Orange Line service returns with all new cars after month-long shutdown
BOSTON - Service resumed on the MBTA's Orange Line early Monday with all new cars after an unprecedented month-long shutdown for repairs and upgrades. The first trains left Oak Grove and Forest Hills at 5:16 a.m.
"Thanks to our riders for their patience & our crews for their efforts," the MBTA tweeted.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu took the train to work from the Forest Hills station in Jamaica Plain. She said it took about 25 minutes to get to the State Street station.
"My morning commute in from Roslindale was shortened quite a bit without having to change from the Green Line, see that route stretched out and stuck in traffic," Wu said. "There will be a little bit of a transition period but we're headed in a great direction for the Orange Line and for the system overall."
"So far, so good. Again, I want to set expectations. We still have all those slow zones in place, so it's going to be a slower ride today. As the week progresses, the ride will get faster, as we do our inspections and remove those slow zones," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak told reporters Monday. He added that it will take 5 to 7 days to eliminate the slow zones.
The six slow zones were created because of signal problems on the Orange Line. New signals were installed and 14,000 feet of track were replaced during the shutdown.
Poftak said five years' worth of improvements were completed in the last 30 days.
"I understand there's a great deal of skepticism at times about the MBTA. We planned very intensely for this. We had to come through for our customers, and I'm really pleased with the results," Poftak said.
Riders who spoke to WBZ-TV also seemed pleased.
"Glad to have the Orange Line back, very long month," one person said. "Extra hour of sleep for starters, had to get up early every day, took a lot out of me, took a lot out of everybody, really good to have it back."
The hope now is that the reopening of the Orange Line not only streamlines the commute for riders, but also clears up some traffic on the roads now that replacement shuttle buses are no longer running.
When asked if there were any other month-long closures planned for other MBTA lines, Poftak said it's unlikely they'd do something of this breadth or scope again, but mentioned nothing is off the table.
