BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s 30-day shut down of the Orange Line — the second most-used route on the MBTA rail rapid-transit system — will reopen as scheduled on Monday morning after a 30-day shutdown, MBTA officials said Sunday.
The unprecedented shutdown led to significant disruptions for commuters, but also allowed the transit agency to perform what it says were five years’ worth of repairs, thanks to the ability to work around the clock rather than late at night or on weekends.
MassLive.com reports work included replacement of 14,000 feet of track and 2,000 crossties; elimination of six slow-order zones; weatherproofing of the roof and canopy at the Sullivan Square Station; completion of work making the Forest Hills station fully accessible, along with accessibility improvements for the Oak Grove station; and preparation of 72 new Orange Line cars to enter service, exceeding the original goal of 60. The Boston Globe reports workers also replaced 48,000 feet of signal cable along the 11-mile route.
“To the extent that there are folks who have lost confidence in the T, I’m hopeful that this is a step in regaining that confidence,” MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said at a Sunday press conference.
The Globe reports that one of the slow zones repaired was a stretch between the Tufts Medical Center and Back Bay stations where trains had operated at a 10-mph limit for three years, a segment cited by Federal Transit Administration investigators earlier this year when they ordered the MBTA to address a series of problems [see “Federal directives order MBTA to address safety issues,” Trains News Wire, June 15, 2022].
Some speed restrictions will remain in place as service resumes at 5 a.m. Monday, Poftak said, but trains should be operating at full speed within a week.
Also reopening Monday will be the Green Line’s Union Square branch, closed for four weeks for repairs and work related to preparations for a new extension. Poftak also said there will be other closures of portions of the Green and Red lines for similar concentrated maintenance work.
The MBTA also announced that two changes that were made to commuter train operations during the Orange Line closure will be made permanent: the Oak Grove station, which had been reopened to accommodate Orange Line passengers, will remain a Haverhill Line stop, and nine trains that began stopping at the Forest Hill station will continue to do so.
Yes it opened on time and the comments from riders was they got to the other end of their ride faster than they used to.
Did it?