On the MBTA, the typical Red Line train stretches six cars. But in select circumstances, riders could now see just four cars when their train arrives at the platform.
When the T lacks enough functional cars for a six-car train, the agency will run the train with four cars rather than canceling the trip altogether. This will allow the T to avoid extending the time — known as the headway — that riders must wait at the station for the next train.
“Previously, when we lacked the cars needed to run a full 6-car train, it wouldn’t run in service and we would have to stretch out headways to offset the impact,” the agency said. “Now, by running 4-car trains when this shortage occurs, we aim to keep up service reliability and frequency.”
“The T does not have enough Red Line trains to run six-car sets for the amount of service they schedule,” said Seth Kaplan, co-leader of the data lab for TransitMatters, a Boston public transit advocacy group. “They’re running the four-car trains basically as a stopgap measure to avoid having to stop running the train altogether.”
Riders shouldn’t anticipate a significant uptick in trains packed shoulder-to-shoulder, Kaplan said.
Four-car trains “are not an everyday thing,“ he said. ”It’s as needed.”
On Friday afternoon, for example, as the work week came to a close, the MBTA had six cars on all of the 19 active Red Line trains, according to real-time data published by TransitMatters.
But when four-car trains are in service, cars will be more crowded, particularly at rush hour, Kaplan said.
Since the beginning of this year, the MBTA has averaged 169 round-trip rides on the Red Line daily. On average, it completed 86% of the daily trips it planned over the first two months of the year.
The agency is in the process of upgrading its aging train cars to newer models.
It has received 24 new Red Line cars and is awaiting another 228, according to TransitMatters data. It has 220 old Red Line cars still in service.
The Orange Line, by comparison, is awaiting 28 new cars but has already received 122. It has no old cars in service, the data showed.
MBTA officials said running shorter Red Line trains will allow the agency to retire older models sooner and, “at the same time, introduce more new Red Line trains into service.”
“This helps us to redistribute needed personnel, resources and space to make way for our new fleet,” the T said.
Riders will be alerted to the shorter trains by announcements, signs and staff at train stations, the agency said. Officials asked riders to be cautious and aware of the exposed ends of the station platforms where a train car may typically stop.
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