Photo: Getty Images
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The MBTA has lifted a speed restriction on a major tunnel on the Orange Line.
The section is known as the Tufts Curve, a tunnel that connects the Tufts Medical Center stop to the Back Bay station. The 981-foot section of track had speed restrictions going both directions starting back in 2019 when the speed was reduced to 10 mph.
During the Orange Line shutdown in the summer of 2022, work on the Tufts curve allowed the MBTA to increase the speed limit from 10 to 18 mph. Eliminating this slow zone was one of the requirements in the MBTA's Corrective Action Plan in response to the Federal Transit Administration's safety review in 2022.
“Accomplishing this work was truly a team effort with contributions from many groups, including our engineers, maintenance, capital transformation, and compliance experts,” MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said in a statement. “I thank them for their dedication and hard work to address the vital track infrastructure work. While there is still work to do across the system, the completion of the Tufts Curve section of track represents an important step towards restoring the level of service our riders deserve.”
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The MBTA said working to eliminate this slow zone was difficult because of the shape of the curved track and the limited time windows to work on the track. The MBTA still has 216-speed restrictions in place at the time of publication, which accounts for 23 percent of the system's track.
The MBTA has a list of all current slow zones on its speed restriction dashboard.
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