MBTA apologizes for continued Red Line problems after shutdown, explains what may be happening

The Red Line continues to be plagued by delays, less than a week after the MBTA touted the "successful" completion of a 10-day shutdown for track repairs and signal upgrades between Alewife and Park Street stations.

Shuttle buses temporarily replaced trains from Harvard station to Park Street Wednesday because of a signal problem at Harvard. The issue delayed riders for about 25 minutes, and the T encouraged people to catch a bus instead.

There have been issues on the reopened stretch of the Red Line nearly every day since service resumed. On Friday there was smoke on the tracks at Charles/MGH and a signal problem at Harvard that was delaying riders for about 25 minutes during the afternoon commute.

Monday saw delays of about 20 minutes due to a signal problem between Harvard and Kendall/MIT, and a disabled train at Kendall/MIT on Tuesday caused delays of about 15 minutes.

"It's not like we just had a 10 day shutdown over this stretch of the Red Line for state of good repair work to enhance reliability," one T rider complained Wednesday. 

"On the MBTA red line and the train is literally going backwards down the tunnel between Central and Kendall," another said.

Reached for comment by WBZ-TV, the T is saying sorry to its customers and offering an explanation for the recent disruptions.

"The MBTA apologizes to riders affected by recent signal issues on the Red Line following the recent shutdown," the T said in a statement. " A massive amount of heavy track work was accomplished on the northern side of the Red Line last month, and while the causes of the signal issues are still under investigation, it's understood that as trains move over these upgraded areas (including areas where signals, switches, and interlockings exist), minor adjustments may need to be made after service resumes."

The T said it doesn't anticipate further issues, but said it's ready to dispatch crews quickly if any more problems arise.