MBTA Reopens Faster Braintree Branch After Shutdown

BRAINTREE, MA — When the MBTA announced a nearly month-long shutdown of the Braintree branch of the Red Line, they promised vast improvement to the experience once it reopened.

So far in week one they've been proven right.

The Braintree branch reopened this week and, so far, official said a roundtrip is 24 minutes faster and 37 pesky speed restrictions have been removed.

"After 24 days of uninterrupted access, we were able to deliver major service improvements to our riders on the Red Line Braintree Branch," officials said.

Officials repaired about 18 miles of track, removing the speed restrictions between JFK/UMass and Braintree.

The work allowed the MBTA to run service up to the maximum allowed speed of 40 miles per hour, but also sets the stage to raise current Red Line train speeds above that mark, officials said.