BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s Metro SubwayLink system will be closed for a month for emergency repairs, the Maryland Transit Administration announced on Sunday.
As reported by the Baltimore Sun, the system was shut down on Friday for evaluation after the discovery that an above-ground section of the system required urgent repairs. That evaluation discovered further problems that will shut down the entire 15.5-mile, 14-station system, which carries more than 40,000 riders on an average weekday.
The state will provide $2.2 million in emergency funding to run free bus service along the subway route, in addition to the normal MTA bus service. Buses will run from 5 a.m. to midnight on weekdays, and 6 a.m. to midnight on weekends. There will also be an express “bus bridge” serving six stations during peak hours: 6 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 8 p.m.
The initial 7.6 miles of the subway system opened in 1983, with expansions in 1987 and 1995 to reach its current 15.5 miles. A section between the Milford Mill and Mondawmin stations was closed for 23 days in summer 2016 for urgent maintenance.