Tuesday was a mess of a day for commuters on the MBTA, with severe-weather-related delays across all lines — including near stand-still on the Red Line, emergency shuttle buses carrying passengers over portions of a disabled Green Line, and equipment malfunctions along the Blue Line.
I was in the thick of it.
Tracks were disabled along the Green Line: "So you’re going to take the Green Line to Arlington Station," an MBTA employee explained to passengers. "From there we have shuttle buses taking you to Kenmore station. From there you can take any normal Green Line service on the B, C or D line."
The Red Line didn't have enough trains: "Please move all the way into the car," one passenger asked. "Please move in there’s a bunch of us here, we’ve been waiting a long time. There’s a bunch of us on here."
"There’s really no room left," another passenger replied. "Physics. Sorry."
Physics really is the issue — and it’s nothing new. The T is one of the nation’s oldest public transit systems. The cars on the red and orange lines are between 30 and 40 years old. Like clockwork, when it gets snowy and cold, the trains break down. It’s that simple.
The snow wreaks havoc with the system," said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo, who I spoke with during Storm No. 1. "When our switches freeze up or the airhoses that power the propulsion systems in the vehicles, they freeze up, that’s when the problems occur."
As if on cue, a switch problem today on the Blue line Tuesday led to severe delays, just one of myriad of issues across the system. To no one’s surprise, the MBTA has seen severe delays on all lines — and along the commuter rail — for a week now. It’s a tale of frustration that we’ve seen play out here winter after winter. Today, Gov. Charlie Baker called these old problems “unacceptable.”
"I’m planning to spend a fair amount of time with Secretary [of Transportation Stephanie] Pollack over the course of the next few weeks to make sure that we make the kinds of decisions with respect to managing and administering the T so that people don’t have to deal with this," Baker said.
In the meantime, riders will continue to have to deal with it. According to MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott, normal service isn’t returning any time soon.
"Assuming we don’t wind up with more dumps, we’ve probably got a good four or five days ahead of just digging out of this and trying to keep service operating.
Add to the mess another challenge Wednesday: a parade for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
"This has been a tradition here in the city of Boston," said Mayor Marty Walsh. "When the Patriots win it, it's in the middle of winter, this will be the fourth parade in the city of Boston, I believe the timeline is still the same and that’s what we’ve decided to do."
It will again be cold. There’s still a lot of snow out there. And tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of New England Patriots fans are expected to descend on the city for the Super Bowl victory parade. Scott has said that, under the circumstances, the T is not in a position to boost service for the occasion.
"In terms of extra service and all that, we’re just not really going to be in a a condition to be able to do that, but we’ll support," she said. "We’re delighted and we will wind up supporting the parade and the community the very best that we can.
And even if the T does weather this latest storm, there’s still a lot of winter left. And that means we haven’t seen the last of riders, bundled up, 15-deep on the platforms, waiting for a train.
At least — sometimes — there’s live music.
