MBTA Slow Zones, Fares and Budget 2026

Last updated: Oct 25, 2026. This explainer will be updated as the MBTA releases new speed, service and budget figures.

Featured image: A southbound MBTA Red Line train at Park Street station in November 2025. Photo: 4300streetcar via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Why is the MBTA so slow? For most of 2023, the honest answer was worn-out track. As of October 2026, the Boston-area transit system reports that it has cleared its speed restrictions, raised top speeds on parts of the Red and Orange lines, and changed several fares. What remains are budget gaps, aging equipment and slow buses. This guide explains what changed, what riders still face and how the T pays for it.

What happened to the MBTA slow zones?

A slow zone, which the MBTA calls a speed restriction, is a stretch of track where trains must run below normal speed because of a defect or worn equipment. In early 2023 the problem became so widespread that the T imposed a 25 mph limit across the entire subway system, Streetsblog Massachusetts noted in an Oct. 19, 2026, report.

The MBTA then ran its Track Improvement Program through 2023 and 2024. According to the agency’s project page, the work removed more than 220 speed restrictions, replaced more than 250,000 feet of rail and nearly 13,000 ties, and by December 2024 had eliminated all of the speed-restricted zones on the system. The T estimates that riders collectively get back about 2.4 million minutes every weekday as a result.

New restrictions can still appear when track wears out. The TransitMatters data dashboard, run by an independent rider-advocacy group, showed zero seconds of slow-zone delay on the Red Line on Oct. 25, 2026, with average Red Line speeds of 23.8 mph for the week of Oct. 19.

Are trains getting faster?

Yes, on some segments. On Oct. 18, 2026, the MBTA allowed Orange Line trains to reach 55 mph between Assembly and North Station in both directions, extending a 55 mph zone that began between Oak Grove and Assembly in August 2025. Streetsblog reported that the higher limit now covers 5.4 miles of track. Before last summer, the top speed on those segments had been 40 mph for at least 20 years.

TransitMatters data cited by Streetsblog show the typical Oak Grove to North Station trip fell from 13 minutes 15 seconds to 12 minutes 4 seconds after the 2025 change. MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said in the agency’s Oct. 18 announcement that the Orange Line is running “76% more service every weekday compared to winter 2023.”

The Red Line’s Braintree branch was raised from 40 mph to 50 mph where possible starting in March 2025. Eng told the MBTA board on Oct. 22 that trains between North Quincy and JFK/UMass would be allowed to run at 50 mph within weeks, as The Boston Report covered in its story on the MBTA board’s $310 million locomotive and bus purchases.

What problems remain for riders?

Elevators and escalators: On Oct. 25, the TransitMatters dashboard listed at least a dozen Red Line escalator or elevator outages, including units at Alewife, Andrew, South Station, Porter and Downtown Crossing.
Bus speeds: TransitMatters executive director Caitlin Allen-Connelly said in a City of Boston release that Route 28 on Blue Hill Avenue “remains one of the slowest buses on the network” even after a 38% ridership increase. The Boston City Council has called Eng in over the Blue Hill Avenue project.
Old rolling stock: The Commuter Rail still relies on locomotives more than 50 years old, which the new Siemens order is meant to replace starting in 2029.

How much does the MBTA cost to ride?

A one-way subway fare is $2.40 and a local bus fare is $1.70, according to the MBTA fares page. Three fall 2026 pilots changed the rules:

Since Sept. 1, express bus fares, previously $4.25, match the $1.70 local fare. Silver Line fares did not change.
Since Sept. 1, riders can make unlimited transfers among bus, subway and ferry within two hours and pay only the highest single fare, as long as they use the same payment method.
Since Oct. 13, Massachusetts residents 75 and older who do not drive can apply for free travel on all modes using an RMV-issued Mass ID.

Inside Boston, Routes 23, 28 and 29 are fare-free through Dec. 31, 2026, under a city-funded program. The city says riders took nearly 23,000 fare-free trips each weekday on those routes in 2026.

Why does the MBTA keep running a deficit?

The MBTA’s fiscal 2027 operating budget, which runs from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, projects $2.855 billion in revenue and about $3.4 billion in expenses, leaving a gap of about $546 million, according to the oversight report of the MBTA Advisory Board. The largest revenue source is the state sales tax at $1.445 billion, or 51%. Fares are expected to bring in $485 million, about 16%, an increase of 6.1% over the fiscal 2026 projection.

Costs are rising faster. The budget plans for 8,250 full-time positions, 550 more than the prior year, and purchased Commuter Rail service rises 14.1% to $687 million. The gap is covered by the state. On July 22, 2026, the MassDOT board approved a transfer of $530 million from the state’s surtax-funded supplemental budget, including $450 million to replenish the MBTA Deficiency Fund, $60 million for infrastructure and $20 million for the income-eligible reduced fare program, which enrolled nearly 45,000 riders.

The city of Boston also pays the T through a state assessment, which grows by $2.7 million in the city’s fiscal 2027 budget. For broader context on road pricing proposals, see our report on Boston studying New York’s congestion pricing and the Boston transportation and MBTA guide.

What to watch next

Riders should watch three things: whether the Red Line’s 50 mph segment opens on schedule, whether the city extends fare-free buses into 2027, and how the fiscal 2028 budget closes its gap. The Boston Report will update this page as each decision is made.

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Why Is the MBTA So Slow? What’s Being Fixed in 2026