A correction has been added to this story. IN THE DEBATE over the future of the MBTA, very little attention has been paid to the relatively new board that oversees the transit authority. The board began its work last fall and adopted a very different style from its predecessor, the Fiscal and Management Control Board. […]
Tracking Transportation
Posted inTransportation
MBTA board approves 2 land deals worth $100m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MBTA OVERSEERS stamped approval Tuesday on a pair of real estate projects together worth more than $100 million to boost the agency’s vehicle maintenance footprint. The T’s board of directors voted unanimously on a nearly $86 million contract to expand Codman Yard, a Dorchester facility where Red Line vehicles are cleaned, […]
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Full Orange, Red, and Blue line service unlikely to resume soon
SERVICE ON the Orange, Red, and Blue Lines will probably continue at reduced levels beyond Labor Day and likely into next year because of hiring and training constraints for subway dispatchers. The T is racing to hire dispatchers to address a safety directive issued by the Federal Transit Administration, which raised concerns about employees in the […]
Posted inTransportation
New temporary elevated highway may be needed with I-90 Allston project
THE I-90 ALLSTON interchange has always been a challenge to design, particularly squeezing the Massachusetts Turnpike, Soldiers Field Road, and four railroad tracks at ground level into in the narrow area called the throat between Boston University and the Charles River. But as the state seeks federal funding for the nearly $2 billion project, the […]
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Straus asks whether the T is still needed
AT THE END of Monday’s legislative oversight hearing on safety practices at the MBTA, the House chair of the Transportation Committee said something was missing. The committee, in its questioning of MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak and Transportation Secretary Jamey Tesler, discussed the adequacy of funding, the safety culture of the transit authority, staffing difficulties, […]
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Blue Line wall of silence becomes focus of MBTA oversight hearing
ON MAY 8, the MBTA sent out a press release saying the planned reopening of the Blue Line set for that day needed to be extended until May 13 “to complete additional work and finish scheduled work.” The next day, on May 9, I contacted the MBTA asking for more information on the reason for […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA turnaround taking longer than we want
THE INITIAL TURNAROUND of the MBTA in Gov. Charlie Baker’s first term had been such a good story that it is a whole chapter in his recent book. But pandemic-induced staffing shortages and a string of troubling safety incidents have written an unwelcome plot twist. Political support for the administration’s handling of the MBTA has […]
Posted inTransportation
Senate approves MBTA low-income fare proposal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATORS WILL TRY to convince their House colleagues the time is right to make another pass at mandating a low-income fare program at the MBTA, reviving the specter of a gubernatorial veto during the coming late-session flurry. Along the way to unanimously approving a $10.84 billion infrastructure bond bill Thursday, the […]
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MBTA cites progress in dealing with FTA safety directives
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak said the agency is making solid progress in dealing with the four safety directives issued by the Federal Transit Administration, but he cautioned that reduced subway service levels are likely to remain in place until Labor Day and may even be extended depending on hiring at the operations control center. […]
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Harvard’s Allston campus takes big step forward
THE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL of Harvard University’s land-holdings in Allston began to take shape on Tuesday as the city and the school unveiled an agreement detailing plans for the initial 9.4 acres of what’s being called an enterprise research campus. The plan calls for 900,000 square feet of new development, with 49 percent of the space […]