Overview
- The shutdown began Tuesday, July 21, and runs through July 30, removing Red Line service to eight north‑end stations including Davis, Porter, Harvard, Central, Kendall/MIT and Charles/MGH.
- Crews are doing targeted infrastructure work during the closure, including replacing concrete 'floating slabs', renewing track at Central Station, upgrading signals, inspecting tunnels with drones, improving the third rail, and power‑washing stations.
- To reduce disruption the MBTA is running free accessible shuttle buses between Alewife and Park Street, an express shuttle between Harvard Square and South Station, fare‑free Commuter Rail between Porter Square and North Station, and weekday accessible van service.
- Riders reported long waits, buses queued on Tremont Street, and trips that ranged from about 70 minutes to more than two hours on day one, with commuters and mobility‑impaired riders noting heat, crowding and wayfinding problems.
- MBTA officials say the closure is part of a strategy of concentrated work windows to avoid deferred maintenance, but limited access points along the north end of the line make logistics harder and will shape how quickly crews can finish the jobs.