BOSTON — The MBTA is asking riders to plan for additional commuting time on Wednesday following Tuesday's derailment on the Red Line.
Tuesday's derailment snarled the morning commute and the impact lingered into the evening commute.
On Tuesday evening, MassDOT was able to upright the car that derailed in Dorchester at the JFK/UMass T station, but they will be working into the early morning hours to re-rail the car and remove the train.
Here is what the MBTA says you need to know for your Wednesday morning commute:
Similar to this evening, Braintree branch customers will need to change trains at JFK/UMass tomorrow morning for continuing Red Line service to South Station. Service will resume for Ashmont-bound customers and customers heading inbound on the Ashmont branch will not need to switch trains at JFK/UMass.
With safety as the MBTA's first priority, Red Line trains will continue to operate at reduced speeds as they travel through the area of JFK/UMass Station. During the derailment, the train struck and damaged signals, and tomorrow's commutes are estimated to be 20 minutes longer than usual. While repair work is being completed, countdown clocks along the Red Line at all station platforms have been temporarily turned off to avoid displaying inaccurate predictions.
Red Line service between North Quincy and JFK/UMass will be suspended for three hours starting at 11 a.m. as part of the work to repair signal infrastructure damaged in yesterday's derailment. Shuttle buses will replace service, but Red Line service is expected to resume before the start of the late afternoon commuting period.
CharlieCards and CharlieTickets will continue to be accepted on the Middleborough/Lakeville, Kingston/Plymouth, Greenbush, and Fairmount lines, as well as the Fitchburg Line from Porter Square to North Station.
Red Line customers are encouraged to utilize supplemental Commuter Rail trains providing inbound service tomorrow morning between South Station, JFK/UMass, Quincy Center, and Braintree. Passengers should show their CharlieCards or CharlieTickets in order to board.
Trains will depart:
- Braintree at 6:20 AM, 8 AM, and 9:30 AM;
- Quincy Center at 6:30 AM, 8:10 AM, and 9:37 AM; and
- JFK/UMass at 6:50 AM, 8:20 AM, and 9:55 PM
General Manager Steve Poftak assured passengers that the MBTA is safe and said: “Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in the MBTA in order to modernize Red Line vehicles, tracks, signals and power systems to ensure more reliable service in the future.”
The MBTA has made over $3 billion in capital investments with a plan to invest $8 billion over the next five years. In FY18, the MBTA invested $875 million in its capital program -- the most ever for a fiscal year.
The Administration is investing nearly $2 billion in the Red Line and Orange Line Improvement Program, between new cars and infrastructure improvements. That includes over $1 billion for new cars to completely replace the fleets of the Orange and Red Lines, $470.36 million for Orange and Red Line track improvements, and upgrades to the Wellington maintenance facility and the Red Line’s maintenance facilities. The Red and Orange Line signal systems will be completely updated and $151 million is being invested in state of good repair for the Red and Orange lines.
The first of 152 new Orange Line cars are being tested right now with the first car expected to be in service in summer 2019. Next year, the first of 252 Red Line cars will be tested.
Updates regarding Red Line service will continue to be available on the MBTA website and on Twitter. For the most up to date service information, visit mbta.com and follow the T on @MBTA and @MBTA_CR.
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