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Orange Line work over two-thirds complete, service expected to resume on time

Orange Line work over two-thirds complete, service expected to resume on time
Orange Line work over two-thirds complete, service expected to resume on time 01:05

BOSTON - The Orange Line is scheduled to reopen one week from Monday following a month-long shutdown, and the MBTA said the project is currently set to finish on time.

The T said work on the Orange Line is about 66% complete.

General Manager Steve Poftak said crews are in a great position to finish strong and on time.

Workers have replaced more than 7,000 feet of rail and about 98% of special track work is complete.

Poftak said the T is also more than halfway done with rail fastener work by Tufts Station and said there has been excellent progress on signal testing at Oak Grove and Malden Center stations.

When work is completed, the Orange Line fleet will be made up of mostly new cars. There will be 60 new cars, which is up from 30 before the shutdown.

The T will be removing six slowdowns during the closure, but they want riders to know that once Orange Line trains are running again on September 19, slow zones will have to temporarily stay in place for one week while the new track settles. 

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