New North Shore Commuter Rail Schedule Begins Monday

BEVERLY, MA — After months of intermittent shuttle bus service along the North Shore — especially between Beverly and Rockport — and years of bridge work in Gloucester, commuter rail service is set to return to something a lot closer to normal on Monday with the completion of two major projects.

The MBTA said on Wednesday that the construction of the $100 million Gloucester Drawbridge, which began in 2018, has been completed, along with the installation of a new federally mandated signal system that had forced shuttle buses into use for two months this fall.

The MBTA said regular train service will resume between Beverly and Rockport stations on Monday with a new Fall/Winter schedule beginning on the Newburyport/Rockport line.

"We're pleased to have completed these safety enhancements on the line as well as the critical work to replace the Gloucester Drawbridge, bringing improved service to our Newburyport/Rockport line riders," said outgoing MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. "I'd like to especially thank our riders for their patience as work crews accomplished these infrastructure upgrades, which will improve safety and reliability on the line for decades to come."

The Gloucester Drawbridge now includes side-by-side single-track moveable bridges, an updated east-approach trestle with pre-stressed box beams on top of steel pipe piles, and a relocated control tower on the Gloucester Station side of the bridge.

The MBTA said Newburyport/Rockport line passengers can "expect better service reliability and a faster ride than was possible across the original bridge."

Access for boats within the waterways beneath the bridge has also been improved.

The new signal system monitors trains in real time and reduces speeds when needed to prevent collisions.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)