BOSTON — A 15-day shutdown of part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line is set for December — the last such suspension planned under the agency’s long-running Track Improvement Program, and one expected to remove the final speed restrictions on the MBTA rail transit network.
The agency has also slightly revised plans for a maintenance shutdown of the Red Line, now set to begin on Sunday evening, Nov. 17.
Three service suspensions are also planned in December for the MBTA commuter rail system, on the Fitchberg, Franklin, and Lowell lines.
Red Line suspension
The previously scheduled Red Line shutdown for Nov. 18-23 between the Harvard and Broadway stations [see “MBTA sets Red, Green line shutdowns …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 22, 2024] has added the shutdown beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, as well as an extension on Nov. 24 between Harvard and JFK/UMass. The MBTA said in a press release that the change reflects “the logistical challenges associated with placing construction equipment on and off the tracks in this complicated area. More information on options for riders is available here.
Green Line work
A 15-day shutdown of the Green between Park Street and Union Square, as well as Medford/Tufts, is set for Dec. 6-20. Shuttle buses will replace trains between North Station and Medford/Tufts. Between Park Street and North Station, riders should use the Orange Line. To reach Union Square, riders should use existing bus routes, including the 86, 91 and CT2, between Union Square and East Somerville on the Medford Branch. On Dec. 15, when bus routes change, riders should use the new route 109, which runs from Sullivan Square through Union Square to Harvared Square.
Shuttle bus riders should budget at least an additional 35 minutes of travel time.
Commuter rail suspensions
— Service on the Fitchburg line will be suspended between Littleton/495 and Wachusett Dec. 6-8 and Dec. 14-15 to allow for bridge inspection and Automatic Tran Control work. Free shuttle buses will replace trains.
— Operations on the Franklin line will be suspended between Forge Park/495 and Readville Dec. 7-8, with trains replaced by free shuttle buses. This will accommodate work on the East Street Bridge replacement project.
— Service on the Lowell linewill be suspended between North Station and Lowell Dec. 7-8 and Dec. 21-22, and between Anderson/Woburn and Lowell Dec. 14-15. Trains will be replaced by free shuttle buses.
See the MBTA press release for more information.
