On Monday, the Red Line was zip-zip-zippee. This morning, though, the MBTA announced delays of up to 15 minutes on trains out of Braintree because it turns out you can replace all the tracks you want, but the trains are going to go slow again if there are signal problems at JFK/UMass.
The MBTA reports the latest extended Braintree shutdown and a briefer Ashmont closure let workers lift 37 slow zones across 18 miles of track - getting the Red Line up to such speed it's shaved 10 minutes off the duration of a one-way trip between Braintree and downtown Boston over last month. Read more.
The Dorchester Reporter details the longest of this year's MBTA "surge" repair shutdowns: The 24-day closing of the Red Line's Braintree branch, which starts Friday.
At 8:16 p.m., the MBTA reported Red Line delays of up to 30 minutes due to a downed tree on the tracks near Quincy Center. At 8:34 p.m., the T reported bustitution between North Quincy and Quincy Center due to the Kilmerian obstruction. At 9:19 p.m., the T reported it had extended the shuttle service all the way to Braintree. As of 10:15 p.m., the T was reporting the Braintree branch was still blocked by that darned tree.
Wonder what the guy on the left is thinking?
A roving UHub photographer reports he rode the Red Line from downtown all the way down to Braintree this afternoon across from a woman holding two signs - the one in the photo above and the one behind it, that read "Following Jesus to the End." He adds:
She was surprisingly normal. Sat there quietly until pulling into Braintree and the signs slipped out of her hands and hit my foot. "Oh my goodness. Forgive me." We both laughed.
This morning, the day after the MBTA announced the end of slow zones on the Blue Line (if not the end of dead trains and malfunctioning signals, the Red Line has turned into a swampy morass of not-getting-anywhere-fast. Read more.
There were some signal issues at Braintree tonight that were bad enough the T rustled up some buses to run between there and Quincy Adams, but the T assures us the signals are working again.
MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng this morning released a proposed schedule for track repairs across most of the T subway system in 2024 that will mean more of the multi-day shutdowns riders have grown accustomed to over the past couple of years, but which he says will ultimately mean faster, smoother rides. Read more.
Red Line woes just never end. The MBTA reports delays of up to 20 minutes on the Red Line because not one, but two trains had to be pulled from service at Braintree on account of being deceased.
The MBTA reports what it says are 15-minute delays on the Red Line out of Braintree due to a deceased train at North Quincy. Riders, however, report 15 minutes in MBTA time is more like a half hour to an hour in real time. Read more.
The MBTA reports delays of up to 15 minutes on the inbound Braintree line due to a train with one of those dreaded mechanical issues near Braintree.
A man from Staten Island and six Boston-area men were arrested today on money-laundering and cocaine-distribution charges based in part on evidence obtained by a group of FBI agents and informants posing as their own Latin American cocaine-money laundering ring, according to documents unsealed in Boston federal court today. Read more.
Red Line Braintree service was all kinds of screwed up this morning due to a train with a "mechanical problem" right at Braintree, but the T says "regularly scheduled service" has resumed.
A two-car Red Line train came out of the Braintree yard when it wasn't supposed to around 5:30 a.m. and then didn't stop until it got about 800 feet north of the station, the MBTA reports. Read more.
Angel Nunez spotted these two ads in the parking lot for the defunct 99 in Braintree, likely for use in that movie in which Zendaya plays a tennis player.
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