BOSTON (WHDH) - Crews are putting their final touches on the Orange Line before riders return to the rails after 30 days without service.
Test trains were up and running throughout Sunday as crews finished making repairs before riders return to platforms early Monday morning.
MBTA officials said that they have laid down over 45,000 feet of new signal cable, as well as the replacement of 12,320 feet of rail and 3,500 feet of full-depth track.
At a news conference, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said the transportation authority was excited to welcome riders to what he called a “faster, safer, more reliable Orange Line” on Monday.
“I want to thank our Orange Line riders for their patience during this shutdown,” Poftak said. “We know this was inconvenient.”
The MBTA also announced updates to the rail line’s Oak Grove station, and added that 72 Orange Line cars were ready during peak hours when service resumes.
By the time the project is complete, the MBTA said that riders will have more than a 50% chance of riding new Orange Line cars that are expected to go into service when the riders make their return to the rails.
The MBTA said that the last shuttle bus will depart at 1 a.m. Monday, after nearly 200 buses replaced service on the Orange Line since its closure on Aug. 19.
“It’s been rough,” Tomas Calachij, who uses the Orange Line to commute to work, said. He said his commute from Government Center to Wellington takes about an hour.
“It’s probably double the time,” Calachij said.
“I go to UMass Boston and it takes me two hours for my commute,” said Maryam Mukhtar. “Normally, it just takes me 40 minutes to an hour. So, it will be much easier.
Service between Government Center and Union Square on the Green Line will resume Monday morning as well.
That section of the line was closed for work on the Government Center Garage project, as well as to facilitate the opening of the Green Line Extension to Medford, which is expected to open November 2022.
The MBTA’s next major repair work will be on the Green Line’s D branch.
Shutdowns for the Green Line’s D branch start in a week and are expected to continue through stretches of late September and October, according to the MBTA.
The transportation authority announced the closures earlier this week, detailing how the branch will switch to shuttle service for three different 9-day periods.
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