A year-long project that upgraded rail infrastructure and equipment has resulted in faster trips on all rail lines.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) undertaking to eliminate “slow zones,” known as the Track Improvement Program, has led to an impressive increase in the speed of trips on the Red Line, reports Will Katcher for Mass Transit.
“On the line’s Ashmont branch, the average southbound ride lasts about 40 minutes end-to-end. Rewind to October 2023, and the same trip took nearly half an hour longer.” On the Braintree branch, riders traveling end to end save about 24 minutes a day.
Every line in the system is now traveling faster than in October 2023. “State officials said the repairs collectively save riders 2.4 million minutes every weekday. They estimated the economic benefit to Massachusetts to be nearly $1 million each day.”
In 2025, the agency will be working on replacing aging signal systems and making stations more accessible.
FULL STORY: MA: The MBTA is slow zone free. How much faster are trains running?
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research