The MBTA plans to shut down part of the slow-zone-riddled Red Line for 16 days in October, to accelerate track repairs that would have otherwise taken six months to complete, the agency’s general manager said on Thursday.
Shuttle buses will replace train service between JFK/UMass and Ashmont stations, from Saturday, Oct. 14 to Sunday, Oct. 29. The entire Mattapan Line, a trolley service that forms part of the Red Line, will also be closed during that time.
“We’re going to get in, we’re going to get it done, and we’re going to get out and give improved service to our riders there.” MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng told the Board of Directors on Thursday. “The track on the Ashmont branch of the Red Line is some of the oldest in our system and needs replacement.”
The “critical track work” will eliminate 28 speed restrictions on the Red Line, Eng said, improving travel times on a beleaguered subway line that one transit advocate says is 40 minutes slower than the start of this gubernatorial administration.
The T’s speed-restriction dashboard shows the Red Line is the most heavily impacted, with 111 restrictions covering 14.5 miles, or 31%, of track. According to data from advocacy group TransitMatters, there is more than an hour of delay from slow zones across the line this month, a roughly 20-minute increase over July.
Crews will replace rail, ties and ballast during the October shutdown, with “around-the-clock access” accelerating repairs that would have taken six months with night and weekend diversions, Eng said.
“This work is critical, though, because of the age and conditions that we’re seeing,” Eng said. “That’s why we prioritize it from a safety perspective.”
He said the full-access partial closure is similar to what the T did last month to address the stretch of defective track that led to a derailment at Packard’s Corner on the Green Line in June. In that instance, trolley service ceased on part of the line for 12 days.
Much of the discussion on Thursday, however, was comparing the upcoming work on the Red and Mattapan lines to what occurred last summer, when the entire Orange Line was shut down for 30 days.
Eng said the T was more conscious about giving riders and the city a heads up this time. The agency was considering shutting down part of the Red Line earlier, but wanted to ensure that expectations for the scope of work were clear, and that the project was more coordinated, he said.
When the Orange Line was reopened last September, Eng said, “we did not fully deliver on everything, at least from the public’s expectation.” According to TransitMatters Executive Director Jarred Johnson, that line is 10 minutes slower than it was before the 30-day shutdown.
The notice was much shorter as well for that closure, Eng said, which led to a lot of “angst and frustration” with riders. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who was sitting in the city’s new seat on the MBTA board, said her administration was only given 15 days notice for the Orange Line.
Wu made a pitch for making the commuter rail free during the Red Line closure, saying that ridership increased on that service when it was offered as a mitigation measure during the Orange Line diversion, which coincided with a 28-day closure on part of the Green Line.
Eng said the shuttle buses will be free during the partial closure, and noted that the T plans to hold four open houses in September to give the public a chance to learn about the project, including how the alternative transportation option will impact their travel times.
“We want people to have the options during this period,” Eng said. “We know that 16 days is an impact to them, but we also know that if we continue for six months, I think that impact is far greater.”