The return of winter on Tuesday meant the return of severe delays for frustrated MBTA riders.
It all started around 5:45 a.m. when a switch problem at JFK/UMass caused severe delays on the Red Line's Braintree branch.
MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola said a switch heater failed and was impacted with ice. A crew had to go out and manually de-ice the switcher before service could resume.
Delays were also reported Tuesday morning on the Green Line B branch due to a switch problem at Blandford Street.
Several hours later, just before noon, a Green Line trolley was involved in an accident with a vehicle at Coolidge Corner. As a result, passengers were forced to get off the trolley and board shuttle buses to reach their destination.
Around 1 p.m., the MBTA reported severe delays on the Green Line B branch due to a power problem near Chestnut Hill Avenue. It wasn't immediately clear if the problem had anything to do with the weather.
Also on Tuesday, the Boston Herald reported that five buses got stuck in slush on Clarendon Street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. Boston police and public works employees responded to help free the buses.
In an interview with necn, DePaola downplayed the early-morning problems on the Red and Green lines.
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"Other than that, the rest of the system is running a normal schedule," DePaola said. "We're able to handle the weather for both commuter rail and transit."
The MBTA said it was working hard to prevent any disruptions, but some impact on various modes of service were possible as the storm continued to pass through the area. Updated service information can be found at the MBTA's winter resource hub.
Shuttle buses were serving MBTA customers on the Blue Line during Tuesday evening's commute as crews repaired a tunnel; however, it's not clear if it was weather-related damage.
