MBTA Hands Out Dunkin' Gift Cards After Orange Line Shutdown

BOSTON, MA — The Orange Line rumbled back to life on Monday morning, resuming service after 30 days of transit disruptions due to its monthlong shutdown.

With some headaches gone but frustrations still lingering, the MBTA on Monday morning said its personnel would be handing out $5 Dunkin’ gift cards at “select Orange Line stations” as a sign of appreciation to riders.

The T didn’t specify stations where it would be handing out these cards.

It thanked riders for patience over the past month, nonetheless.

“To our Orange Line riders, thank you for your support as we worked toward #BuildingABetterT,” the agency wrote in a message on Twitter.

MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak discussed the shutdown last week, noting work done to date. He said he and other agency staff were hopeful that riders would return to what has been the second busiest subway line in the MBTA network.

Largely new cars are operating throughout the Orange Line system as some riders return to trains. This is after the MBTA said it exceeded shutdown goals in onboarding the cars. The upgrades will lead to a cleaner and more pleasant ride, officials say, as the MBTA largely phases out its familiar but outdated old Orange Line cars.

Where some riders braced for possible hiccups in the Orange Line’s return to service on Monday, the T reported no major issues.

"Slow zones" remain in effect throughout the Orange Line route despite maintenance work, however, leading to a crawling commute in some places. While these speed restrictions are set to lapse in the coming days, the MBTA confirmed over the weekend that they would temporarily remain in place to allow for track inspections and to allow for tracks themselves to settle on new ballast material.

Outside of infrastructure, the Orange Line has resumed service at a reduced frequency of trains compared to normal levels.

The T scaled back service across its subway lines over the summer due to staffing issues at its Operations Control Center and has since extended those cuts, which impact the Orange Line.

While Orange Line riders note their line's return to service this week, the Green Line is similarly operational once again after a nearly simultaneous partial shutdown of stops between Government Center and Union Square over the past month.