Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Orange Line

A new Orange Line train at Assembly Station in summer 2019. Courtesy of the MBTA.

Pandemic Adds to Delays for New Orange and Red Line Cars

By Christian MilNeil | May 15, 2020 | No Comments

The new Orange and Red Line cars are a key element in the T's ambitions to reduce crowding on its two busiest subway lines.

A diagram of the bolster and truck frame assembly under new Orange Line train cars, from a January 2020 Fiscal and Management Control Board presentation.

MBTA Board Update: More Bolster Banes on New Orange Trains

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 10, 2020 | No Comments

New Orange Line Cars will be out of service indefinitely while their manufacturer addresses more issues with a component on the trains' wheel assemblies..

The Blue Hill Avenue Fairmount Line stop, pictured in spring 2019. Courtesy of the MBTA.

MBTA Board Updates: More Fairmount Line Service, Action On Bus Garages

By Christian MilNeil | Jan 28, 2020 | No Comments

Today’s meeting of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) advanced several initiatives to improve bus and commuter rail service, and also discussed Governor Baker’s new budget proposal. More Fairmount Line service approved The FMCB unanimously endorsed a one-year pilot project, proposed by the City of Boston, to add additional service to the Fairmount […]

The MBTA's first new Orange Line train in over 30 years began serving riders on the morning of Wednesday, August 14, 2019. More trains are expected to enter service every few weeks until the entire fleet is replaced in 2022. Photo courtesy of the MBTA.

Potential Fix For New Orange Line Trains In Testing Later This Week

By Christian MilNeil | Dec 18, 2019 | No Comments

The Orange Line’s new train cars have been out of service for a full month now, but an MBTA official says that a potential solution has been installed on one of the new trains and will be tested over the next few days. Responding to an inquiry this morning, MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo wrote that […]

Orange Line bus shuttles wait on Rutherford Avenue to make the turn into the Community College station on the morning on Monday, October 21, after a construction accident during weekend track work delayed the reopening of the Orange Line into midday Monday. Photo courtesy of Ari Ofsevit.

Advocates Demand Better Emergency Response Plans For Subway Failures

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 24, 2019 | No Comments

This Monday, for the second time this year, commuters woke up to the unexpected rush-hour closure of a subway line after delays to weekend track work kept the Orange Line’s downtown tunnel closed well into Monday afternoon. The T diverted riders onto shuttle buses running between Sullivan Square and Haymarket, and asked riders to crowd […]

Governor Baker, MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack, and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak celebrated the new Orange Line train at Wellington Station on August 14, 2019. Photo by Joshua Qualls, courtesy of the Governor's Press Office.

Hair-Raising Door Glitches Send New Orange Line Trains Back to the Shop

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 25, 2019 | No Comments

Frequent riders of the MBTA’s Orange Line have noticed that the line’s brand-new vehicles haven’t been around to delight their riders for a few days. Last night, transit advocate Chris Friend observed that the last time one of the new trains was in service was last Friday afternoon, right around the time this MBTA customer […]

The Boston Cyclists Union sponsored a pop-up park along the Centre Street bike route in Jamaica Plain for Park(ing) Day 2019.

Photos: It’s Park(ing) and Climate Strike Day

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 20, 2019 | 1 Comment

And we've got another new Orange Line train.

A new Orange Line car on a flatbed truck in early 2019. Courtesy of the MBTA.

New Orange Line Cars Have Been Just a Few Months Away for Nearly a Year

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 3, 2019 | 2 Comments

The Orange Line’s vehicles were built during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, between 1979 and 1980, and they are overdue for retirement. In 2016, the T ordered new cars to replace aging fleets on the Orange and Red Lines (the new Orange Line vehicles are coming first, with the new Red Line cars scheduled to start rolling about […]