USA: The MBTA has completed a 10-day Red Line infrastructure program between Alewife and Park Street, replacing 3,600 feet of rail and 37 aging floating slabs.

Two MBTA Red Line trains at Alewife station in Greater Boston.
Two MBTA Red Line trains at Alewife station; illustrative image, not the July 2026 infrastructure work. Photo: IliketrainsR211T, CC BY 4.0.

The completed program also delivered 950 feet of full-depth track, 160 ties and 3,290 feet of surfacing across technically complicated sections of the subway.

A 10-Day Closure Opened the Track Area

The closure ran from July 21 through July 30, 2026. The MBTA’s official service plan covered eight stations—Alewife, Davis, Porter, Harvard, Central, Kendall/MIT, Charles/MGH and Park Street—while replacement buses and other travel options supported riders.

With uninterrupted access to the track, crews replaced 24 primary and 13 secondary floating slabs. The concrete elements were about 45 years old. The work formed part of the MBTA’s planned renewal program and responded to needs identified in its 2023 Capital Needs Assessment and Inventory.

The latest intervention also maintained gains from the 2024 Track Improvement Program, which removed 85 long-existing speed restrictions from the Red Line.

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Signals, Power and Inspections Extended the Scope

At Porter station, crews completed major signal upgrade work. At Central, they moved and rewired signal racks. Radio and third-rail improvements were carried out across the shutdown area, while Davis received new power conduits and the Alewife headhouse plaza underwent renovation.

Station cleaning, repairs and maintenance continued alongside hands-on tunnel inspections. Teams inspected bridges near the Longfellow Bridge and Charles/MGH station, then used drones to inspect and map tunnel and track areas.

The next confirmed stage is outside the completed closure package. The MBTA says construction on a new work-vehicle tunnel in North Cambridge will begin in spring 2027, adding a separate access project to the Red Line program.

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