MBTA’s Red Line Slow Zone-Free For First Time in Two Decades

Crews worked in critical track areas during this Red Line service suspension. Complimentary photo and caption by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.

BOSTON - After track work on the Red Line, the MBTA reports the line has no speed restrictions for the first time in twenty years.

Recently, RT&S reported on the MBTA Orange Line was restriction free for the first time in 15 years. Now, the passenger agency announces its Red Line has joined the Orange and Blue Lines in being restriction free after track work took place in November. Additionally, the Green Line should reach this same milestone after scheduled track work in December. After this, the entire system will be free of speed restrictions.

Crews worked along more than 2,000 feet of track as part of the Track Improvement Program. During construction, crews replaced 2,230 feet of rail, 177 ties, and 3,350 plates. They also performed 970 feet of full depth track replacement and resurfaced and tamped 13,800 feet of track.

At the Kendall/MIT station, crews made electrical room repairs and repairs to a tunnel construction joint in four locations. At the Kendall/MIT, Park Street, and Downtown Crossing stations, crews also made stairway repairs. Below is a full list from the MBTA on the work completed along the Red Line that led to the speed restriction removals.

• “Signal modernization work, including the installation of wires and cable at Central’s signal room, the removal and replacement of 15 WeeZee bonds, repairs and upgrades to additional bonds, switch and track circuit upgrades, and the installation of new switch infrastructure at the complicated area of crossover track at Park Street  
• “Electrical work on the outbound Kendall/MIT headhouse 
• “Security enhancements at Charles/MGH and Park Street 
• “The completion of door surveys and inspections at stations throughout the shutdown area. 
• “Removed over 1,200 Pandrol Panguard plates with the installation of over 1,200 new resilient RF-A fastener plates between Park Street and Charles/MGH, which will improve noise/vibration mitigation and provide better maintainability. 
• “Power modernization work, including replacing third rail at South Station as well as power and cable replacement at Kendall/MIT  
• “Plumbing and drainage improvements, concrete repairs, painting, bench repairs, brick replacement, and power washing within stations throughout the shutdown area”

MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng expressed his pride at “the tremendous amount of work we’re accomplishing. The track in these areas of the Red Line is very challenging for crews to be able to access, but our workforce was given the unencumbered time on the track that they needed to finally do the work to completely remove these slow zones. . . There’s more work to do on the Green Line next month to make the entire subway system slow zone-free, but we’re now well-positioned to efficiently maintain our system for years to come with the goal of providing the safe, reliable service our riders can be proud of.”

Below is a gallery of images, courtesy of the MBTA, that showcase the Red Line work.