MBTA to install PTC on Worcester Line

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on May 26 will begin positive train control (PTC) installation along the Worcester Line.

To give crews space to carry out the work, the agency will halt weekend train service between the Worcester and Framingham stations from May 26 through June 17.

During the second phase of PTC installation, the MBTA will halt weekend trains between Framingham and South Station. That phase will run from June 23 to August 5.

The weekend shutdown of Worcester Line service is necessary for workers to install poles, fiber optic cables, signal houses and antennae for the PTC system, agency officials said in a press release.

The MBTA started installing PTC on its system in July 2017, when crews began work on the Newburyport/Rockport Line. The agency has finished installing PTC on that line, as well as the Needham and Lowell lines.

As detailed in its PTC implementation plan submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration, the MBTA expects to install hardware on all its commuter-rail lines by Dec. 31, with full implementation by Dec. 31, 2020.