Traffic & Transit MBTA Promises Travel Time Dashboard As Orange Line Slowdowns Linger The T has faced more criticism this week after GM Steve Poftak said in a letter that speed restrictions may continue into December. Reply
Orange Line route in the Greater Boston area have continued to face delays and slow train speeds in recent weeks after MBTA officials promised to lift a series of slow zones along the Orange Line route. (Dakota Antelman/Patch)
MALDEN, MA — Orange Line riders frustrated about ongoing subway delays and speed restrictions will need to navigate several more weeks of sluggish trains, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak told federal lawmakers this week.
With speed restrictions or without them, Poftak also said the T is working on a new train travel time dashboard that could roll out this summer.
Poftak addressed issues in a letter to Sen. Ed Markey following a congressional field hearing earlier this month in Boston. He, in part, itemized lingering speed restrictions on the Orange Line, saying some could remain in place into December.
“The MBTA system is safe — but we can and will do better,” Poftak wrote. “I am committed to continuing to make the T a safer, and more reliable transportation system.” Markey and fellow Sen. Elizabeth Warren Poftak in a joint statement on Wednesday, calling Poftak’s letter and testimony “an important first step toward rebuilding trust in the T.”
Frustrations have swirled around the MBTA and the Orange Line in particular over recent months. Officials sold this summer’s 30-day shutdown of the Orange Line as a move that would increase track speeds along the Orange Line route. It has, instead, led to longer travel times, at some points, since the Orange Line reopened last month. The MBTA has offered shifting messaging in recent weeks explaining the issues.
Now, more than a month after the shutdown ended, Poftak has indicated that at least seven separate speed restrictions will remain in place into or beyond November. The MBTA said it met its goals during the Orange Line shutdown earlier this year.
Poftak added this week, though, that crews managing repairs and upgrades last month assessed the situation and decided to continue “the momentum of the surge” to address other priority work along the Orange Line while they still had resources in place from the shutdown. “Maintenance and construction does not end at the conclusion of a system closure or construction surge,” he separately said. “Maintaining the tracks, signals, power, vehicles, stations, and tunnels is an ongoing and continuous investment, there will always be construction and maintenance at the MBTA.” Beyond speed restrictions themselves, Poftak on Tuesday said the T is in the process of developing its travel time dashboard for the MBTA website. Lawmakers noted this in their statement, saying they expect the MBTA to hold to a deadline of finalizing the dashboard in time for the winter. Poftak separately touched on past safety incidents along the T that drew condemnation from riders and an investigation from federal regulators earlier this year.
“As riders continue to return to the system, I understand the frustration many of them feel,” he said. “On behalf of the more than 6,400 hardworking men and women of the MBTA, we acknowledge that safety incidents have occurred and that our service levels aren’t where we want them.” In discussing the MBTA workforce, Poftak reiterated previous comments about staffing shortages, which have hassled the T as it faces recommendations and critiques from the Federal Transit Authority and its recent regulatory report on the T system. “These challenges are impacting major transit agencies across the country,” he noted. Warren and Markey looked to the future in their statement this week, saying the MBTA will need to prioritize clarity and transparency in the community in the months and years ahead. “The public must be able to reliably plan their lives around their commute, and not knowing how long their trip may take—or how long until their commute speeds up—can have real-world consequences for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents,” lawmakers said.
MBTA Promises Travel Time Dashboard As Orange Line Slowdowns Linger
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