MBTA Completes ‘Critical Track Work’ on Green Line; Removes 16 Speed Restrictions

Courtesy of MBTA

BOSTON – The MBTA announced it has completed track work on its Green Line, including replacing more than 1,300 ties and 10,800 feet of rail.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced in a press release that it has expedited critical track work on the Green Line and subsequently removed 16 speed restrictions in January. A seventeenth speed restriction was shortened by more than 500 feet between Haymarket and Government Center stations. Over the last few weeks, GLXC crews worked along both Green Line Extension branches to complete track work “that has alleviated all current tight gauge conditions.”

MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said: “I’m proud of the work our crews were able to accomplish during this most recent Green Line shutdown – the Green Line tunnel in the downtown area received tremendous maintenance and attention that will have a generational impact on current and future riders, and we were able to tackle this critical work thanks to the unencumbered access to the track area. . . Importantly, our team was able to lift even more speed restrictions than were planned and significantly shorten another. This continues to be indicative of the new way the MBTA is doing business. I thank our riders for their patience as we know shuttle bus service replacement can be challenging, especially in the winter months. Thank you as well to the MBTA forces, working side by side with our crews from multiple contractors to deliver on the commitments we made.”

In addition to new flooring and lighting at stations, crews also cleaned, sanded and painted wood benches, upgraded and repaired stairways, repaired flooring and tile at other platforms, replaced lights, patched spalls on concrete columns, replaced cleaning light covers, and installed and replaced signage. Crews also painted columns and ceilings at station platforms as well as stair risers, doors, and door frames. 

The critical track work completed by crews include:

• Replacing more than 1,300 ties and 10,800 feet of rail
• Resurfacing and tamping almost 8,900 feet of track
• Replacing or rehabbing 12 switches
• Replacing 7,300 feet of overhead catenary wire between Haymarket and Boylston stations
• Completing structural repairs to the roofs of Boylston and Copley stations
• Performing tunnel inspections between Haymarket and North stations
• Repairing three in-station columns at Copley station
• Installing a new elevator sump pump at Arlington station
• Repairing substation maintenance
• Repairing water infiltration in the Green Line tunnel
• Repairing the signal and power system 
• Conducting structural inspections at stations throughout the Green Line

The MBTA says it “maximized this shutdown by coordinating site access with utility partners. With the service shutdown, Comcast was able to safely access property adjacent to the MBTA to expand maintenance access points and upgrade existing equipment, which was a project that had been previously delayed nine months. The Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) also completed CCTV inspections of 20 maintenance access points and connecting sewer lines of the utility network between Brigham Circle and Health Street stations along Huntington and South Huntington Avenues.”