
The MBTA has hired an outside consultant to review derailment incidents, and following the Red Line accident, he said the scope of that review may be expanded, Poftak told reporters Friday.
An update on that review will be discussed during Monday’s meeting, said Joe Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesman.
The MBTA is planning to spend $8 billion over the next five years on improvements to the transit system, including $2 billion on the Red and Orange lines, which will replace the cars and sugnal systems, and upgrade the track and maintenance facilities, Sunday’s statement said.
