Orange Line Work Nearly 70% Complete, Service To Resume On Time

MEDFORD, MA — The MBTA said Friday that 69 percent of the work taking place along the Orange Line during the 30-day closure is complete and service is expected resume on Monday, Sept. 19 as scheduled.

At least 60 new Orange Line cars will be available when service resumes, up from 30 cars when the shutdown first started.

“With less than 10 days remaining in this ambitious project, the work crews up and down the line have us in a great position to finish strong and on time,” MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said. “We are looking forward to welcoming back Orange Line customers with a smoother, safer, and more comfortable ride."

Completed work includes removing a slow zone on the Orange Line at Jackson Square through the installation of special track work and rail replacement between Downtown Crossing and State, which also removed a slow zone.

The MBTA will be removing a total of six slow zones during the closure. However, slow zones will stay in place for about one week when service reopens so the new track can settle.

Overall, MBTA teams have completed approximately 50 percent of rail replacement, which is about 7,000 feet of rail, and 72 percent of track replacement.

In addition, about 98 percent of the special track work is complete and approximately 55 percent of Cologne egg and rail fastener work is finished near Tufts Medical Center station.

Work on the ongoing signal testing at Oak Grove and Malden Center stations is also progressing, with about 65 percent of upgrades complete.