As the MBTA conducts much-needed repair and maintenance work, ensuring riders can stay safe and connected should be a priority. Photo: Jarvis Chen.
Earlier this year, MBTA officials announced an ambitious New Year’s resolution: eliminate slow zones. The agency plans to accomplish this herculean task by incrementally shutting down portions of the T across four lines. The scheduled repairs mean that throughout 2024, riders will face at least 188 days of MBTA closures. These shutdowns for critical track and infrastructure repair will result in faster and safer service, which is an important goal.
The fact that the T shared their closure calendar for the entire year shows that the agency is learning from past debacles. Remember the Orange Line fiasco? It was forced to shut down as an emergency measure after a train caught fire. Back then, commuters paid the price with long waits for…