Photo: WBZ NewsRadio Archive
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Upgrades to the commuter rail, postponed by recent blizzards, have commuter rail riders navigating around new service suspensions.
To make up for lost time on repairs due to snowstorms, the MBTA and Keolis are suspending commuter rail trains on Fridays and weekends beginning March 20.
Shuttle buses and subway service are replacing the commuter rail trains on the Newburyport, Haverhill, Lowell, and Fitchburg lines. This comes as the MBTA and Keolis work on signal upgrades on upcoming Fridays and weekends, improvements postponed by recent snowstorms. Some riders are faring better than others.
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"Still said the service was normal, but when I got to Anderson, there was no buses and all of a sudden they all pulled up, so it was pretty smooth," one commuter said.
The temporary Friday-through-Sunday suspensions run through the end of April, though things will be normal during the Boston Marathon weekend.
Keolis and the MBTA call the weekend projects critical to modernize the signal system — and prepare for the replacement of the North Station drawbridges in the coming years.
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@jamesrojas.bsky.social) reports.