August was a busy month for MBTA maintenance, but an extended closure of part of the transit system is on the horizon.
The T will close all service on the Braintree section of the Red Line south of JFK/UMass for more than three weeks in September due to track work.
According to the MBTA, service will be provided by shuttle buses and free commuter rail rides through the affected area.
Here you can find out everything you need to know about the upcoming shutdown and other T maintenance work.
Red line
The week-long Red Line closure from the Kendall/MIT station to JFK/UMass ends Monday. However, the next major Red Line closure is only about two weeks away.
Train service between JFK/UMass and Braintree will be suspended from September 6-29, impacting the Braintree Branch of the Red Line. The Ashmont Branch of the Red Line will not be affected.
The MBTA announced that shuttle buses will run between Braintree, Quincy Adams, Quincy Center, Wollaston, North Quincy and Ashmont stations instead of trains.
A section of the Red Line between JFK/UMass and Braintree will be closed from September 6 to 29, the MBTA said. Service will be replaced by shuttle buses and Commuter Rail.MBTA
Commuter rail rides on the Middleborough, Kington and Greenbush lines are also free in the affected area.
However, on the weekends of September 7-8 and September 14-15, the three lines between South Station and Braintree will be closed and replaced by shuttle buses. During the closure, the MBTA will also increase service on the Ashmont Branch to ensure trains arrive more frequently.
MBTA officials said passengers are “strongly encouraged” to use commuter rail during the closure.
For detailed information on alternative travel options, visit the MBTA website.
The work on 18 miles of track will allow the T to remove more than 20 speed limits, which could cut round-trip travel on the Braintree branch by as much as 24 minutes, officials said.
The MBTA also announced that Orange Line riders should expect delays between Jackson and Forest Hills stations on Wednesday, August 28, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. due to track work.
All Orange Line trains between these stations will run on the north side, or Oak Grove side, of the tracks, the T said.
The closures are part of the transit agency’s Track Improvement Program, a comprehensive initiative to make the entire MBTA line structurally sound and functional, and meet safety and performance standards, by the end of the year.
Closing part of the Red Line for more than three weeks will allow MBTA work crews unhindered access to the track, allowing them to be more productive and complete projects faster. Their work includes replacing tracks and ties, resurfacing and underfilling track areas, and upgrading station equipment, the T said.
“The track work completed during these 24 days will enable the MBTA to maintain operations at the maximum allowable speed of 40 miles per hour, but will also lay the groundwork to increase the speed of current Red Line trains beyond that,” the agency said.
At the end of July, the MBTA announced that important maintenance on the Red Line had been completed and that nine safety-related speed restrictions had been lifted.
“We made a promise to our riders and the communities we serve to provide safe, reliable and more frequent service, and that’s exactly what we’re doing, one section at a time,” said MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng.
Speed restrictions remain in place on about 7% of MBTA tracks, most of them on the Red Line.
