BOSTON — Service on a stretch of the Boston area's busiest train line has suspended for four weekends as crews replace aging tracks.
In its second weekend of shutdowns, buses continue to replace service between the Kendall/MIT and Broadway stations.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority says Red Line service between the Broadway and Kendall/MIT stations will be replaced by shuttles beginning Nov. 15 through the weekend of Dec. 13.
"There is a lot of work getting done that is really important necessary work and we appreciate their patience with us," said the MBTA's General Manager Steve Poftak.
Due to one-way traffic patterns, shuttle service toward Alewife will not stop at Park Street and shuttle service toward Ashmont/Braintree will not stop at Downtown Crossing.
Crews are already performing repairs at the Park Street and Downtown Crossing stations and will replace 1,800 feet of 30-year-old track. It's part of an accelerated improvement plan that was launched after a pair of subway car derailments in June.
"It takes longer for you to get to the station because the buses have to take different routes that they're not used to," said Eli Pereyra, of East Boston.
Poftak says he believes the service diversions have been easier on riders since the MBTA invested on getting new signs, more T workers directing people and updating and posting information online.
MBTA officials say the weekend closures will help them finish repairs at Park Street four months earlier than planned, and at Downtown Crossing nearly a year earlier than planned.
The work comes in light of recent derailments along the MBTA's lines in an effort to renovate their signals and systems.
"It's working but I was there two hours later," said Pereyra. "I woke up super early because we needed to be here super early because we have a project."
According to Poftak, construction crews are working towards building a more reliable service.
"All I can do is hope that it's going to get better, at this point just kind of ride it out no alternative," said Lucas Santos, of Chelsea.
Next weekend, work on the Red Line will be put on hold for the busy holiday travel weekend before picking it up the following weekend. Work is expected to conclude on Dec. 15.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report
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