Commuters, brace yourselves for a month of detours and delays as the MBTA announces extensive service changes for the Orange Line, Red Line, and commuter rail riders starting this June. A ten-day shutdown on the Orange Line, beginning on Tuesday, will see shuttle buses replacing trains from Wellington Station to Back Bay station, with riders urged to also use the Green Line for travel between North Station and Copley Square, according to WHDH.
This disruption kickstarts a larger rollout of schedule adjustments that will affect parts of the transit system through the end of June. Upgrades are set to improve infrastructure and address areas such as bridge superstructures and transit facilities near the Boston-Somerville border. Meanwhile, the MBTA will tackle station cleaning, lighting repairs, painting, and track work with the intention of removing speed restrictions on the Orange Line. Subway service won't be available between Alewife and Harvard stations on June 1-2 due to ongoing track work, and the same treatment goes for the stretch between Broadway and Braintree over the weekends of June 8-9 and June 15-16, as detailed in the Boston Globe.
Additionally, the commuter rail is offering free service between specific sections when Orange Line trains are sidelined and passengers can avail themselves of shuttle bus services along various parts of the lines where train services are suspended. Notably, the subway's outbound platform at Kendall/MIT will see a closure from 8:45 p.m. on June 28 through the end of the weekend, with alternative travel instructions provided for affected passengers.
In an effort to alleviate some pain from the commuter's plight, during particular outages, routes such as the commuter rail’s Haverhill line, and bus Routes 35, 36, 37, and 59 will be free, offering a temporary reprieve as the MBTA works to upgrade its aging infrastructure and improve travel conditions for the long term, despite the current inconveniences riders should anticipate disrupted patterns as train service will also be canceled between several stations throughout June for bridge and track improvements, signaling more complex travel itineraries for regular patrons.
For the latest updates on these changes, and how they might affect your commute, MBTA officials encourage passengers to visit mbta.com for the most current service alerts and scheduling information.
