After a one day suspension due to weather-related issues, the MBTA will be up and running on Wednesday though with limited service.
Trolley, subway and Commuter Rail lines will accommodate passengers but, according to the MBTA, it will “operate on a modified weekday schedule, making approximately 70% of the trips regularly scheduled.”
The Blue and Green Lines will serve their usual stops with less frequency between train car arrivals. The Red and Orange Lines, the two most negatively affected subway lines, will be shuttling passengers between certain stops.
On the Red Line, buses will continue replacing subway trains between JFK/UMass and Braintree stations, which they have been for most of the storm. This is because the exposed third rail, which electrically propels the trains forward, has been covered with snow and subjected to freezing temperatures – a problematic scenario in which trains are unable to grip the rail and accelerate.
On the Orange Line southbound, a single train will run between Oak Grove and Wellington Stations.
Red and Orange Line passengers are encouraged to hop on the Commuter Rail for transportation as delays are expected on the subway as a result of the limited service.
Buses were the only form of public transit operating on Tuesday. All rail lines were shut down so that workers could perform winter repairs and maintenance.
For almost three weeks, the MBTA has taken a beating at the hand of Mother Nature. Snow and cold have caused switch malfunctions, power shortages and consequently rendered many cars unusable.
Gov. Charlie Baker was outspoken in his frustration with the MBTA, alleging that the transit authority failed to deliver on promises the performance on which was “simply not acceptable.”
In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, General Manager Beverly Scott defended her position and the work of T personnel during this tumultuous time, referring to their tireless efforts as “poetry in motion.”
While Gov. Baker was pointing a finger at the MBTA, Scott was pointing one at the T’s bank account. She claimed that the MBTA’s inability to execute at the highest capacity was a result of lack of funding in the system and the debt incurred as a result of the notoriously over budget Big Dig, for which she claimed the MBTA took on approximately $3.5 billion.
