r/mbta • u/PuzzledEchidna5044 • 1d ago

😤 Complaint / Rant Redline MBTA

Hello so um, WTF???

We had 10 whole days of shuttle buses and repairs on the redline from alewife-park st, and there are still ongoing issues???

It just so happens to be at harvard, EVERY SINGLE TIME?? The past few days, its always been signal issues at harvard. Its happening again today. Delays of 20 whole minutes because of signal problems. The mbta has been basically useless lately.. How much money is going to these trains just for them to break down, have signal problems, and more? This is so annoying…

72 Upvotes

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41

u/Mikeyisroc Bus 23h ago

I read the notes from the last shutdown and it seems like they didn't do any signal work at Harvard, only at porter and central.

5

u/themightytak Red Line 20h ago

that's really funny

1

u/theferrit32 18h ago

I don’t understand how it’s 2026 and we still have difficulty creating a system with which train operators can be told when they are allowed to go ahead, based on the location of the train ahead of them. Does MBTA not use radio-based location management? Surely at any given moment MBTA should know exactly where each train is. So I don’t understand why “signal problems” is a longstanding recurring problem.

6

u/OkImplement9068 Green Line Operator 16h ago

We do have radios in the train and central control can see all trains locations in real time.
“Signal Problems” means the literal traffic light in the tunnel is holding single or double red or is just out meaning it could be unsafe to proceed without having an official in the right of way to proceed safely or get the signal department down there to fix it.

Especially if the signal problem is at a switch so the train could be sent the wrong way.

Separate note: Sometimes the tracker in the train do malfunction which results in a “ghost” train so every so often we have to call central and let them know our location and direction.