Building a Better T: Final of 4 Winter 2020 Weekend Orange Line Diversions from Sullivan Square to Tufts Medical Center Begins Tomorrow Night

Shuttle buses provided between Sullivan Square and Haymarket only; no service between Sullivan and Tufts Medical Center

Customers urged to use parallel Green Line service through downtown Boston

Diagram of the Orange and Green lines. No train service between Sullivan Square and Tufts Medical Center. Shuttles run between Sullivan Square and Haymarket, where you can switch to the Green Line. Three Orange Line stations are not served at all (by either train or shuttle): State, Downtown Crossing, and Chinatown.

Today the MBTA reminded customers that weekend Orange Line service between Sullivan Square and Tufts Medical Center Stations will again be suspended beginning tomorrow, February 14, at 8:45 PM through to the start of service on Monday, February 17.

This suspension of Orange Line service is the final of 4 weekends scheduled to replace over 400 feet of track in each direction at North Station (over 800 total feet), 140 feet of track at State, and 200 feet of track at Haymarket. Additional station work including platform repairs, repairs to fare equipment, and more is also taking place at State, Haymarket, Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, and North Station. When complete, these weekend shutdowns allow the MBTA to complete work on the Orange Line level of these stations almost a year earlier than previously planned.

This weekend work builds off work that was performed during last fall’s weekend diversions as part of the 2019 Acceleration Plan. Additional Orange Line work to take place this year as part of the MBTA’s 2020 Infrastructure Acceleration Plan can be found at mbta.com/BBT2020.

During last weekend’s Orange Line diversion, crews replaced 520 feet of track at North Station, replaced stairways at Downtown Crossing, and updated platform areas.

During this weekend’s diversion in which service is suspended between Sullivan Square and Tufts Medical Center, shuttle buses are provided between Sullivan Square and Haymarket Stations only. There will be no shuttle bus service to Orange Line stations at State, Downtown Crossing, and Chinatown, with customers asked to travel via parallel downtown Green Line service.

Following track work, the MBTA typically implements speed restrictions as a safety precaution, and customers should expect these to last for several days while the T monitors the proper settlement and consolidation of new track and stone ballast. Speed restrictions are lifted once engineers have confirmed proper settlement has occurred.