Baker has ‘issues’ with Keolis: ‘They need to up their game’
Gov. Charlie Baker is ramping up pressure on Keolis, the MBTA’s private commuter rail operator, saying the company has to “up their game” after last week’s snowstorm and extended cold snap triggered widespread delays and cancellations.
Baker, speaking to reporters yesterday at an event in Beverly, lauded the work of the MBTA’s bus and subway crews, saying they did good work despite the wintry one-two punch of last Thursday’s snowstorm and the historic bitter cold that followed.
“But like the T, I have issues with how the commuter rail handled this stuff and the way Keolis handled this,” Baker said. “And they need to up their game.”
The commuter rail canceled and delayed numerous trains during and after last week’s storm, and warned commuters it would be slimming down service this week on its Newburyport and Rockport lines, citing a “historic storm surge.”
Just 33 percent of trains ran on time last Friday and only 62 percent have done so over the last week, far below the system’s 90 percent goal, T data show.
Earlier this week, MBTA General Manager Luis Ramirez faulted the company for not having a unified operations center during the storm, and said its performance in the storm’s wake was “not acceptable” — even as he and the T’s board praised the work of the subway lines.
In a statement yesterday, Keolis CEO David Scorey directly apologized to riders, saying the company “fell short in a critical area” after the storm.
He said trains were late in leaving a maintenance facility because snowclearing efforts there “ran late,” which in turn slowed overnight maintenance and led to trains not being ready in time for Friday morning, the day after the storm.
“We’ve thoroughly reviewed how this happened, and the issues have been addressed,” Scorey said. “It’s particularly disappointing because we cleared all platforms and all other facilities effectively through the night after the storm, but we fell short in this critical area. We apologize and assure our passengers it won’t happen again.”