LYNN — The city’s temporary Commuter Rail station platform is now expected to open months ahead of schedule.
A press release sent by the MBTA announced that “a brief speaking program” with MBTA General Manager Philip Eng, Mayor Jared Nicholson, state Sen. Brendan Crighton, state Rep. Peter Capano, and MBTA Board Director Thomas McGee will take place at the site of the platform at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“Commuter Rail service is expected to resume at the temporary platform in December 2023, which is nine months sooner than previously planned,” it added.
In September, The Item reported that the platform was scheduled to open in March 2024, according to an MBTA project update. Previously, it had been scheduled to open in September 2024, which Crighton called “unacceptable” in July.
The city’s Commuter Rail station has been shut down since Oct. 1, 2022 for a $72 million renovation project. The entire renovation is currently expected to be completed in 2030.
In the meantime, the T has offered shuttle busing between Lynn and Swampscott’s Commuter Rail station, as well as ferry service on the Ava Pearl between Lynn’s Blossom Street Pier and Boston’s Long Wharf. The shuttle busing is expected to continue until the temporary platform’s opening, while the ferry service, which began in late June, will run until Oct. 31 before resuming sometime next year.
