MBTA subway and trolley trains are likely to continue operating slower than usual for the foreseeable future as officials turn their attention from a lack of inspection documentation to fixing numerous track defects, which will require temporary shutdowns.
As of Thursday, 27% of the entire subway system is subject to speed restrictions, an increase of 2 percentage points over the share of track with slow zones on Monday, according to data Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville presented Thursday.
That information was available in the MBTA's new live dashboard showing where speed restrictions are in place across the system line-by-line data, for the first time providing specific details about where the issues are located. As of Thursday, there were 221 restrictions covering 36.8 miles.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
The system-wide speed restrictions are in place to track defect concerns that sprang up earlier this month.
Gonneville told the MBTA Board Thursday that a pair of teams continue to examine infrastructure across the MBTA following the failure to confirm past inspection and repair work. In some cases, crews can lift speed restrictions quickly, and in other cases, the T will need to perform "long-term or more permanent repairs" to safely resume higher speeds, he said.
While all four subway lines are affected, Gonneville said the Blue Line and the Red Line's Braintree and Ashmont branches in particular will receive a "tremendous amount of focus over the next coming weeks."
Also Thursday, MBTA officials released an April schedule for shutdowns needed to perform maintenance. Gonneville said he expects to deploy more "early access" closures, when shuttle buses replace trains around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. through the end of service, to provide workers with more time to conduct repairs.
The widespread slow zones have made travel even more of a headache for riders, who continue to grapple with service cuts to the Red, Orange and Blue lines that have persisted for more than nine months.
Thursday's board meeting featured pointed public criticism aimed at agency leaders and the board that oversees them, and one board member, Chanda Smart, lamented a combination of factors that have created "terrible subway service."
Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca, the only board member selected by Gov. Maura Healey, defended Gonneville and MBTA leaders after Smart raised questions about management accountability.
"Interim GM Gonneville and I have been in constant contact here," Fiandaca said. "As he's outlined in his presentation, this was not a decision that he made lightly, but it was in the best interest of the safety of our riders and our employees."
Gov. Maura Healey has said she is close to deciding who will take over the helm of the problem-plagued public transit system. Whoever is named the head of the T will inherit a lot of challenges.
On WBUR Wednesday, Healey said that she is in the final stages of selecting a new general manager to run the T and expects to name the new GM "very, very soon."
It’s a decision she’s been weighing since before she took office in January.
