MA: Shuttles replace Blue Line service for 9 days, Orange Line for 3 weekends in August

Planned work on the Blue Line will see a large portion of the track closed for nine days in August, according to the latest workplan from the MBTA.

The scheduled maintenance will add upwards of half-an-hour to commutes when the section of the Blue Line running between Airport Station and Wonderland is replaced by shuttle service from August 9 through 17, the transit agency said in announcing next month’s service changes.

“The MBTA will perform continued work on the Blue Line in August to continue to rebuild the Line and ensure that additional sections of track are improved to the same state of good repair standards that support reliable and robust service. Crews will accomplish essential infrastructure upgrades, heavy track renewal, and other critical revitalization work,” the agency said.

The nine-day closure aims to build on the success of the T’s now-completed “Track Improvement Program” which saw large portions of track closed for weeks at a time as the agency worked to bring the system up to full speed and complete decades of forestalled maintenance.

Fare-free shuttle service will be provided at all of the impacted stations, according to the T, and riders who make use of them are advised to give themselves plenty of time to arrive at their destinations.

“For example, a rider traveling to Government Center from Wonderland should budget at least an additional 20 – 30 minutes of travel time in addition to their regular commute,” the MBTA advises.

Riders who board between Bowdoin Station and Airport will still see train service, but they too will need to budget extra time, according to T, with trains scheduled to arrive about half as frequently.

“The time between each weekday train will be approximately 10 minutes, which is about double what it is typically,” the T advises.

Orange Line service will also see scheduled interruptions next month, though only on weekends. Signal upgrade work will see service cut between Wellington and Back Bay from August 2 – 3, 9 – 10, and 23 – 24, the MBTA reports.

Shuttles will be available at stations between Wellington and North Stations, with an express shuttle between the pair. Tufts, Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, State, and Haymarket stations will be closed during the signal upgrades, and riders are encouraged to use the parallel Green Line, which will see extra trains.

Fare free gates will be open at Back Bay, Copley, Wellington, and North Station, and the Commuter Rail will be fare free from Oak Grove to North Station and from Forest Hills to South Station.

The signal upgrades will “significantly increase operational efficiency and improve scheduling reliability for riders,” according to the T.

Both the Lowell and Fitchburg Commuter Rail lines will see a pair of weekend closures.

The Lowell Line will be replaced by shuttle service starting at 10 p.m. on August 15 through the rest of that weekend, and again at 10 p.m. on August 22 through that weekend, to enable work on the “ High Line Bridge Replacement Project.” That bridge, according to the T, carries trains over an access road and the rail yard between North Station and West Medford.

“When complete, the project will provide safer, more resilient, more reliable service on the Lowell Line; bring the bridge into a state of good repair; reduce future maintenance costs; and reduce unplanned service impacts and delays,” the T said.

Shuttle service will be available at all stations excepting Winchester Center, with riders encouraged to use Wedgemere Station as an alternative shuttle stop.

The T’s “ North Station Terminal Area Signal System Improvement Project” will close the Fitchburg Line the weekends of August 16 and 23. Existing Red and Green Line service will serve as replacement.

The T acknowledged that the planned disruptions won’t be easy on impacted riders, but say the result will be a better riding experience in the long term.

“The MBTA understands how these service changes affect riders’ daily travels during this period, but we are committed to improving your travels long term with more reliable, timely, and safe service. We thank riders for their patience as we deliver this important work and for continuing to ride our system,” the agency said.