BOSTON — The contractor responsible for out-of-gauge construction on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line extension is proposing a series of overnight shutdowns to rectify the problem, WBZ-TV reports.
MBTA CEO Phillip Eng told a meeting of the agency’s advisory board that the contractor is proposing a shutdown of the 4.7-mile extension from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. for 10 to 14 days to repair the problem. Shuttle buses would replace rail service during the evening hours. The extension normally starts operating about 4:45 a.m. and shuts down 12:25 a.m. The proposed start date for the work is Nov. 1.
Eng told the advisory board that would be enough time for repairs: “It’s not months, it’s not years to do this.”
Eng said at a press conference last week that more than half of the extension was built with rails too closely together, apparently because of improperly positioned tie plates. The problem was noted as early as April 2021 but was not addressed before the extension opened last December [see “MBTA Green Line eztension was built with track out of gauge …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 19, 2023].
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