BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials are clarifying when they believe Red Line service will go back to normal following a derailment at the JFK/UMass station in June.
Officials initially announced that restoration of the Red Line would last through at least Labor Day. MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak has extended that timeline to October at the earliest.
“We have a number of incremental repairs that we hope will improve trip times,” Poftak. “Right now, we have the capacity up to where it was but the trains just aren’t running as quickly as they can when we are fully automatic. We are not fully automatic yet. We will be at some point in October.”
Poftak added that this is not a new time frame but one based on what work still needs to be completed.
“Because there was such tremendous damage there is an emphasis on this area of the Red Line (JFK/UMass station) but we have repairs going on across the system. We have not pulled back on that,” he said.
This is not the news that most commuters want to hear.
“I just want to get to work on time so that I don’t have to get into trouble when I do make it to work,” one woman said.
While October is the goal for renovations to be finished, officials say they will do whatever they can to speed that process up.
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