Now It’s Red Line Riders’ Turn for Weekend Headaches
At least the Orange Line weekend closures are over.
Photo via MBTA/Twitter
If you rely on the Orange Line to get around, it’s likely been a rough couple of weekends for you. For six straight weeks, you’ve had to bite the bullet, and endure shuttle buses, alternate routes, and various headaches as maintenance crews worked on an accelerated schedule to get track repairs and other big fixes done. And now, it’s over.
While there are still weeknight closures in the future, this past weekend marked the end of weekend shutdowns on the Orange Line as the T prepares for weekend disruptions on the Red Line.
After a night off during the Veterans Day holiday, weeknight Orange Line closures between Oak Grove and Wellington stations are slated to continue Monday through Thursday beginning at 8:15 p.m. through November 26. Then they pick up again December 1-19, when service will be disrupted Sunday-Thursday, also beginning at 8:15 p.m.
Over the weekend, we extended the Orange Line diversion limits to get more work accomplished. We replaced 253 ft of track at Haymarket & 368 ft of track at Downtown Crossing, and completed essential station renewal work.
Learn more at https://t.co/v1lGJ6Zi1r#BuildingABetterT pic.twitter.com/KSvaywz6vi
— MBTA (@MBTA) November 11, 2019
There were some hiccups along the way, including an incident that led to a disastrous service disruption on October 21, when work spilled over to the Monday morning commute. The MBTA also apologized this weekend after a shuttle on Friday night mistakenly brought Orange Line passengers not to Sullivan station but to the Encore casino.
Still, you can already see and feel the changes. Upgrades have included cosmetic work at busy T stops (this Orange Line user can confirm the paint job and new light fixtures at State look pretty nice).
But anyway, on we go into the future, where Red Line riders will now be asked to endure their share of short-term suffering for long-term gains. Shuttles will be replacing service on the Red Line between the Kendall/MIT and Broadway stops all weekend beginning on Friday night at 8:45 p.m. and lasting until the Monday morning commute. Regular service will resume for Thanksgiving weekend, then weekend work will continue on the Red Line through December 15.
So brace yourselves, folks.
#MBTA #RedLine: This weekend (starting Friday at 8:45 PM) shuttle buses replace trains between Broadway and Kendall/MIT.
Allow for extra travel time. More: https://t.co/N1oxa2q3kP pic.twitter.com/KhjW9qxTxQ
— MBTA (@MBTA) November 11, 2019
