Commuter Rail Modifying Schedule To Help Medical Workers

The MBTA is modifying the Commuter Rail's Reduced Service Schedule to address the needs of medical professionals and other emergency responders. Effective March 25, five trains will be allowed to arrive in Boston before 7 a.m., the agency said. The aim is to allow essential workers to travel with enough time to meet shift changes at hospitals and other medical facilities.

The MBTA is urging customers to avoid any non-essential travel.

"The MBTA's recent service revisions are in keeping with the broader strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19, and to ensure health care workers, grocery store employees, and others who play key roles in keeping everyone safe, can continue to do so," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said in a statement. "Critical to our success in sustaining mobility is a combination of providing service that meets the needs of employees essential to combating COVID-19, keeping up our enhanced protocols for cleaning and disinfecting of vehicles and high-contact surfaces, and renewing our request to customers to minimize their travel to only what is absolutely necessary."

All Commuter Rail lines will operate on reduced schedules, which can be found at mbta.com/coronavirus. On all lines, Commuter Rail schedules are being modified to support targeted periods of peak travel while providing options for off-peak travel throughout the day.

Effective with the start of service on Wednesday, March 25, targeted adjustments in capacity will be made to meet the unique needs of health care professionals and early morning shift changes: