Charlie Baker: MBTA officials ‘owe the public an answer’ on Orange Line speeds

On the eve of the Orange Line’s reopening following a 30-day shutdown, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said the T had eliminated six slow zones on the line, promising a “faster, safer, more reliable ride.”

Flash forward one month though and the Orange Line is still slower than it was pre-shutdown, raising questions among riders and politicians alike. 

“They haven’t lifted restrictions on both the north and south side in a number of areas. They haven’t lifted them as fast as they said they were going to,” Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday, according to CommonWealth Magazine. “I think General Manager Poftak has made clear he wants the engineers and the people on the ground to tell him when the most appropriate time to do that would be.”

Baker added: “My view at this point is they owe the public an answer as to when those speed restrictions will be lifted.”

Poftak declined to give a specific date during a Senate hearing on the MBTA last week, saying it depends on field conditions and staff judgment. 

The T identified other areas of track in need of work during the shutdown, necessitating speed restrictions, Poftak said. He said he “failed to properly communicate that” to the public. 

Last week, a round-trip ride on the Orange Line was more than 12 minutes slower than it would have been had trains been running at full speed, according to an analysis from the advocacy group TransitMatters. By Tuesday, delays from slow zones had dropped to slightly more than eight minutes. 

The median travel time from Oak Grove to North Station was also about five minutes slower on Tuesday than it was pre-shutdown.

Responding to a question from Sen. Ed Markey, Poftak said at last week’s hearing that the T would release a list of the outstanding work that needs to be completed before the Orange Line returns to full speed. 

That information will be made available later this week, according to MBTA spokesperson Lisa Battiston. The T is in the process of lifting slow zones from Assembly to Wellington and Assembly to Sullivan, and speed limits throughout these zones are being raised, she wrote in an email to Boston.com. 

The T has removed some speed restrictions, including Ruggles Crossover — now up to 40 mph — and from Downtown Crossing to State, which is at its designed speed of 25 mph, Battiston said. 

She said in other slow zones:

• North Station to Community College is currently at 10 mph, but will be increased to 40 mph;
• Community College to the Sullivan flyover is at 25 mph;
• The Sullivan flyover to Sullivan station is at 40 mph;
• Sullivan station over the Sullivan flyover is at 10 mph, but will be increased to 40 mph;
• And the Sullivan flyover to Community College, and Community College to North Station are at 10 mph, but will be increased to 40 mph. 

“Slow zones are not new and are an important tool to safely operate the transit system,” Battiston said. 

Eliminating these slow zones typically requires replacing aging ties or rails — if not a whole track replacement — and the slow zones will remain in place after service resumes, in order to allow the new track and ballast to settle, she explained. 

“[The slow zones’] elimination will result in faster, more reliable service,” Battiston said. 

Abby Patkin

Staff Writer

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

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