MBTA Completes GLTPS Work on Green Line E Branch
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
MBTA
BOSTON - The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has finished the latest Green Line Train Protection System (GLTPS) work on the Green Line E Branch.
The Green Line Train Protection System works to monitor train speed and location in real time and will alert operators of any impending collision or speed-related issue. In a report from RT&S this past May, the MBTA “installed Green Line Train Protection System infrastructure (GLTPS) and replaced catenary wire troughs near the Green Line portal throughout the month of April.” The GLTPS project is in two phases. RT&S reported that the “first phase will deploy a warning system to provide alarms to notify the operator of a speed violation or a potential collision. The second phase will deploy a train protection functionality ‘“’that features real-time train location and speed enforcement,’ preventing overruns and collisions.”
Now, the MBTA says it has completed the latest of infrastructure improvements along the Green Line E branch where it installed GLTPS infrastructure. Over the course of seven days, there was no E branch trolley service between Government Center and Health Street, according to the agency. This was the final of three major outages this past spring, the last of which allowed crews to install the infrastructure along Huntington Avenue. This infrastructure included GLTPS anchors, power cable, and messenger cable. This work is the last of “all wayside anchor installation for GLTPS.”
Interim Secretary of Transportation and MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said, “Wayside GLTPS infrastructure is now completely installed along the B,C, and E branches after three multi-day outages that took place this spring. Our urgency to complete this long-awaited project reflects our commitment to upgrading our infrastructure in order to operate the safest service possible. . . The work accomplished on the E branch this month is one more step forward in providing riders with the dependable, modernized transit system they deserve. Thank you to the MBTA team for their dedication and to our riders for their continued patience while we completed this work to add an extra layer of safety on the Green Line.”
E branch service resumed on June 6, except for Symphony Station. This station is closed for an estimated three years to allow for major upgrades and accessibility enhancements, says MBTA. During the closure, crews installed four elevators and upgraded life safety systems. Crews also installed stairs, emergency exits, and power systems. Elsewhere on the Green Line, MBTA’s Maintenance of Way team worked to complete upgrades to the crossover track area at Heath Street, completed critical power maintenance work, and conducted tunnel inspections and signal upgrades between Copley and the E branch’s portal. Additionally, the MBTA’s Transit Facility and Maintenance Team finished repairs throughout the shutdown area, including the replacement of fencing areas at the Museum of Fine Arts station, the MBTA reports. Below is a gallery of MBTA images that show the MoW team finishing work on the Green Line.
