The MBTA's Orange Line seems to headed in the right direction, after being under the microscope for months due to its mechanical issues, month-long shutdown and fluctuating wait times.
In December, the MBTA pulled several of its new Orange Line cars from service due to electrical issues, but those issues were repaired and the train cars were returned to service last week, according to The Boston Globe.
At the time of the initial problem, the transit agency said a routine inspection of an Orange Line vehicle uncovered a failure in a power cable that may have crated some electrical arcing with a nearby train axle. All other Orange Line vehicles were subsequently inspected, and the MBTA said it identified nine cars where some "electrical arcing" appeared to have occurred, and removed all of the impacted cars for repairs, including replacement of the axles. A total of 11 axles across the nine cars were impacted.
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The MBTA is still looking into the root cause of the problem on the new vehicles, but said that they are safe, the Globe reported.
Meanwhile, full deployment of an automated anti-collision system on the MBTA's Green Line, which federal regulators first recommended in 2009, will be delayed by up to 18 months because of the complexity of weaving the technology into the aging trolley network, officials said Thursday.
The delay pushes the target completion date to June 2025, 18 months later than the goal the T set in January 2022 when its board of directors approved redirecting $45 million from the agency's operating budget to accelerate the work.
Over the weekend, there will be some service impacts to riders of the Green Line and the Orange Line.
Service on both of those lines are being limited due to the demolition of the Government Center Garage. Stops impacted include Haymarket, between Back Bay and North Station, as well as the Green Line's Medford Branch.
The State House News Service contributed to this story.
