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Blue Line

By adamg - 3/14/24 - 11:52 am
Kendall station headhouse

At Kendall Square Red Line entrance, sign would go under the red-and-white "Kendall" sign

The MBTA and the company that handles its electronic ad boards inside subway stations have begun a program to bring the boards above ground, at the entrances to stations. Read more.

By adamg - 2/29/24 - 3:05 pm

WCVB reports MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said today that the power cable that shorted out or blew up or something that tripped all the other power cables at North Station to shut down, taking the Blue, Green and Orange lines with them didn't belong to National Grid - it was the MBTA's own cable. Read more.

By adamg - 2/15/24 - 7:55 am
T pain chart by Bacon Doughnut

Update: T blames National Grid feeder cable.

The MBTA reports the Orange, Green and Blue lines all died this morning due to some sort of power and signal problem. The power is back, but trains are moving like molasses (in the traditional sense, not the Boston sense). Read more.

By adamg - 1/29/24 - 3:56 pm

The MBTA reports the Blue Line went into bustitution mode after some wires came down between Revere Beach and Beachmont shortly before 2:45 p.m.

By adamg - 1/25/24 - 9:48 am

At 8:45 a.m., the MBTA reported halting Blue Line service due to smoke at Airport station. Turned out there was "a fire along the third rail near airport," the T updated at 9:01 a.m., but it was out and service was returning, but with "residual delays," some of which might be caused by T workers trying to figure out what sparked the fire.

H/t Rob A.

By schneidz - 1/14/24 - 10:31 am
gotta' go fast

i came across this m.b.t.a. planet while playing xkcd 'escape speed':
https://xkcd.com/2765/

spoiler alert:
there are blue line, red line, orange line, green line tokens to be picked up at various boston themed locations on other planets. then you must guide your ship to kendall/m.i.t. to pick up a hyper-drive.

By adamg - 11/10/23 - 9:33 am

The MBTA reports Blue Line bollixing due to a train that sighed and died at Aquarium.

Today's headline courtesy of Rob A.

By adamg - 11/9/23 - 10:04 am

MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng this morning released a proposed schedule for track repairs across most of the T subway system in 2024 that will mean more of the multi-day shutdowns riders have grown accustomed to over the past couple of years, but which he says will ultimately mean faster, smoother rides. Read more.

By adamg - 11/4/23 - 11:00 am

It sounds like a charming children's story, but this is the T we're talking about, so it's probably chewing through the wires that keep the Blue Line running or something: A concerned citizen files a 311 complaint about the trash panda at State Street: Read more.

By adamg - 10/19/23 - 9:07 pm
Falling ceiling tiles at Government Center

Government Center just seven years after its like-new re-opening.

The Government Center T station re-opened in 2016 after being shut for two years of extensive renovations and repairs. A roving UHub photographer reports today: Read more.

By adamg - 10/10/23 - 6:23 pm

If it's not the trains or the tracks, what else could go wrong on the T? Try the platforms. The MBTA reports outbound Blue Line trains are bypassing Suffolk Downs because of "a platform maintenance issue," which probably means something on the platform is no longer safe. Riders can take the train to Beachmont, then head over to the other side to get off at the inbound side of Suffolk Downs.

By adamg - 8/22/23 - 10:17 am
Wanted man

Surveillance photo via TPD.

Transit Police report they are looking for a guy they say creeped out a woman even before he sat next to her and kissed her on a Blue Line train after it left State around 11 p.m. on Aug. 12. Read more.

By adamg - 8/20/23 - 11:44 am

Shortly after 10 a.m., the MBTA reported Blue Line delays of 10 minutes this morning after a vandalized train had to be taken out of service at Wonderland.

Transit Police say "juveniles smashed the window out with their feet," so the train had to get a new window.

By adamg - 8/2/23 - 7:26 am

Update: The T reported at 9:17 a.m. the problem was fixed and things were back to what passes for normal these days.

Good thing the T has all these alternatives to the Sumner Tunnel in place because it's reporting there are still signal problems at Orient Heights causing all sorts of delays on the Blue Line.

By adamg - 8/1/23 - 4:38 pm
People waiting for the ferry to East Boston

With the Blue Line going nowhere fast, riders headed over to the ferry, which got jammed. Photo by Will Woodring.

The MBTA reports delays of up to 30 minutes on the free Blue Line due to a signal issue at Orient Heights; says the signal department is on scene trying to fix the problem.

By adamg - 7/24/23 - 3:11 pm

The state and Berklee College of Music say they free musical performances outside the Aquarium and Wonderland stops twice a week will help take commuters' minds off what are now regular delays due to wire inspections on top of the delays caused by all the slow zones and all the crowding caused by people who normally drive but who have to deal with the Sumner Tunnel shutdown. Read more.

By adamg - 7/7/23 - 10:40 am

CommonWealth reports on the seeming paradox of the percentage of subway tracks subject to speed restrictions has actually been going up of late, although it's still less than when the T first announced it had some issues that needed immediate fixing.

By adamg - 7/5/23 - 12:13 pm

The MBTA reports Blue Line delays of up to ten minutes as a maintenance crew inspects the seemingly always troublesome overhead wires.

By adamg - 7/5/23 - 8:08 am
Open fare gates at a Blue Line stop

Your money's no good on the Blue Line, at least through Aug. 31.

With the Sumner Tunnel now shut for the next two months, the Blue Line is now free, as Donna shows us at Orient Heights. Kind of makes you wonder if freeing the T might be a way for the state to reduce congestion and carbon emissions on Boston-area roads, although that would probably require a fully functional T system.

Other Sumner Tunnel alternatives.

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