MBTA Boosts Orange Line Subway Speeds Again
Over the weekend, the MBTA once again increased the maximum speeds on the Orange Line, with a new 55 mph speed limit in effect for 5.4 miles of track between North Station and Oak Grove.
The T last year had already increased maximum train speeds on the northernmost segment of the Orange Line, between Assembly and Oak Grove. This weeks’s speed increases affect an additional 2 miles of track between Assembly and North Station.
Before last summer, the previous maximum speed on these segments of the Orange Line had been 40 mph for at least 20 years.
These tracks had originally been designed for 55 mph service when the T built the Haymarket North Extension of the Orange Line in the 1970s. However, as the infrastructure aged, the T reduced operating speeds for safety reasons.
Last year, the T also increased the maximum operating speed on the Braintree branch of the Red Line to 50 mph.
“We have removed slow zones, upgraded signal systems, scaled accessibility efforts, delivered new fleets, and worked smartly to improve infrastructure across the entire MBTA system under the leadership of Healey-Driscoll Administration,” bragged Interim Secretary and MBTA General Manager Eng in a weekend press release.
Eng added that the Orange Line today is running 76 percent more service than it did in winter 2023, when a maintenance crisis under former Governor Charlie Baker’s administration forced the T to impose a 25 mph speed limit on the entire subway system.
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