Commuter Rail Preparing for Winter Weather

Stations, platforms and passenger areas being treated with salt and sand

BOSTON – February 17, 2021 – Keolis Commuter Services and the MBTA are reminding the public to use caution Thursday and Friday due to a winter storm that will impact much of the MBTA Commuter Rail network beginning Thursday during the day. Commuter Rail will continue to operate on a Winter Schedule that was approved by the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board in December 2020, and this schedule is available at MBTA.com for passengers to plan their trips.

“Keolis and MBTA crews will be across the network to keep passenger areas, equipment and infrastructure clear of snow and ice accumulation,” said David Scorey, Keolis CEO and General Manager. “In coordination with the MBTA, we will activate our emergency operations center to monitor the storm and respond to any issues.”

Passengers who will be traveling on Thursday and Friday should leave extra time to get to stations, use caution on platforms and when boarding trains, and stay connected for service updates at www.MBTA.com/winter.

MBTA and Keolis personnel will be deployed across Commuter Rail to clear snow, apply sand and salt to passenger areas, as well as to respond to incidents that occur during the storm, such as downed trees. MBTA and Keolis crews will be pre-positioned at key facilities and infrastructure (switches, signals, etc.) to help ensure normal operations. Switch heaters and snow jets will be activated in critical areas as snow begins to fall Thursday afternoon to ensure normal flow of train traffic.

Recent forecasts from the National Weather Service anticipate a range of snow totals impacting the region where Commuter Rail operates.

Passengers can stay connected with Commuter Rail by calling customer service at 617-222-3200, following @MBTA_CR on Twitter or signing up for T-Alerts at www.MBTA.com/winter.

B-roll of Keolis and MBTA winter storm response efforts can be found at www.vimeo.com/KeolisBoston.