Expect Delays in Dorchester As Ashmont Branch Runs ‘Shuttle Trains’ For the Rest of April
The MBTA is running a modified service pattern on the Red Line between JFK/UMass and Ashmont for the rest of April to perform track and station maintenance work.
One shuttle train will operate, back and forth, on each track between Ashmont and JFK/UMass. Shuttle trains will terminate at JFK/UMass, and riders heading downtown from Ashmont will need to transfer there to a Braintree branch train on the other platform.
The T advises that waits on the Ashmont branch may be considerably longer, and riders should plan accordingly.
- For a faster option into downtown Boston, the T will also make the Fairmount Line fare-free for the nine-day service outage.
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, title sponsor of Bluebikes, is providing free $20 Bluebikes credits for riders. Use code BLUECROSSMAMBTA in the “rewards” section of the BlueBikes app to redeem (available while supplies last).
The T plans to replace a crossover track near the Ashmont station during this service interruption.
That crossover track typically lets Red Line trains switch tracks to turn around back towards Boston when they reach the southern end of the line. While it’s out of service for April, the shuttle trains will be unable to switch tracks, thus preventing more than two trains at a time from operating on the branch.
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