Another big week coming at the MBTA
There’s never a dull moment with Boston’s mass transit system.
It’s shaping up to be another busy week at the MBTA, and Monday’s commute hasn’t even started yet.
Officials continue to investigate how a Red Line train carrying about 50 passengers traveled through four stations with no driver Thursday. The Green Line extension is up for further discussion. Several changes to MBTA policy will be weighed. And a long-awaited report on the embattled agency from transit leaders is due to lawmakers.
Red Line
The operator of Thursday’s runaway train, whose “multiple errors’’ have been cited by Gov. Charlie Baker as the cause for the incident, faces a fact-finding hearing Monday, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said last week.
The initial investigation has shown that the operator exited the train due to a signal problem and put it into “bypass mode,’’ which allows trains to travel despite signal issues. The train began to move once it entered bypass mode because ’’multiple safety procedures’’ were violated, Baker said.
Pollack has confirmed that the operator failed to secure the train’s brake. Meanwhile, the train’s throttle requires pressure from the operator in order for the train to move, and acts as a second brake without pressure. But on Thursday, the throttle had been tied with a cord, according to a person familiar with the investigation, apparently allowing it to move without an operator present.
Baker and Pollack on Friday did not confirm the throttle had been tied off. But Pollack said the investigation is looking into whether the throttle was manipulated, and that if it was, it would be a fireable offense.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said there is no timeline for the investigation. He said it is “to be determined’’ whether other hearings will follow the operator’s this week.
On Monday morning, Baker, Pollack, and MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola will formally recognize the two MBTA employees who responded from the T’s Operations Control Center to Thursday morning’s crisis, which resulted in no passenger injuries. The employees were identified over the weekend as Mark McNeill and Ainsley Saunders, and their efforts were detailed in a Saturday Boston Globe article. Pollack praised the employees on Friday, saying they “executed what they needed to execute perfectly.’’
Green Line
For the third time in 15 days, the T’s Green Line extension into Somerville and Medford will be the focus of a joint meeting Monday of the two boards that respectively oversee the Department of Transportation and the MBTA.
The MBTA essentially hit reset on the over-budget expansion effort Thursday when it canceled several existing project contracts. The move came after the Green Line extension’s contracting process was cited as a major reason for the cost spike, and a consultant suggested rebidding it to save money. Officials have said the project could still be canceled if costs are not reined in through design changes and rebidding.
Bottom Line
Immediately after the joint meeting, the control board that runs the T is scheduled for “discussion and possible action’’ on several controversial ideas as it seeks to close a big budget gap expected next year, according to the meeting agenda.
The board will talk about bringing back alcohol advertising, which is currently banned; late-night bus and subway service, which has been seen by board members as a possible cut; and whether to continue offering door-to-door transportation for disabled riders beyond the geographic area required by federal law, a service that is also on the chopping block. Each of those ideas has already generated pushback from different constituencies.
The board will also consider the potential use of large digital panels that could be placed outside subway stations to provide service updates and serve advertisements.
Then, on Tuesday, the control board will submit to the legislature its first annual report. The report is expected to outline potential board strategies for dealing with the T’s various problems.
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