Commuter rail workers tell MBTA they are prepared to strike

Train pulling up to the station

BOSTON — Union workers operating the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter rail operator for its contract operator, Keolis, are prepared to strike over wages and other conditions, the president of one union told the MBTA’s board on Thursday. “We don’t want to strike, but we will when we are legally able to,” Transportation Workers Union […]

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MBTA completes January Green Line work, eliminating 16 speed restrictions

Maintenance equipment works in transit tunnel

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority eliminated 16 speed restrictions during two sets of maintenance shutdowns on the Green Line this month, the agency said Monday, including the completion of all work related to out-of-gauge track stemming from the construction of the Green Line extension between North Station and the Union Square and Medford/Tufts […]

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MBTA to shut down portions of Red, Green lines in February

Section of MBTA transit map showing Red Line area to be shut down

BOSTON — A 10-day shutdown of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red Line between the Alewife and Harvard stations is the centerpiece of MBTA’s plans for major maintenance projects in February, the latest phase in a more than year-long effort to eliminate the accumulated slow orders on the agency’s rail transit system. Also, an 18-day […]

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Second CRRC trainset enters service on MBTA’s Red Line

Rapid transit trainset in factory

BOSTON — A second trainset of equipment built by China’s CRRC has begun running on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red Line — three years after the first such train entered operation, the website Streetsblog Mass reports. The second trainset entered service earlier this month, an MBTA spokesman confirmed to the website. The first had […]

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MBTA to continue Green Line work in January

Portion of MBTA rapid transit map

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will suspend service on a portion of the light rail Green Line for two extended periods in January, while also scheduling service outages for the ongoing repairs on the Green Line extension. From Jan. 3-12 and again from Jan. 16-28, Green Line service will be suspended on the Green […]

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MBTA work eliminates 22 Green Line speed restrictions

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority removed 22 speed restrictions, reducing travel times by about 9 minutes, during track work on the Green Line’s D branch that was completed in Wednesday, Dec. 20, the agency announced Thursday. The MBTA also completed work during evening shutdowns on the Green Line extension between North Station and […]

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News Wire Year in Review: The year in transit

Green and white light rail vehicle at station

It seemed transit’s biggest headlines in 2023 were generated for all the wrong reasons. Two systems in particular — the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority — continued to deal with major administrative and operational issues. On top of that, WMATA — facing a massive operating deficit — issued a budget […]

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MBTA approves new four-year contract with Machinists Union

Logo of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board of directors has approved a new four-year contract with International Association of Machinists Lodge 264, including an overall pay raise of approximately 18% over the life of the contract, as well as several provisions intended to improve worker retention. The contract approved on Wednesday, Dec. 13, is […]

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News photos: Pop-Up Metro lends a hand with Army-Navy Game

Passengers use portable platform to exit commuter train

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When the Army-Navy football game was held in Massachusetts for the first time on Saturday, Dec. 9, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority helped transport the sellout crowd of 65,878 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, thanks to a branch line that serves the stadium. Rail Development Corp.’s Pop-Up Metro concept played a supporting […]

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