MBTA Orange Line shutdown nearing its end, 82% of planned work completed

BOSTON — Tuesday marked day 25 of the planned 30-day shutdown of the MBTA Orange Line, and T leaders expressed confidence is service resuming this Monday.

“We are in a great position to finish strong and finish on time,” said MBTA GM Steve Poftak during a news conference to update work on the beleaguered public transportation line. “I’m pleased to announce that 82% of the planned work has been completed.”

The MBTA said the system has now removed the number of so-called slow-zones on the Orange Line to five.

“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,” said Poftak. “That gives our team the opportunity to inspect each one of the areas that we’ve made repairs in to make sure that it is working properly.”

“Once they’re satisfied that it is safe, they will then lift the slow zone and the trains can then resume normal posted speed,” said Poftak. “We expect that to happen within 5 to 7 days.”

The T also announced that 64 new Orange Line cars are now available when service resumes on Monday, September 19, which is up from 30 cars when the shutdown began.

The T says its teams have finished about 65% of rail replacement and 90% of planned track replacement.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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