The MBTA will suspend the central segment of the Orange Line, between Wellington and Back Bay stations, from Tuesday, May 28, through Thursday, June 6.
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.
The T currently has 15 speed restrictions on the Orange Line between Back Bay and Wellington: 7 on the northbound tracks and 8 on the southbound tracks.
The closure is also necessary for MassDOT's Maffa Way/Mystic Avenue bridge replacements project, which will demolish and replace two bridges over the Orange Line tracks near Sullivan Square.
Here are some tips to still get around during the 10-day closure:
- Free, ADA-accessible shuttle buses will make stops at all stations between Wellington and North Station. Between North Station and Back Bay, riders are encouraged to use the Green Line, which has stops within a short walk of downtown Orange Line stations.
- Orange Line riders coming to or from Malden can also take the Haverhill commuter rail line, which stops at Oak Grove, Malden Center, and North Station.
- As in past closures, the Bluebikes bikesharing system will offer five free single-ride passes (per-minute fees still apply) during the closure. Use code MBTAORANGEMAY while unlocking your bike in the Bluebikes app.
- Plan extra time and anticipate longer than normal wait times for trains.
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.
