Orange Line shut down, construction underway on tracks as riders try out shuttle bus routes

BOSTON — And so it begins… the MBTA Orange Line stood still on Saturday for the first full day of the month-long shutdown.  At Oak Grove, the line of replacement shuttle buses stretched the span of an adjacent road. 

“We are feeling about as prepared as we could possibly be for something of this magnitude,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said. 

“You see all different company names on the buses because they are truly sourced all across the region,” she explained. 

Wu plans to ride one of the Orange Line shuttle buses on Monday. 

“Our bus and transportation staff were riding taking the shuttle buses, taking notes, and even fixing some things between last night and Monday,” said Wu.   

The shuttle buses took over service at 9 p.m. on Friday. There are MBTA attendants at stations working to direct confused passengers. 

“They were really helpful the workers were helpful,” said Anna Brenner told WBZ-TV. 

“I didn’t realize the Green Line was also down so I had to take an Uber to North Station,” another rider shared. “We missed the train, like the commuter rail, to Reading so then we took the shuttle and then we missed the Malden center bus to Reading and now here we are and we have to wait to be picked up.” 

Construction on the tracks was already underway on Saturday. Work will happen 24 hours a day to meet the tight deadline. 

The MBTA said they are replacing more than 3,500 feet of track and fixing train cross-overs, which are devices that allow trains to move between different tracks. They are also fixing safety signals, which can often cause delays when not working properly.