Service has been fully restored on the Red Line after June’s derailment, according to MBTA officials.
Efforts to restore the signal system between JFK/UMass and North Quincy were completed over the weekend and MBTA officials spent the following days conducting tests.
All trains will be returning to their pre-derailment schedules with about 14 trains running per hour through the downtown area of the Red Line, or about one train every four to five minutes during rush hour.
Work on the line began in June following the derailment of a decades-old Red Line train caused by a fractured axle which likely developed due to poor electrical connectivity between the ground brush and ground ring, a related part that helps keep the train electrically grounded, according to MBTA deputy general manager Jeff Gonneville.
The train’s axle reached that condition as a result of gaps in routine inspection schedules, Gonneville said. Stray electrical arcing on the surface of the 27-year-old axle made it harden and become fragile over time until it broke.
No one was injured when the train derailed near the JFK-UMass station on June 11 but several signal bungalows were badly damaged, resulting in major delays and criticism of the system.
In the days that followed the Red Line derailment in June, the Red Line was only able to run approximately six trains per hour during rush hour service, or roughly one train every 10 minutes. During the mid-day of the days that followed, the Red Line ran about five trains per hour.
“While I’m pleased Red Line service has been restored, this event underscores the level of urgency we need to continue to build a better T,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak.
The train that derailed had been in service since 1969.
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