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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Called a bold, conservative, but necessary move, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority reflected on its quick decision to issue a global service slowdown last week, and detailed plans that could have those restrictions lifted as early as Saturday.
During press conference Friday afternoon, Interim MBTA General Manager Jeff Gonneville said he's "optimistic" that speed restrictions would soon be lifted on the Green Line, the last remaining line that still has global slowdowns in place. In lieu of those, Gonneville says the MBTA is putting in "block restrictions" for certain lengths of track with multiple defects, which will be lifted once those problems are addressed and repaired.
Fielding questions from the press, Gonneville answered what led to the situation, saying that the slowdown decision came as a reaction to discrepancies between records and the third party geometry scans done on all lines every so often throughout the year. These scans are able to detect track defections that are not typically visible to the human eye. Once MBTA officials recognized the discrepancies, the decision was made to slow down all the lines
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Despite the optimistic report, MBTA officials say riders should still expect to see some spotty delays and recommends leaving extra time for a Greater Boston commute.
For the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday in South Boston, the MBTA put together a travel guide for T riders.
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