Phase 3 of Signal Work at MBTA’s Columbia Junction Starts March 26
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Red Line JFK/UMass station at Columbia Junction.
MBTA
BOSTON - Phase 1 and 2 of MBTA's major signal modernization work at Columbia Junction on the Red Line is almost complete. Phase 3 will begin March 26.
The MBTA announced Phase 1 and 2 work has been completed ahead of schedule, and the upcoming Phase 3 and 4 will take approximately two weeks each. Phase 4 will likely begin April 9. As of reporting, crews are finishing testing and subsequent cutover to the new, digital signaling system at Columbia Junction that began on February 28. For this testing and cutover, MBTA says temporary service changes are in place. These changes can be found at MBTA’s website linked here.
After a 2019 derailment caused significant damage to the signal system, MBTA repaired and restored service. However, the agency says its signal and switch operations have been limited since. The current work will completely restore the system to full functionality, and train operations will be faster and “quickly recover.” This work is also part of MBTA’s commitment to upgrading the Orange and Red lines before the World Cup this upcoming summer. The Columbia Junction area has more than 100 track circuits, and most have 12 tests that need to be performed, says MBTA. Each test result will be monitored, analyzed, and documented to understand any adjustments that need to be made.
