BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority instituted an immediate 25-mph speed restriction across its rapid-transit Red, Orange, Blue, and Green lines as of Thursday night following findings by the state’s Department of Public Utilities.
The MBTA announced the restrictions about 10 p.m., the Boston Globe reports, after a visit to the Red Line between the Ashmont and Savin Hill stations.
The MBTA’s Chief Safety Officer, Ronald Ester Jr., told board members earlier in the day that a March 6 visit found problems including “priority one track conditions, third rail insulators, electrical access boxes on the right-of-way, headlight operations with the subway or within the tunnel, [personal protective equipment] compliance, and safety briefings.”
The MBTA said on Twitter that the new systemwide speed restriction is “out of an abundance of caution,” advised riders to allow more travel time, and said it would provide more information as it becomes available.
The problem-plagued agency began posting data on speed restrictions last month along with other information on its efforts to meet a series of directives issued last year by the Federal Transit Adminstration to address safety concerns [see “MBTA launches ‘safety dashboard’ …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 27, 2023]. At that time, 8.7 miles, or 6.5%, of the system was under some form of restriction.
The agency plans a press conference today to provide more information.
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