Only 15 hours after the MBTA began the process to raise fares by as much as ten percent, service on a Commuter Rail line and the Red Line was disrupted as tracks froze on the first frigid commute of the new year.
Part of the Red Line was out of commission Tuesday morning in Dorchester between the JFK/UMass and Savin Hill stops.
The tracks along that stretch were damaged by freezing temperatures, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack told reporters at a press conference Tuesday afternoon at MBTA headquarters.
"We have to continue to do better. We need to get to the bottom of what happened today, and if necessary, we'll continue to make changes and improvements to minimize disruptions to our customers," Pollack said.
Riders were shuttled on MBTA buses between Savin Hill and JFK/UMass, which created moderate delays across the entire Red Line.
Portions of the Commuter Rail didn't fare any better. Before the start of service, a train without passengers derailed north of the Andover station around 4 a.m.
The delays caused by the derailment meant frustrated customers on platforms in single-digit weather while Commuter Rail operator Keolis scrambled to use buses to get passengers to functioning stations.
MBTA riders were subjected to glacial service from the transit agency last winter, after a series of unprecedented snowstorms crippled most of the T's above-ground routes.
A Monday's MBTA Fiscal Management Control Board meeting, the panel heard proposals on raising fares. The board voted to pursue two plans, one to hike fares five percent and another that would increase rider costs ten percent. Both proposals would also further increase the price of monthly subway and bus passes to raise the number of trips a pass-holder needs to take before breaking even on the cost of the pass.
The MBTA's board will vote to raise fares in March, right around the time New England starts to thaw out.
