MBTA: No slow zones on Blue Line

There are now no slow zones on the entire length of the MBTA Blue Line, the transit agency announced Wednesday.

It's the only T line with no speed restrictions, according to the MBTA's slow zone dashboard.

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Two weeks ago, there were 16 restrictions on the Blue Line, limiting trains' speed on 38% of the line. But the agency closed down one stretch of the line for track work over a few weeks and used a full shutdown this weekend to finish it up.

The T says the work has sped up travel on the Blue Line by three minutes.

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Over the weekend, we used the uninterrupted access to make necessary updates to the Blue Line. These full-access diversions are essential to achieving our goals set out in our Track Improvement Program, including removing slow zones for faster, safer service.#BuildingABetterT pic.twitter.com/kqfRXxmChN
— MBTA (@MBTA) April 30, 2024

MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng and MBTA Chief Operating Officer Ryan Coholan were set to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss the update.

A plan to lift the speed restrictions on the MBTA will require time and more shutdowns.

There are 95 speed restrictions across the rest of the T as of Wednesday: 54 on the Red Line (18% of the track), 31 on the Orange Line (17% of the track) and 10 on the Green Line (2% of the track). The MBTA says that it's the first time in over a year that there are fewer than 100 speed restrictions across the system.

Slow zones are put in place for sections of track where it's not considered safe to run trains at full speed because of wear and tear on the track. The MBTA has targeted those areas for repairs.

Eng has released a plan aimed at removing all MBTA slow zones by the end of the year.