Red Line Now Slow Zone-Free for the First Time in At Least 20 Years

Critical track and tamping work was performed at Red Line stations. Complimentary photo by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.

The MBTA today announced the successful completion of critical track work on the Red Line while service was suspended between Harvard and Broadway the evening of November 17 through November 23 and between Harvard and JFK/UMass on November 24. The Red Line is now completely free of all slow zones for the first time in at least 20 years, joining both the Blue and Orange lines as speed restriction-free. The Green Line will be free of its final speed restrictions following upcoming track work in December, making the entire subway system free of speed restrictions.

Crews worked in critical track areas during this Red Line service suspension. Complimentary photo by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.

“I’m proud of the tremendous amount of work we’re accomplishing. The track in these areas of the Red Line is very challenging for crews to be able to access, but our workforce was given the unencumbered time on the track that they needed to finally do the work to completely remove these slow zones,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “There’s more work to do on the Green Line next month to make the entire subway system slow zone-free, but we’re now well-positioned to efficiently maintain our system for years to come with the goal of providing the safe, reliable service our riders can be proud of.”

Important track work was accomplished along the Red Line. Complimentary photo by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.

As a result of unencumbered access to track areas, crews accomplished important work to lift two speed restrictions along over 2,000 feet of track as part of the Track Improvement Program. Workers also maximized the outage by performing signal upgrades, security enhancements, station amenity upgrades, and more.

With unencumbered access to Red Line stations, crews accomplished the following work:

Replaced 2,230 feet of rail
Performed approximately 970 feet of full depth track replacement
Replaced 177 ties and 3,350 plates 
Resurfaced and tamped 13,800 feet of track

Crews performed critical work along Red Line track areas. Complimentary photo by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.

As a result of this critical work, the following safety-related speed restrictions are no longer in place:


Speed Restriction Number	Restriction Information and Location	Status
Speed Restriction Number	000017	Restriction Information and Location	Southbound between Central and Kendall/MIT	Status	Removed
Speed Restriction Number	000015	Restriction Information and Location	Southbound between Central and Kendall/MIT	Status	Removed

Crews used a variety of heavy equipment to accomplish critical track upgrades along the Red Line. Complimentary photo by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.

A variety of other work also took place along the Red Line to further enhance the rider experience, including:

Stairway repairs at Kendall/MIT, Park Street, and Downtown Crossing
Repairs to a tunnel construction joint in four locations at Kendall/MIT
Electrical room repairs at Kendall/MIT
Signal modernization work, including the installation of wires and cable at Central’s signal room, the removal and replacement of 15 WeeZee bonds, repairs and upgrades to additional bonds, switch and track circuit upgrades, and the installation of new switch infrastructure at the complicated area of crossover track at Park Street
Electrical work on the outbound Kendall/MIT headhouse
Security enhancements at Charles/MGH and Park Street
The completion of door surveys and inspections at stations throughout the shutdown area.
Removed over 1,200 Pandrol Panguard plates with the installation of over 1,200 new resilient RF-A fastener plates between Park Street and Charles/MGH, which will improve noise/vibration mitigation and provide better maintainability.
Power modernization work, including replacing third rail at South Station as well as power and cable replacement at Kendall/MIT
Plumbing and drainage improvements, concrete repairs, painting, bench repairs, brick replacement, and power washing within stations throughout the shutdown area