Community Corner

MBTA: How to Know What's Running During a Snowstorm

During severe winter weather, the MBTA may reduce its scheduling of trains, buses and other modes of transportation.

Update: The MBTA has suspended all service as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday. 

The MBTA adjusts the scheduling of all of its modes of transportation in real time during severe snow events, and the service provides several frequently-updated resources to check while the snow is coming down.

With a potential blizzard on the way Friday into Saturday, the MBTA may put into effect its severe weather service plan, which includes a reduction of service on the subways, commuter rails, buses, boats and the RIDE.

Find out what's happening in South Endwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On the web: The MBTA provides a winter weather website which is active during major snow events. This site will provide detail of a reduction in service in real-time: MBTA.com/winter. MBTA.com is the homepage, which also displays updates.

A way to find out find out whether a specific line is experiencing a reduction in service is to check the MBTA’s service updates page. This page is always active.

Find out what's happening in South Endwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Alerts: Riders can sign up to get alerts sent to their phones via text message or email as well.

Social Media: The MBTA has a vibrant Twitter presence. The official MBTA twitter account is @MBTAGM, but there are several unofficial Twitter accounts which monitor transit. @MBTATransitPD is the official Twitter account for the transit police. Searching #MBTA or #MassDOT will yield several updates, alerts and unofficial Twitter accounts as well.

Contacting MBTA: The MBTA has a snow and ice email address customers can use to email concerns: mbtasnowandice@mbta.com. This email address is monitored by a maintenance dispatcher who will prioritize concerns and deploy crews where needed.

Also, the MBTA’s customer support phone line is 617-222-3200.

Commuter Rail: The MBTA implements a winter-specific reduced service schedule on the commuter rail only if necessary. Check the MBTA winter weather website or the MBTA homepage for an update on this during the storm.

What MBTA does during the storm: As the snow falls, MBTA subway personnel will work to prevent snow and ice build-up in the track beds and around switches. Crews are dispatched throughout the system to remove snow from train platforms, bus stops, and station entrances.  During the overnight hours early Saturday, the MBTA will operate observation trains to prevent snow and ice build-up and look for any potential hazards such as downed trees or low hanging limbs.

For more information, see South End Patch's storm center. 

SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from South End