BOSTON (WHDH) - Gov. Charlie Baker said he’s feeling good about the Orange Line’s potential to reopen as scheduled.
“I’m pretty confident that they’re gonna get it done in 30 days,” he said.
Baker rode the Commuter Rail’s Haverhill Line from the North Shore, where he lives, to work, stopping at Oak Grove and Malden Center on the Orange Line along the way. He said the Commuter Rail “picked up a ton of people” at those two Orange Line stops.
The shutdown grants crews round-the-clock access to the Orange Line tracks, allowing them to squeeze five years’ worth of work into one 30-day period.
Overall, commuters said the change-up has been relatively smooth.
“It’s going OK so far,” said T rider Dimitri Dubuisson. “I’m kind of disappointed that it’s closed, but what can we do, you know? We’re just regular commuters trying to make it to work.” He added that he’s hoping for “white-glove service” when the Orange Line reopens.
Another commuter said she liked the shuttles because they’re less crowded and no one is standing in them.
Despite Baker’s optimistic outlook, two construction equipment derailments already happened on the closed Orange Line. One happened Monday morning near Wellington, while the other was near the Mass. Ave station. Neither of those derailments affected commutes, as people continue to rely on shuttle buses and other modes of transit to get around.
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