BOSTON (WHDH) - Over three weeks have passed since the Orange Line shutdown ended, and commuters say it’s still a slow go. In fact, service is even slower than before.
From Aug. 19 through Sept. 18, the T squeezed in five years’ worth of maintenance on the Orange Line to improve service. But commuters have noticed it hasn’t quite lived up to its glamorous and speedy promises.
One rider said, “I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like it’s been any better.”
“It’s not, it’s probably 10 minutes slower,” said another.
“It still kind of stops, like it will be like five stops, 10 stops, and it’s stopped,” said a third rider. “And then we’re kind of like stuck there waiting for it to unstuck itself.”
Watchdog organization TransitMatters affirmed what commuters have noticed. The organization’s tracked train timing data showed the Orange Line is running 47-48 minutes, in contrast to 39-40 minutes before the repairs.
“This new work that they decided to do has caused interruptions for riders” Seth Kaplan of Transit Matters said. “And add on top of that the service cuts that have already been in effect since the summer, it’s really just been a nightmare.”
The slower pace isn’t exactly what the T had promised.
“We are very excited as an organization to welcome our riders back to a faster, safer, more reliable Orange Line,” Steve Poftak, MBTA General Manager previously said ahead of the shutdown.
The T said it chose to do additional maintenance while it had the equipment in place, and they will get the trip times down in the coming weeks.
In a statement, T officials said they understand the frustrations commuters have.
“Safety and maintenance must take priority,” the MBTA said in a statement. “The MBTA looks forward to providing the faster, safer, and more reliable service they deserve.”
Gov. Charlie Baker said he believes the improvements are, overall, worth the inconvenience.
“The good news is the trains are better, the tracks are better, and over time, that ride will continue to improve, instead of continuing to get worse,” Baker said. “Which is what would’ve happened if we hadn’t done the five years’ worth of work. And people would still have to rely on the old trains and the old tracks.”
The T is now saying to expect that better service in a matter of weeks, though it was not clear how many.
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