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Part of Haverhill Line to be replaced by shuttle buses for nearly 2 months

The shuttle buses will run between Reading and Oak Grove Stations and stop at all the regular stops in between those stations.

Part of the Commuter Rail's Haverhill Line will be replaced by shuttle buses for two months this fall. Kayana Szymczak/The Boston Globe

By Susannah Sudborough

2 minutes to read

Much of the Commuter Rail‘s Haverhill Line will be replaced by shuttle buses for most of September and all of October, the MBTA announced Thursday.

Beginning Saturday, Sept. 9, and ending Sunday, Nov. 5, shuttle buses will replace trains between Reading and Oak Grove Stations, the MBTA said in a press release. The shuttle buses will stop at all the regular stations between Reading and Oak Grove.

Passengers can use the Orange Line to reach Malden Center Station and North Station, the MBTA said. Trains going inbound on the Haverhill Line will reroute to the Lowell Line after Ballardvale Station and stop at Anderson/Woburn Station before going express to North Station.

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There will be shuttle bus service between Reading and Anderson/Woburn so that inbound passengers on the Haverhill Line can choose between going express to North Station or using the shuttle buses to access all the normal stations on the line, the MBTA said. Additionally, trains on the Haverhill Line will skip North Wilmington Station during this time.

The MBTA made a visual of how the Haverhill Commuter Rail line will work while part of it is replaced by shuttle buses this fall. – MBTA

The train service disruption is necessary to allow the MBTA to install an Automatic Train Control/Positive Train Control safety program on the line, the MBTA said. These systems prevent collisions and derailments by allowing automated control of the train that replaces the driver, and are mandated by federal transit authorities.

Haverhill Line commuters’ travel options

Going inbound on the Haverhill line, passengers getting on between Haverhill and Ballardvale can get on a train like they normally would.

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When they get to Anderson/Woburn, they can either stay on the train and continue on the Lowell Line express to North Station, or they can get on a shuttle bus to Reading. This would allow them to access all the other normal Haverhill Line stations via shuttle buses and the Orange Line.

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Passengers coming inbound on the line and getting on between Reading and Oak Grove can either take shuttle buses out to Anderson/Woburn and then go express to North Station, or they can use shuttle buses and the Orange Line to access all the normal Haverhill Line stations.

Going outbound on the line, passengers will need to use the Orange Line or buses to get to Oak Grove. They can then use shuttle buses and trains to access all the normal Haverhill Line stations.

It is unclear if Haverhill Line trains will travel outbound from North Station on the Lowell Line and go express to Anderson/Woburn before connecting with the rest of the line.

Passengers whose usual station is North Wilmington will need to connect to the line via Reading or Ballardvale.

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