News & Reviews News Wire Orange Line work two-thirds complete, should be done on time

Orange Line work two-thirds complete, should be done on time

By Trains Staff | September 10, 2022

| Last updated on February 19, 2024

MBTA general manager says line will have more new railcars in service when operations resume

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Subway train at nearly empty station
An MBTA Orange Line train prepares to depart Boston’s Forest Hills station in July 2013. (Scott A. Hartley)

BOSTON — Work on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Orange Line, shut down since Aug. 19 to allow for major repairs, is two-thirds complete, General Manager Steve Poftak said Friday, with the project set to be completed on schedule.

“We have less than 10 days to go,” Poftak said, as reported by NBC Boston. “We are making good progress, and again, we are confident we will be reopening on the morning of Monday [Sept.] 19th.”

Two of six slow zones have been eliminated, Poftak said, with about 50% of planned rail replacement and 72% of planned track replacement complete.

Poftak also said the MBTA will have 60 of the Orange Line’s new rail cars, built in Massachusetts by an affiliate of Chinese manufacturer CRRC, in service when service resumes. Just 30 had been in operation prior to the shutdown.

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