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Green Line Extension Takes a 2-Week Break for the Final Subway Shutdown of 2024

The MBTA is suspending Green Line service between between Park Street and Union Square and Medford/Tufts for two weeks from Friday, December 6th to Friday, December 20 to repair the last remaining slow zones on the Green Line, and the last slow zones identified in the MBTA’s Track Improvement Program.
A diagram of alternative service options during the planned shutdown of the Green Line between Park St. station and Medford/Tufts in Somerville. Pictured are the Orange Line, which has direct transfers to the Green Line at North Station and Haymarket and a short walking connection between Park St. and Downtown Crossing via the Winter St. Concourse, and a dashed line indicating shuttle service to stops between North Station and Medford Tufts. There will be no shuttle service to Union Sq.
Courtesy of the MBTA.
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The MBTA is suspending Green Line service between between Park Street and Union Square and Medford/Tufts for two weeks from Friday, December 6th to Friday, December 20 to repair the last remaining slow zones on the Green Line, and the last slow zones identified in the MBTA’s Track Improvement Program.

Some of this work will also coincide with Phase 1 of the MBTA’s Bus Network Redesign, aiming to improve bus service across six bus routes in Chelsea, Everett, Revere, Malden, Somerville, Cambridge, Allston, Brighton, and East Boston.

Here are some tips to navigate the Green Line closures:

  • There will be free shuttle service between North Station and Medford/Tufts, but not to the Union Square branch in Somerville. 
  • For service to and from Union Square, the MBTA encourages using the following alternatives:
    • December 6 – 20:
      • Bus routes 85, 87, and 91
      • CT2 (weekdays only) 
      • Walk 15 min. to the shuttle at the East Somerville station
    • December 6 – 14 (before bus network redesign phase 1 service changes):
      • Route 86 to/from the Orange Line in Sullivan Square
    • December 15 – 20 (after bus network redesign phase 1 service changes):
      • Route 109 (this route will replace the existing Route 86 service between Harvard and Sullivan Square)
    • Route 91 Bus will operate with increased frequency during weekday rush hours 
  • There will be no shuttle bus service through downtown Boston between North Station and Park Street. Riders can use the Orange Line to get between North Station and Downtown Crossing.
  • Other subway alternatives from closed Green Line stations include:
    • The Winter Street Concourse at Park Street to connect to the Red and Orange Lines at Downtown Crossing
    • Transferring within North Station to the Orange Line
    • Transferring within Haymarket to the Orange Line
    • Going to State on the Orange Line instead of Government Center
    • Going to Downtown Crossing on the Orange Line instead of Park Street
  • C branch trains heading eastward will end service at Kenmore, so you can instead take any westbound B or D train to Kenmore and change to a C train towards Cleveland Circle

Riders can also find updates on service changes via in-station signage, in-station public announcements, at mbta.com/GreenLine, speaking to Transit Ambassadors and MBTA staff on-site, subscribing to T-Alerts or following the MBTA on Twitter @MBTA, @MBTA_CR, and @MBTA_CR_Alerts.

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