Massachusetts’ aging transit infrastructure doesn’t mix well with cold temperatures. Icy tracks, frozen locomotives and the inevitable crush of snow will cause delays for commuters, in spite of Gov. Charlie Baker’s effort to winterize the T.
The MBTA has been advising riders to add 20 minutes to their planned commute this week because of delays caused by the cold. Ferry service from Hingham has been suspended because of damage to a dock and the Red Line has been forced to slow down along a stretch in Dorchester to prevent air valves from freezing up.
Keolis, the company that operates the Commuter Rail, says 86 percent of trains arrived at their destinations on time Tuesday. The biggest delay was the need to replace a dead locomotive on the Newburyport Line when it couldn’t handle the cold.
“That was caused by a locomotive issue that was from the cold weather. The locomotive had a challenge at the last minute, right before it was supposed to go into service,” Keolis spokesman Tory Mazzola told WGBH News.
Acton Senator Jamie Eldridge says the Baker administration’s strategy of spending over $100 million dollars on winter preparedness didn’t go far enough, especially when it comes to the agency’s aging train fleet.
“The fact that somehow the cold weather should delay trains is embarrassing,” Eldridge said.
Weather records indicate this has been the coldest seven-day stretch in almost a century. The T has used the $101 million in winter prep funding to buy new snow fighting equipment and infrastructure, including 23 miles of new electrified rail and over 5,000 feet of snow fencing along tracks.
MBTA officials say teams will be in place for the expected storm Thursday afternoon into Friday to help coordinate the effort to keep the MBTA running.
Eldridge, the Senate co-chair of the Legislature’s MBTA caucus, also wants his colleagues to crack down on Baker’s management of he troubled MBTA.
“The caucus needs to step up,” Eldridge said. “Under the Baker-Polito Administration, the Democratic leadership, Democratic legislators have not voiced their concerns strongly enough about the lack on investment transportation.”
Eldridge said the T needs to get better at spending the money it’s been saving up from budget cuts and increased fares. And Democrats needs to get better at holding Baker and the T’s managers accountable. The MBTA caucus plans to meet with General Manager Luis Ramirez sometime this month.
“Respectfully, $100 million in a public transportation system that is literally billions of dollars behind in investment is a drop in the bucket,” Eldridge said.
