T ON PACE FOR OVER 250 BREAKDOWNS

Officials, advocates weigh latest data

MBTA commuter rail trains are on pace to break down more than 250 times this year, or on average about five times per week, according to new data that — while an improvement over the T’s industry-worst performance last year — shouldn’t prompt any cork-popping, advocates say.

The T reported 192 mechanical failures on the commuter rail through the end of September, putting them on pace for 256 for the year. The Herald reported last week that the beleaguered MBTA registered 338 failures in 2016, the most of any transit agency in the country, according to federal transit data.

At the time, a top official at Keolis told the Herald that he “fully expect(s) that we will not be at the bottom” in 2017. Other transit agencies haven’t reported their year-to-date numbers, and officials in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia either didn’t produce data or return requests yesterday.

But the T’s projections, if they hold, would likely indicate another dismal performance. No other transit agency, besides the T, reported more than 236 breakdowns last year, and only two had more failures in 2015.

That year, New Jersey led the nation with 540, followed by the MBTA at 356, despite covering just one-third of the miles as the Garden State system. Officials at the T and Keolis, the system’s private operator, argued it isn’t fair to compare the T’s current numbers to other agencies’ prior reports, but a Keolis spokesman admitted that, so far, “it’s not at a level where we’re happy.”

“We want to continue to see that number go down,” Tory Mazzola said, arguing that tens of millions of dollars the T is investing to rehab old locomotives and improve infrastructure should continue to move the trend in the “right direction.”

“It doesn’t change overnight,” he said. “Locomotives take time to procure. ... This was recognized early on, but we’ve seen progress and responsiveness” from Keolis and the T.

Ari Ofsevit, an MIT grad student studying city planning and a transit advocate, called the new data “a significant downward slope” but he also cautioned against reading too much into “one data point.”

“It’s not as if everyone is happy with the MBTA’s performance. There’s plenty of broken-down trains,” Ofsevit said. “If I was the T, keep working on this, but I wouldn’t slap myself on the back quite yet.”

The commuter rail carries 121,000 riders a day, and makes roughly 12,000 trips a month, T officials said. Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman, said officials are “absolutely not” satisfied with the current numbers, but they’re working with Keolis to “provide customers with the level of commuter rail service they expect and deserve.”