Braintree Red Line Service Suspension Starts This Week

BRAINTREE, MA — The calendar is getting closer and closer to a nearly month-long suspension of Red Line service that will affect riders in Braintree.

MBTA officials recently announced plans to suspend service on the Red Line Braintree branch from Sept. 6 to 29 as they make repairs to 18 miles of track, removing over 20 speed restrictions between JFK/UMass and Braintree.

These fixes, officials say, should cut as much as 24 minutes off roundtrip travel times from the location.

No Red Line trains servicing North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, Quincy Adams and Braintree will run during that time, though the MBTA is in the process of finalizing alternate shuttle bus plans, officials said.

“The work to take place on the Braintree branch in September is unprecedented but long needed,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “The MBTA is committed to not only restoring our system to deliver safe and reliable service, but we are focused on building it back better. While each of these critical but necessary closures impacts your travels in the short term, the public will gain long-term benefits."

This 24 days of track work should allow the MBTA to run service up to the maximum allowed speed of 40 miles per hour, but also sets the stage to raise current Red Line train speeds above that mark, officials said.

Though officials haven't released specifics about alternate service, they did note that it will be a combination of shuttle bus service replacement that serves all closed stations and adjacent Commuter Rail options.

There will also be increased service on the Ashmont Branch "in order to maintain train frequency through the Red Line core between JFK/UMass and Alewife," officials said.