Chris Helms
Riders leave a crowded Orange Line train, Feb. 4, 2015.
UPDATE: Rail service is also cancelled all day Tuesday. Only buses will run, and those will be on snow routes.
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Bowing to the impact of continued snow and cold, the MBTA announced it would shut down all subway lines, trolleys and commuter rail at 7 p.m. Monday.
The shutdown comes on a day the T tried to eke through offering a reduced schedule. The Orange Line had planned bus replacement service starting at 10 a.m. through 3 p.m. from Sullivan to Oak Grove. But further problems caused them to institute bus replacement service from Forest Hills to Green. After one Red Line train had to be evacuated, the T said the closure could prevent other similar incidents:
"The accumulating snow is making it virtually impossible to keep rail lines operational. From a safety perspective, the MBTA is concerned about the risk of multiple disabled trains that would require evacuations on the tracks, potentially in the dark."
[Editor's note: A typo has been corrected in this post, thanks to a sharp-eyed reader.]