New MBTA Orange, Green, Red Line Service Disruptions Begin Saturday

BOSTON, MA — MBTA subway riders are in for a series of service disruptions beginning this weekend as crews move forward on projects in and around the Orange Line, the Green Line and the Red Line.

T officials announced the disruptions on Monday.

Planned disruptions, in part, come because of the ongoing demolition of the Government Center Garage in downtown Boston as well as water line work along the Green Line’s Medford branch and a separate project at the JFK/UMass station in Dorchester.

Here’s a primer on what to expect across transit modes:

ORANGE LINE

Orange Line trains will bypass Haymarket station on Saturday and Sunday of this week. Trains will bypass Haymarket again on Jan. 21 and 22. Riders needing access to the Haymarket area during disruptions should exit at either North Station or the State station and walk to their destination, T officials said on Monday.

A larger disruption on Jan. 14 and 15 will see Orange Line service suspended between the Back Bay station and North Station. The T has asked Orange Line riders to use Green Line service between Copley and Government Center stations during the Jan. 14 and 15 closure.

GREEN LINE

Green Line trains will also bypass Haymarket beginning this weekend and again on Jan. 21 and 22. Riders on the Green Line needing access to Haymarket should exit their trains at either North Station or Government Center, the T said.

Shuttle buses will separately replace trains between the Medford/Tufts and East Somerville stations in both directions for the duration of service on Sunday. Beyond shuttle buses, Green Line riders can also utilize bus routes 80 and 87 for service, the T said.

Green Line train service will be replaced by shuttle bus service between North Station and Government Center on Jan. 14 and 15.

RED LINE

Shuttle buses will replace Ashmont and Braintree branch Red Line train service between Broadway and both Ashmont and North Quincy stations on Saturday and Sunday of this week.

Downtown Orange and Green Line diversions, the T said, will accommodate the Government Center Garage demolition as well as planned track, signal and power system maintenance. Planned work will include rail replacement between Chinatown and Tufts Medical Center stations on the Orange Line, according to the T.

The Government Center Garage demolition has been ongoing through recent months.

Still more disruptions linked to the project are ahead beyond this month’s plans, the T warned on Monday, with weekend diversions necessary in the coming months. The T has promised announcements as scheduled disruptions get confirmed.

“The MBTA apologizes for this inconvenience,” the agency said.

Despite downtown subway disruptions, the T said this week that bus service will not be changed in the area.

Outside of downtown Boston, officials said the Medford branch Green Line diversion this weekend will allow crews to perform what the T described as emergency repair work on water lines servicing the Medford/Tufts station. These lines, the T said, need additional insulation.

On the Red Line, planned maintenance at JFK/UMass comes just over a month after officials closed an entrance to the station off Columbia Road, citing a “critical structural issue.”

Upcoming station work, the T said, will allow officials to reopen pedestrian access at Columbia Road.

Announced on Monday, word of these disruptions followed just a matter of days after the T confirmed previously unannounced issues impacting several Orange Line cars.

An electrical problem, the T said in an initial announcement, knocked at least nine cars out of service.

The agency said later Friday afternoon that it was a total of 12 cars short of the number needed to meet its Orange Line service schedule.

The T told riders to expect longer wait times on the Orange Line while crews make necessary repairs to Orange Line cars.