Weekend commuter rail ending on most, but not all, lines
Five lines spared cutbacks coming Jan. 23
STATE HOUAE NEWS SERVICE
COMMUTER RAIL riders will feel the pinch of reduced weekend schedules later this month.
In the first salvo of MBTA service cuts approved in December, trains starting January 23 will no longer run on weekends on the commuter rail’s Fitchburg, Franklin, Greenbush, Haverhill, Kingston/Plymouth, Lowell and Needham Lines.
Five lines — the Newburyport/Rockport, Framingham/Worcester, Fairmount, Providence and Middleborough Lines — will continue to run some weekend service at lower frequencies.
Other service cuts the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board approved will not take effect until later in 2021. Officials punted decisions about how long they will last until the T starts its fiscal year 2022 budget process in February and March.