MBTA officials added another pair of partial Red Line weekend closures to a long list of maintenance-fueled disruptions planned in October.
Shuttle buses will replace Red Line service between Broadway and Ashmont on the Ashmont Branch and between Broadway and North Quincy on the Braintree Branch all day on the weekends of Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and Oct. 7-8, officials announced Tuesday.
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An MBTA spokesperson said the weekend closures will allow crews "to perform critical work on the Savin Hill Avenue and Dorchester Avenue bridges, to perform necessary tunnel inspections on the Ashmont Branch, and to accomplish station brightening work at JFK/UMass Station."
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On the commuter rail's Kingston, Middleborough and Greenbush lines -- all of which run adjacent to the Red Line -- shuttle buses will similarly replace trains between South Station and Braintree on Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and Oct. 7-8.
Other shutdowns and diversions the MBTA plans in October were previously announced, including a 16-day closure of the Red Line between JFK/UMass and Mattapan from Oct. 14-29.
Service on the Red Line has deteriorated in recent months. Close to 15 miles of the line's tracks, or 31 percent, are in such poor condition that trains cannot safely travel at full speeds, according to MBTA data. Trip data tracked by advocacy group TransitMatters estimate an end-to-end round trip on the Red Line now experiences 71 minutes of total delay due to slow zones.
From Sept. 18 to Oct. 12, Orange Line trains will bypass Haymarket Station and Green Line trains will not run between North Station and Government Center due to the ongoing private demolition of the Government Center Garage. The Green Line Extension's Union Square branch, which opened to riders last year, closed Monday and will remain shuttered through Oct. 12 while the Department of Transportation repairs a bridge that crosses over the new MBTA tracks.
Additional details about October service changes are available online.
