An Orange Line train sits in a Wellington Station workshop on Aug. 3, 2022, the day Gov. Charlie Baker and MBTA officials announced plans to shut down Orange Line service for 30 days. Photo by Chris Lisinski | State House News Service
As the MBTA approaches the end of the monthlong shutdown of the Orange Line and prepares to reactivate the line, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Tuesday that the alternate service that’s been in place has gone “so well” but said she’s still concerned about the T moving ahead.
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said Tuesday afternoon that 82 percent of the work planned during the Orange Line shutdown has been completed and that the T has begun the process of preparing to resume service on the subway line Monday morning. Wu told GBH Radio’s “Boston Public Radio” that the city has learned a lot from the shutdown and diversions.
“The shuttle bus and all the alternatives, the diversions, have been going so well, relatively speaking. I took a shuttle bus this morning and even with school buses back on the road and everyone kind of more firmly settled in your fall commuting habits and coming back in person, it went pretty well,” Wu said. “Definitely more traffic than when I first took it at the beginning, but just about everything possible that could be done has been done. We’ve seen records broken in terms of Blue Bike usage of our bike share system. So we’ve learned a lot from this process that we’ll be able to apply forward.”
In separate appearances Tuesday, Wu and Poftak each did a bit of expectation-setting. Wu noted that the Orange Line shutdown has led to significant amount of sorely needed infrastructure work getting done, but she pointed out that it will have no bearing on another major problem at the T, staffing.
“One big key that has not been resolved and will take time to resolve is staffing levels,” she said. The mayor added, “When the T is so short on positions like signal dispatchers and others that control the trains, it will still take some time to build that workforce back to be able to run at full strength.”
Poftak gave Orange Line riders a heads-up Tuesday that while the work has or will be done to remove “slow zones” on the line, trains (the “vast majority” of which he said would be the new models upon the resumption of service) will continue to go slowly through those areas for the first five to seven days of resumed service.
“As Orange Line trains begin running again on Monday, one of the things I want to emphasize is that the slow zones will stay in place for a period of time. That gives our team the opportunity to inspect each one of the areas that we’ve made repairs in, make sure that it is working properly and that it’s still in spec,” Poftak said. “Once they’re satisfied that it’s safe, they will then lift the slow zone and the trains can then resume the normal posted speed.”
