Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

Orange Line shutdown coming, perhaps for a month

MBTA facing federal directives to speed up maintenance work

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 2, 2022

THE MBTA is preparing to shut down the Orange Line later this month to do maintenance and repair work and there is speculation that the shutdown could last several weeks or perhaps a month. The T board of directors on Wednesday is taking up a proposed contract with A Yankee Line Inc. to provide replacement(...)

Bike stats contradict safety claims of Cambridge officials

Porter Square is safe intersection, not the most dangerous one

By John Hanratty Municipal Government, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 30, 2022

AMID AN OUTCRY over how the implementation of Quick Build bike lanes will all but eliminate street parking in front of local businesses, the Cambridge City Council has smacked down residents’ concerns with false and outdated information. No matter which side of this debate you stand on, everybody should be able to deliberate based on(...)

FTA orders ‘safety standdown’ at T for disabled trains

Work halted until employees review 3 recent incidents

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 29, 2022

THE FEDERAL Transit Administration ordered an “immediate safety standdown” at the MBTA, requiring all workers who operate or secure disabled transit vehicles to halt their work until they participate in a briefing where they review the causes of three runaway train incidents that occurred in May and July. The letter ordering the standdown was dated(...)

Pass ebike legislation, reward car-lite living

Once a person buys a vehicle, it's very hard to convince them to give it up

By Robin Chase Transportation 0 Comments Jul 28, 2022

THE STATE Legislature and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation need to keep their eye on the real transportation goal for the state – maintaining and increasing the number of people and households that are living car-independent lives – as we sort through the T’s long-predicted crisis, The state’s economy, the people’s daily welfare, and the(...)

Merging MBTA with DOT is a bad idea

Independence, with more checks and balances, is best route

By Brian Kane Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 24, 2022

THE JOINT COMMITTEE on Transportation seems to want to have its proverbial cake and eat it too. At its recent oversight hearing, House Committee Co-Chairman William Strauss suggested that the MBTA be further folded into MassDOT; while Senate Committee Co-Chairman Brendan Creighton inquired if the governor’s office interfered in reporting of derailments. The Transportation Committee(...)

MBTA service levels need to be restored asap

Lack of training space in OCC cannot be excuse for lack of hiring

By James Aloisi MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 23, 2022

LET THIS SINK IN for a second: The MBTA this week announced that it won’t be able to return the subway system to regular service frequencies before Labor Day, and probably not until sometime in 2023. This is because the Federal Transit Administration directed the T to solve the problem of understaffing and excessively long(...)

T called worse off now than during snowmageddon

Orange Line train catches fire crossing the Mystic River

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 21, 2022

THE LEAD CAR of an Orange Line train crossing the Mystic River caught fire early Thursday morning, prompting panic on board the train and the evacuation of close to 200 people, including one person who jumped from the bridge into the water. The image of flames leaping out from underneath the train car followed by(...)

Is it time to shake up the MBTA board?

Budget provision, new governor could have big impact

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 21, 2022

A correction has been added to this story. IN THE DEBATE over the future of the MBTA, very little attention has been paid to the relatively new board that oversees the transit authority. The board began its work last fall and adopted a very different style from its predecessor, the Fiscal and Management Control Board. (...)

MBTA board approves 2 land deals worth $100m

Acquisitions will enlarge vehicle maintenance footprint

By Chris Lisinski MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 19, 2022

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MBTA OVERSEERS stamped approval Tuesday on a pair of real estate projects together worth more than $100 million to boost the agency’s vehicle maintenance footprint. The T’s board of directors voted unanimously on a nearly $86 million contract to expand Codman Yard, a Dorchester facility where Red Line vehicles are cleaned,(...)

Full Orange, Red, and Blue line service unlikely to resume soon

Hiring, training constraints mean next year is possibility

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jul 19, 2022

SERVICE ON the Orange, Red, and Blue Lines will probably continue at reduced levels beyond Labor Day and likely into next year because of hiring and training constraints for subway dispatchers. The T is racing to hire dispatchers to address a safety directive issued by the Federal Transit Administration, which raised concerns about employees in the(...)