MBTA announces extended Red Line shutdown
BOSTON – The MBTA announced on Thursday that it will suspend service on the Red Line's Braintree branch for 24 days in September.
The shutdown will take place from September 6-29.
In the stretch between JFK/UMass and Braintree, crews will repair 18 miles of track and remove over 20 speed restrictions. The MBTA says the work is expected to improve round-trip travel times by as much as 24 minutes.
There will be no Red Line trains servicing North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, Quincy Adams, and Braintree during the shutdown.
The MBTA is finalizing plans for shuttle buses but has not yet announced details.
"The work to take place on the Braintree branch in September is unprecedented but long needed," MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said in a statement. "The MBTA is committed to not only restoring our system to deliver safe and reliable service, but we are focused on building it back better. While each of these critical but necessary closures impacts your travels in the short term, the public will gain long-term benefits."
The MBTA said that more work will need to be completed before trains can be increased above 40 mph.
During the shutdown, alternate service will be a combination of shuttle buses and Commuter Rail options. Service will also be increased on the Ashmont Branch "in order to maintain train frequency through the Red Line core between JFK/UMass and Alewife."
More information will be available on the MBTA website.
