Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA, announced an increase in weekend, night, and full weekday closures for each subway line and some commuter rail lines as well.
WCVB reports that Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack reported that this is the first time that the MBTA will be closing down entire services for “weekdays and weeks and a month.” Though likely to inconvenience many users of the MBTA service, the MBTA website states that “through full weekday and weekend closures, we will complete 8 years of work in 1 year.”
Users of the Green Line will likely be most affected by the closures. Green Line B will be closed between Boston College and Babcock Street on weekends from late May through June, while Green Line D will be closed between Riverside and Kenmore on nights and weekends from January through December. Green Line C will see a full, 28 weekday and weekend closure in July, and Green Line E will see the same full, 28 weekday and weekend closure between Heath Street and Prudential in August. According to the MBTA website, “each 28-day closure is equivalent to 1 full year of weekend and night closures on the C and E lines.” During these disruptions, shuttles will replace subway service.
Service related shutdowns are occurring on the Red Line between Alewife and Harvard on weekends from January to April, and between Braintree and Quincy Center during nights and on some weekends from March to August. For the Orange Line, shutdowns are occuring on weekends between Sullivan Square and Tufts Medical Center from January to February, at North Station from June to July, and between Oak Grove and Sullivan from October to December. The Blue Line will see disruptions between Bowdoin and Airport Station on weekends from May to November, while the Silver Line will have shutdowns between South Station and World Trade Center on weekends from August to December. The MBTA will provide shuttles for all affected stops with the exception of the Silver Line, which will run at street level rather than below ground during shutdowns.
In regards to disruptions to the Commuter Rail, the Franklin Line will see shutdowns on weekends from January to March between Forge Park/495 and South Station. Shuttles will replace the commuter rail between the Forge Park/495 and Readville stations, with connecting train service between Readville and South Station on the Fairmount Line. Shuttles will not stop at Endicott, Islington, or Norwood Depot Station due to the proximity of the stations. The connecting train service on the Fairmount Line between Readville and South Station will not stop at the Ruggles or Back Bay stations.
Similar shutdowns and shuttle replacement occurred during the Fall of 2019, however, closures were limited only to weekends, and only affected the Green, Red, and Orange Line trains.
As a result of all of these shutdowns, the MBTA boasts being able to quickly work on and complete several improvements to the transportation system. Such improvements include intersection updates, track replacement and repair, tunnel leak repairs, station brightening, and improvement of rider travel times. However, the implementation of such an aggressive plan remains a controversial decision.
According to Boston.com, Pollack said: “The temporary inconvenience will be worth it, delivering safer and more reliable service in months instead of years.” WCVB reports that MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said: “We heard our riders in 2019 [saying], ‘Build a better T and do it faster.’ We are committed to that goal and 2020 is the first of many years of investment in the system.”