Photo courtesy of State House News Service.

In the wake of a June 12 derailment that destroyed a key signal system at the Red Line’s JFK/UMass stop, the MBTA has been forced to revert to 19th century methods of controlling trains, causing a slowdown along the entire line.

Around 50 T employees, around 16 at a time, work to keep the trains running by manually tripping switches and other safety items ordinarily operated automatically by the Red Line’s signal system, Commonwealth Magazine reported in a detailed look at why the destruction of the signals system has created enduring delays on the line..

Trains cannot move forward from a station until T employees monitoring the station ahead confirm that the train ahead has left their platform, Commonwealth reports..

To Keep Red Line Running, 50 MBTA Staffers Have to Manually Direct Trains

by Banker & Tradesman time to read: <1 min
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