Facing the coldest weather in five years, Bostonians were left waiting for the T Monday as the chilling temperature caused delays on most subway and bus lines.
On Sunday night Mayor Thomas Menino and the city of Boston issued a cold weather advisory for Monday morning, warning Boston residents to stay warm during the early hours. The temperature was forecasted to be below zero degrees in the morning, rising to the low teens in the afternoon.
For many Boston residents, the morning commute was made that much more difficult because of these delays. Joe Pesatura, a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesperson, explained the damages to T cars caused by the extreme weather.
“In the morning, a number of trolley cars experienced reliability problems due to the frigid conditions,” Pesaturo said. “When a trolley car’s air hoses freeze up, the vehicle’s propulsion system (a critical component) is significantly affected…and the trolley becomes disabled.”
The Red, Orange, Blue and Green Lines all had delays due to disabled trains, according to the MBTA Alert website.
Richard Davey, the MBTA General Manager, tweeted at 8 a.m. on Monday warning riders of delays due to early morning train failures.
“Expect…delays this AM, due to several train failures earlier this morning,” Davey said.
The Green line was severely affected by delays when the D Line malfunctioned, forcing riders to take a bus shuttle from Riverdale to the Reservoir stop.
Afternoon trains on the Lowell and Newburyport/Rockport commuter rails were cancelled due to disabled trains.
Later, Davey issued an official apology for the complications after many commuters called in complaining.
“I’ve got my team looking at that to make sure we can prepare for tomorrow morning’s rush hour, that too is going to be cold obviously. But, this is the coldest day in six years in Boston, so it’s certainly taken a toll on the equipment,” Davey said in a press release.
Throughout the day as more delays were announced, Twitter became overrun with angry tweets from MBTA riders frustrated with the T’s efficiency.
“I’ve been waiting about 15 minutes for a subway,” said Nick Wells, a Boston resident waiting at the Boston University East T stop who said he takes the T every day.
“I was really frustrated when I heard about the delays this morning,” Wells said. “You’d think that when it is this cold out transportation could run faster, but of course that’s not the case.”
Students stood shivering while waiting for the T at the Boston University East stop as well.
“I take the T every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and it doesn’t usually take this long,” said Nora Conroy, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore. “My boss said it took her an hour longer to get to work today on the commuter train.”
“I went apartment hunting today and had to wait forever to get the T in the cold,” said Diya SenGupta, a School of Management freshman. “By the time I got to the apartments I was frozen.”
For students traveling through campus, BU spokesman Colin Riley said that the BU Shuttle would be running on time despite the cold.
“The bus arrives every 10 minutes during peak hours so there are plenty of buses for students waiting for the T to take instead,” Riley said.
MBTA officials are preparing for a snowstorm that is coming Wednesday in order to prevent similar delays.
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