MBTA plans 188 days of service interruptions to fix slow zones by end of 2024
BOSTON - It's an issue that has plagued MBTA riders for months. But now the agency is giving riders a timeline for when all of the slow zones in the system should disappear. General Manager Phillip Eng says the work to make repairs on the rails should be complete by the end of next year.
Slow zones are all student Victoria Letendre has known as someone new to the city. "Depending on the day they're pretty bad. I've missed classes because of them, and they're kind of annoying to me," said Letendre.
It's annoying to just about everybody who is riding the T like student Jadun McCarthy who finds them inexplicable.
"It's almost creepy, you're like 'Why are things slowing down?'" he told WBZ-TV. "Getting rid of those is going to be a big relief."
Currently there are 191 slow zones for a variety of safety reasons that will be repaired over the next 14 months. The MBTA plans to remove 39 of the restrictions by the end of this year and 152 by the end of 2024. "It's a big, bold initiative but we've gone too long with years and years of disinvestment," said MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng. "The time is now to give the public back the system they deserve."
It won't come without a little more pain before the gain. There will be about 188 days of service disruptions to complete the work with shutdowns across all four lines ranging from four days to 21 days.
"I'm going to be annoyed until the end," said rider Adam Diaz. "The end of next year is not a tangible thing."
But even critics of the MBTA find it encouraging that there is a plan and Eng the benefit of the doubt. "There's a lot of reason for confidence. The MBTA and Eng have replaced much of the leadership in relevant departments with people who have more experience managing track," said State Representative Michael Connolly.
Karen Yee, whose Red Line commute time has doubled, looks forward to one thing. "I just hope to get what I call a good commute day when I don't have to wait too long for my connections," Yee said.
