Red Line Service Suspension Expanded to Include Ashmont Branch This Saturday Only, September 28

Red Line Service Suspension Expanded to Include Ashmont Branch This Saturday Only, September 28:

This means both Ashmont and Braintree Branches of the Red Line will be suspended and replaced with shuttle buses on Saturday.

Train service on the Ashmont Branch will resume on Sunday.

Boston, MA -- The MBTA today announced that the current Red Line service suspension will be expanded to include the Ashmont Branch on Saturday only, September 28. This means both the Ashmont and Braintree Branches of the Red Line will be suspended and replaced with shuttle buses on Saturday. The service suspension will return to its previous location of the Braintree Branch only on Sunday. Train service will resume on the Braintree Branch as scheduled on September 30.  

The expansion of this service suspension to include the Ashmont Branch allows work crews to take advantage of construction equipment in the area and perform critical track work to remove a speed restriction on the Ashmont Branch. The MBTA will also maximize this service outage by performing additional work, including proactive overhead tunnel inspections within the Ashmont Branch’s tunnel areas, seeking out any possible water infiltration or structural repair needs with crews on standby to make repairs as needed. Tunnel inspections were performed prior to resuming service after last weekend’s water main break, and we are maximizing this outage to perform another round of inspections.

Free and accessible shuttle bus service will stop at all stations on the Ashmont Branch between Ashmont and JFK/UMass as well as the Braintree Branch between Braintree and JFK/UMass. 

Riders continue to be strongly encouraged to use the Commuter Rail for fare-free service between Braintree, Quincy Center, JFK/UMass, and South Station.  

Understanding how challenging any service interruption is for riders, the MBTA apologizes for the need to expand this service suspension and continues to express its appreciation of riders’ patience as this important Red Line work is completed.