--> -->
Hey, there! Log in / Register

MBTA announces new repair shutdowns, including the Red Line during one of Boston's largest conventions

The MBTA yesterday announced its latest round of weekend shutdowns aimed at upgrading various things it didn't upgrade during last year's month-long Orange Line shutdown and to account for the continuing demolition of the Government Center Garage, which will also affect the Green Line.

The Red Line will mostly be replaced by buses between Harvard and JFK/UMass on the weekends of March 4-5 and March 25-26 to allow for the replacement of antiquated analog signal systems with new digital ones. As noted by Ethan Miguel, the second weekend is also when PAX East is expected to bring tens of thousands of gamers to the South Boston convention center, the closest subway stop to which is South Station on the Red Line.

During the weekend closures between Harvard and JFK/UMass, free shuttle buses will make stops at all stations except Park Street and Downtown Crossing Stations. Riders that would normally ride the Red Line to or from Park Street or Downtown Crossing are advised to use Red Line shuttle buses that will stop at Haymarket Station and State Station where there are connections to the Orange, Blue, and Green Lines. South-bound shuttle buses toward Ashmont/Braintree will also stop at Summer and Otis Streets and north-bound shuttle buses toward Alewife will stop at Federal and Franklin Streets, which is in close proximity to Downtown Crossing for connections to the Red Line. Signage will be in place to direct riders to shuttle bus stops and extra MBTA personnel and Transit Ambassadors will be on-hand to assist riders.

Also:

Evening weekday Red Line trains will be replaced with accessible shuttle bus service between Braintree and North Quincy Stations beginning at approximately 9 PM on March 20-23. This service change will allow MBTA crews to perform critical tamping work along the track in these areas.

Although the T is assuming PAX-goers won't mean any extra demand it can't handle with buses, it adds it will be going out of its way to ensure there are no scheduled service changes on the weekend of March 18-19 for St. Patrick's Day festivities.

The Orange Line will be shut between Ruggles and North Station on March 11 and 12, mainly so crews can continue to tear down the Government Center Garage without worrying about it collapsing on riders, but also so T workers can continue work they couldn't get to last year, in particular replacing rail fasteners between Back Bay and Ruggles.

0range Line riders are asked to use Green Line service between Copley and Government Center Stations. Free and accessible shuttle buses will also operate between Copley on the Green Line and Ruggles on the Orange Line, making stops at Back Bay and Massachusetts Avenue Stations.

Also:

Evening weekday Orange Line trains will be replaced with accessible shuttle bus service between Wellington and North Stations beginning at approximately 9 PM on March 27-30. This service change will allow MBTA crews to perform critical tamping work along the track in these areas.

The garage deconstruction also means a shutdown that same weekend of the Green Line between North Station and Government Center, with trolleys replaced by buses between those stops.

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

technically, the closest subway station to BCEC is World Trade Center. But getting to the Waterfront Silver Line without using the Red Line is kind of challenging.

up
Voting closed 5

No matter how many system maps the T puts the Silver Line on with a thick line like the Red, Green, Blue and Orange Lines, I refuse to call it a subway. It's a bus.

up
Voting closed 0

but it's a bus that operates in a subterranean right of way, what some might refer to as a "subway."

up
Voting closed 0

Gufaw!!

up
Voting closed 0

It only operates in a subterranean right of way for maybe 0.5 miles for the whole trip from Nubian sq to Chelsea/airport. And the speed limit in the tunnel, 6 mph is a lot slower than the above roads. The fastest trip I took on the silver bus was when there was a closure on it's crappy tunnel so it used the regular streets.

up
Voting closed 0

It's closer to a mile. But then the bus backtracks more than halfway back to South Station to get to the Ted Williams Tunnel entrance.

Whatever happened to that plan to let the Silver Line use the more direct tunnel entrance? I won't call it the State Police ramp since it was built for the Silver Line.

up
Voting closed 4

I think you meant to call it the Silver Lie, Adam.

up
Voting closed 0

**World Class City**

up
Voting closed 0

Delete that...

up
Voting closed 0

The antiquated signal system is from the bygone era known as the 1980s. It replaced a 1920s system which handled trains every 2 minutes, and now has trouble handling trains every 5 minutes. Let’s hope the new system fixes that mistake, so we can have an actual rush hour level of service once the train factory and dispatcher issues are resolved.

The Orange Line shutdown is brutal for people riding through. A trip like Jackson to Malden would have 5 legs: Orange Line to Ruggles, shuttle to Copley, Green Line to Government Center, shuttle to North Station, and Orange Line to Malden. At least it’s just for one weekend.

up
Voting closed 0

Not that it's great, but that trip could be done in three legs: take the 14 (with very convenient 45-60 minute headways) inbound from Jackson Sq. to Heath St., get on the E to North Station, then OL to Malden. Might take longer than the five-leg trip though.

up
Voting closed 0

Nope. No Green Line between Government Center and North Station. You'd have to take the shuttle. Or walk if you're able, but that's also an option with the official routing.

And starting at Stony Brook or Green Street, you wouldn't have access to the 14 without a transfer. So you're back up to 5 legs again. From Forest Hills you could take the 39.

up
Voting closed 0

I didn't realize a thru trip on the Orange Line would require five different modes of transportation. I would, no joke, allow 2 hours for a trip from Jackson Sq. to Malden.

The least the MBTA could do is not cheap out on the shuttles, and run them from Ruggles all the way to North Station (with a stop at Govt. Ctr. to pick up Green Line passengers).

up
Voting closed 0

Maybe they thought it would be too slow to run a shuttle on the Copley-Government Center segment.

They should be sure to run the Green Line more often than usual, and keep it spaced evenly. If transferring doesn't involve a long wait, it won't be that bad.

up
Voting closed 0

I'm so glad the month long shutdown of the Orange Line was such a huge success!

up
Voting closed 0

You can whistfully reflect on all those years when we didn't have week-end bustitution, which is why the track degraded so much. If they are afraid to do weekend work for fear of rider anger, we'll be seeing the line shut down for another month come 2027 (I'd say '26, but Healy wouldn't let it happen in an election year.)

I'll keep on saying it- between 2016 and 2019, the T did a good job trying to fix track issues, then for whatever reason they stopped for 3 years.

up
Voting closed 0

I'll keep on saying it- between 2016 and 2019, the T did a good job trying to fix track issues, then for whatever reason they stopped for 3 years.

That doesn't make a lick of sense, for three years everything was fine and then they stopped for three years for no reason?

Based on the federal investigation, a major reason the T failed was because of abysmal management: they hid the fact that they didn't have enough staff or funds to operate and maintain a healthy system. All that neglect of the system came home to roost in the form of a cascading, systemic failure.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2022/08/31/key-takeaways-from-the...

It's no mystery why Charlie did this, he didn't want to replace government workers or ask for more money because it's against his political ideology. What the T appears to be forced to do now is catch up for years and years of neglect.

up
Voting closed 0