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Red Line Closed From Park Street to JFK/UMass ‘Til May 10

A yellow shuttle bus at right drives in a lane separated from other traffic by a row of orange construction cones. A orange barrel in the left foreground shows a sign with a bus icon pointing to the right and a car icon pointing left. High rise office buildings are in the background

New pop-up bus lanes clear the way for Red Line shuttle buses in Dewey Square outside South Station on May 6, 2024.

The MBTA is suspending Red Line service from Thursday, May 2 until Friday, May 10 to address remaining slow zones on segments of the Red Line track in South Boston.

During the same period, the T will also close the Ashmont Branch of the Red Line on evenings after 8:30 p.m.

A diagram of the Red Line closure and alternative service during the May 2-May 10 service suspension. The line between Park St. and JFK/UMass will have no Red Line service; alternatives are indicated by the purple commuter rail (which runs nonstop from JFK to South Station with additional stops at the Quincy Center and Braintree Red Line stations) and a dashed black line indicating shuttle service between JFK and Park St., with stops at South Station, Broadway, Andrew, and JFK/UMass. An additional red dashed line from JFK to Ashmont indicates nighttime closures (after 8:30 pm) where Red Line service will be replaced with shuttles
Courtesy of the MBTA

This suspension is part of the MBTA's year-long Track Improvement Plan, which has been chipping away at the dozens of slow zones that proliferated from deferred maintenance during Gov. Charlie Baker's administration.

Here are some tips to still get around during the 8-day closure:

  • For anyone riding downtown, the T strongly recommends riding the commuter rail, which runs nonstop between JFK/UMass and South Station. Commuter rail trips will be free between Braintree, Quincy Center, JFK/UMass, and South Station.
  • Additionally, the T will run accessible shuttle buses serving all Red Line stations between Park Street and JFK/UMass, plus additional shuttle service along the Ashmont branch during the nighttime closures.
  • Plan extra time and anticipate longer than normal wait times for trains.
  • Bluebikes is once again offering five free rides to help out with the closures; use the code MBTAREDMAY through the Bluebikes app to unlock a free bike trip (this offer applies throughout the Bluebikes service area).

Riders can also find information on service changes via in-station signage, in-station public announcements, at mbta.com/alerts, speaking to Transit Ambassadors and MBTA staff on-site, subscribing to T-Alerts or following the MBTA on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MBTA, @MBTA_CR, and @MBTA_CR_Alerts.

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