Service on stretch of Orange Line being suspended over 6 weekends for repairs

BOSTON (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced it will be suspending Orange Line service between Sullivan Square and Tufts Medical Center for six consecutive weekends.

The shutdown began Friday at 8:45 p.m., with service returning back to normal at 5 a.m. Monday.

MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak says he recognizes that the shut down is inconvenient but says it will make work more efficient.

“These shutdowns allow us a significantly greater work window to get important station improvements, track work, and other work done,” he said. “If we had to do these just on overnights, it would take us months and months to do the same amount of work that we can do in one weekend.”

The MBTA will be replacing and adding new signage, cleaning, painting and repairing stairs and tile at the stations.

Crews will also replace 2,250 feet of track, which the T says is at least 30-years-old, within the Chinatown Station.

This work following the June derailment on the Red Line at the JFK/UMass Station causing weeks of delays.

“We came to firmly understand over the summer that we need to accelerate the pace of investments and we need to show results and we need to increase the reliability and safety of the system,” Poftak said.

Over the course of the next six weekends, buses will be available between Sullivan Square and Haymarket stations. However, there will be no bus service to Orange Line stations at State, Downtown Crossing and Chinatown.

Customers are being asked to take the Green Line leaving many with mixed feelings.

“A lot of us work on weekends,” one woman said. “We still have to work and that’s always when it is. On weekends, when we are inconvenienced.”

Another T rider said, “To me, I mean, I’mjsut going to take the shuttles and leave home earlier. You know what I mean. Nothing major. Just Boston as usual.”

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