Copyright MassLive
Sections of three different MBTA subway lines and one commuter rail line will be temporarily shut down in November to allow for maintenance, the agency announced Monday. On the Orange Line, the MBTA will pause trains between North Station and Forest Hills on the weekend of Nov. 1–2. The line will also close between Back Bay and Forest Hills from about 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, through the rest of that weekend. The Green Line will close from Park Street to Union Square and Medford/Tufts from about 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 through the end of the day on Nov. 13. The Red Line’s Braintree Branch will shut down between North Quincy and Braintree from Nov. 15 to Nov. 23. Meanwhile, the Framingham/Worcester line of the commuter rail will shut down from South Station to Framingham on the weekends of Nov. 1–2 and Nov. 8–9. The line will close between Worcester and Framingham on the weekends of Nov. 15–16 and Nov. 22–23. During the shutdowns, the T will direct riders to free and accessible shuttle bus service, public buses, accessible vans and other train lines for travel between the affected stations. Details on the specific alternate forms of transportation for each shutdown can be found on the T’s website. The agency advised riders to budget extra travel time into their commutes — as much as 30 to 45 additional minutes depending on the length of travel. The MBTA detailed the closures Monday as part of its monthly announcement of upcoming maintenance work. After completing a surge of long-overdue repairs in 2023 and 2024, the T said it would still need to periodically shut down parts of the transit system to stay ahead of future maintenance needs. The T said the Orange Line shutdown would allow workers to continue upgrading the line’s signal system, a key type of infrastructure that controls how trains move along the tracks. The commuter line shutdown will also allow for signal and track upgrades. During the Green Line closure, workers will continue to install the Green Line Train Protection System, a new system designed to avoid train-on-train collisions and prevent speeding. The Red Line shutdown allows for regularly scheduled maintenance, “covering infrastructure upgrades, track renewal and other critical revitalization work,” the T said.
