Photo courtesy of the MBTA

One-quarter of the entire MBTA subway system will still be subject to more-sluggish-than-usual travel even after the agency lifted end-to-end speed restrictions on the Green Line Monday morning.

More than a week after the T ordered trains to move slower because of failures to confirm past inspections and repairs, the T said Sunday night that the line-wide 25 mph speed restriction on the Green Line would be lifted after workers finished fixing speed limit signs over the weekend that delayed restoring service.

Once that happens, MBTA officials estimate that an even 25 percent of the four major subway lines will face speed restrictions stemming from the track inspection and record-keeping breakdown, including the exact same combined share of the Red, Orange and Blue Lines – 31.9 percent – that have been subject to mandatory slowdowns since Monday. Those rates do not take into consideration slow zones that predated last week’s missteps, so the total share of affected track is even higher.

When announcing the lifting of the Green Line’s global speed restriction Sunday, agency spokesperson Lisa Battiston said speed restrictions caused by “defects that need to be investigated or mitigated” would be in place on 18 percent of that line’s track. Slow zones cover 22 percent of the Mattapan Line.

No Estimate for Slow Zones’ End

When speaking to reporters Friday, interim MBTA General Manager Jeff Gonneville did not provide an estimate for when the T will be able to return to more normal train speeds across the system, which also continues to operate with less frequent weekday service on its heavy rail lines nine months after officials imposed cuts they said at the time would be temporary.

“We are making progress with our validations. So over the next coming days as well, we’re going to start making some incremental improvements and really start lifting some of these speed restrictions,” Gonneville said. “But some of these speed restrictions are going to require corrective actions and will take longer than others to resolve and lift. We’re actively working on that now and working through those plans.”

Speed restrictions are more severe on heavy rail. The T said Friday that 80 percent of the Blue Line, 24 percent of the Red Line and 22 percent of the Orange Line are still under slow zones, a combined rate of 31.9 percent that did not budge over the course of the workweek.

The MBTA did not provide any details about where the newly imposed slowdowns are located. Gonneville said the agency next week plans to publish an interactive dashboard detailing speed restrictions across all lines.

“We are ensuring that the information that we’re collecting and that the verification and validation process is precise. Because of that, it does take time,” Gonneville said. “Each one of these very specific defects has a detailed series of measurements that needs to be taken at every one of these individual locations. That takes time, and it takes time to also do that in between running trains that we’re doing every single day.”

“So I am satisfied with the amount of progress that we have made as it relates to using engineers and having engineers take those very detailed precise measurements over the past week,” he added.

Few Details About Crisis’ Spark

Gonneville’s Friday press conference featured little new information about how the T reached the point where its leaders had so little confidence in their own inspection and repair records that they concluded the safest option was to slow down the system.

Since MBTA officials realized they could not provide documentation needed to prove they addressed track problems flagged by Department of Public Utilities inspectors, MBTA engineering and maintenance workers have completed a new batch of inspections on 48 percent of problem areas, and third-party crews have reviewed 74 percent of defects, according to data Gonneville presented.

The MBTA ordered immediate slowdowns across the entire subway system late at night on March 9, two days after DPU Rail Transit Safety Director Robert Hanson wrote six letters ordering corrective action to address problems his inspectors found. On March 10, the T shifted to a vaguely defined patchwork of slow zones on the Red, Blue and Orange Lines, and the agency made a similar move on the Mattapan Line trolley on Thursday.

“When our teams began looking back and looking to get that information, we found there was the documentation breakdown. At that point in time, myself and other senior managers were briefed on this particular condition, and I think as everyone knows, we made the very appropriate decision to ensure the safety of the system to slow the entire system down,” Gonneville said Friday. “I fully understand that that was a very bold move. It was a conservative move. But it was necessary at that moment to fully ensure the safety of the system.”

He mentioned that the MBTA tapped “an independent party” to investigate the documentation failures, but did not elaborate.

While Gov. Maura Healey continues to tout her administration as committed to transparency at the MBTA, a T spokesperson did not shed much additional light.

“The MBTA is finalizing an agreement with the contractor, and will make more information available after the agreement is executed,” spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said.

Asked if any employees had been terminated or placed on leave due to the upheaval, Gonneville replied by pointing to the ongoing investigation.

“As that investigation progresses, if there’s some determinations that we need to make some personnel changes or some personnel moves, then certainly the MBTA would take that position,” he said.

Admin. ‘Really Close’ to GM Hire

Gonneville continues to serve as the interim top leader of the T while Healey’s team searches for a permanent general manager, a process she started in December by hiring search firm Krauthamer & Assoc.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll didn’t have any answers Sunday about immediate fixes to problems that continue to afflict the MBTA, but said Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is “really close” to finally finding a new leader of the transit authority.

Asked during a televised WCVB interview about fixing deteriorating infrastructure on the T and the decision to slow many trains down while documenting and making track repairs, Driscoll said the administration is “taking these things seriously” and closing in on hiring a new MBTA general manager.

“It’s definitely days. We’re really close,” she said regarding a new GM, whom Healey had promised on the campaign trail to hire by March 6.

Healey was the favorite during 2022 to win last November’s governor’s race and campaigned on bringing new leadership to the T, but with spring arriving on Monday she is still relying largely on the T leadership team assembled under former Gov. Charlie Baker.

Pressed by co-host Ed Harding about the GM search, Driscoll said. “It’s not about going quick. It’s about making sure that we’re taking the due diligence to find the right leader. You don’t want to have the wrong person, then have to move out.” She later added, “Look, there’s one governor at a time. We didn’t take office until January 5.”

The lieutenant governor described the people who work at the MBTA a “super dedicated,” but said there’s just not enough of them.

“A lot of this is workforce-related. We don’t have enough individuals working at the MBTA right now.”