Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Here’s what to know about T service diversions and commuter rail changes in January
The Red, Orange, and Silver Lines are impacted, as are the Newburyport/Rockport and Haverhill commuter rail lines.
The MBTA has announced planned service changes for January on the Silver, Orange, and Red Lines, and on the Newburyport/Rockport and Haverhill commuter rail lines.
The goals of these changes include performing drainage improvement work in the Silver Line tunnel at South Station and doing signal upgrade work on the Red Line. The Orange Line changes, as well as those on the Newburyport/Rockport and Haverhill Lines, are in “support” of MassDOT’s Maffa Way/Mystic Avenue Bridge Superstructure Replacements project.
The project, which is currently in Phase I, will replace the Maffa Way and Mystic Avenue bridges with improved pedestrian, cyclist, and transit facilities, officials said. The bridges are expected to be completed in winter 2026.
Advertisement:
Though the MBTA is still finalizing its construction schedule for 2025, January work is set to begin just after the new year.
“With the MBTA’s Track Improvement Program complete, work next year will focus on other critical priorities, including continuing to modernize the Red and Orange Line signal system to provide a more reliable trip for riders, accessibility upgrades, performing regular and necessary infrastructure maintenance, and more,” the agency wrote in a release shared with Boston.com.
The MBTA promised the “vast majority” of work in 2025 will take place during weekends and evenings, with “some limited weekday outages.”
Silver Line
As crews perform drainage improvement work in the Silver Line tunnel at South Station, Silver Line buses will operate at the street level during the first two weekends of the month.
Advertisement:
The tunnel will be closed from approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 3 through Sunday, Jan. 5, and again from approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10 through Sunday, Jan. 12.
Riders looking to make connections at South Station can do so on Summer Street at Atlantic Avenue, and connections for World Trade Center can be made on Congress Street at World Trade Center Station. Connections for Courthouse Station can be made on the outbound side of Seaport Boulevard. Transfers to and from the Red Line can be done at South Station.
Silver Line buses will charge a local bus fare of $1.70 — or $0.85 for reduced fare — one way during the service change.
Red Line
On the Red Line, to accommodate signal upgrade work, service will be suspended between JFK/UMass and Braintree for one weekend only, Jan. 25 and 26, officials said.
Free and accessible shuttle buses will replace the route, making all stops between the two stations.
“Riders are strongly encouraged to use the Middleborough, Kington, and Greenbush Commuter Rail lines for fare-free service between Braintree, Quincy Center, JFK/UMass, and South Station,” the MBTA said in its release, though it noted that riders should be aware that regular fares will be collected for travel beyond Braintree.
Orange Line
In order to support construction on the Maffa Way and Mystic Avenue Bridges, Orange Line service between Oak Grove and North Station will be suspended the third weekend of January and the first weekend of February.
Advertisement:
The suspension will begin at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17 and continue through Monday, Jan. 20, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
That section of the line will be suspended again two weeks later, beginning at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, and continuing through Sunday, Feb. 2.
During these shutdowns, free and accessible shuttle buses will travel between Oak Grove and North Station, making all stops. Express shuttle buses will also run, stopping only at Oak Grove, Malden Center, and North Station.
The Haverhill Line on the commuter rail will be free during the evening of Jan. 17, all day Jan. 20, and the evening of Jan. 31, though riders should note that the Haverhill Line is suspended between Ballardvale and North Station Jan. 18 to 19 and Feb. 1 to 2.
Newburyport/Rockport Line
Sections of the Newburyport/Rockport and Haverhill Lines will be suspended also during the third weekend of January and the first weekend of February in support of the Maffa Way and Mystic Avenue Bridges project, the agency said.
Service will be suspended on the Newburyport/Rockport Line between North Station and Swapscott during the weekends of Jan. 18 to 19 and Feb. 1 to 2. Express shuttle buses will go straight from Swapscott to North Station and back, while local shuttle buses will stop at Swampscott, Lynn within the busway at the legacy station, Wonderland for connections to the Blue Line, Chelsea for connections to the Silver Line 3 (SL3), and North Station. The final outbound shuttle bus of the night will also stop at Salem and Beverly Depot.
Advertisement:
Riders can take a fare-free commuter rail between Swampscott and Newburyport or Rockport, and can also utilize the SL3, which goes through Chelsea and East Boston to Logan Airport, Seaport, and South Station, with connections to area bus routes like the 111, 112, and 116 and the Blue and Red Lines.
Haverhill Line
The Haverhill Line of the commuter rail will be suspended between North Station and Ballardvale during the same weekends, Jan. 18 to 19 and Feb. 1 to 2. Separate shuttle buses will replace service between Reading and North Station and between Reading and Anderson/Woburn. North Wilmington will not have shuttle bus service, and the MBTA said passengers should “utilize Lowell Line service at Wilmington Station instead.”
On the commuter rail, regular fares will be collected between Haverhill and Ballardvale and Anderson/Woburn and North Station. Train service between Ballardvale and Haverhill will be rerouted along the Lowell line after Ballardvale, adding a stop at Anderson/Woburn and then running express to North Station. Riders who want to go to or from Reading and Oak Grove can disembark at Anderson/Woburn and board the shuttle.
The 137 bus route will be fare-free as well, providing service from Malden Center to Reading Depot.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com