MBTA announces schedule changes, detours as nearly 1 million expected to attend Sunday's St. Patrick's Day parade

"The MBTA expects "nearly one million" people to attend the parade in South Boston, the agency said. This Sunday, South Boston will host the city's annual St. Patrick's Day parade. In doing so, the city will experience packed train cars, long waits at stations, and hundreds of thousands of people swarming the streets."

"During last year's parade, the MBTA was so overwhelmed with riders that the Red Line had to bypass Broadway Station. However, this Sunday, the MBTA is initiating schedule changes and deploying large amounts of transit police to mitigate crowding and crime, the agency said in a press release."

"On Sunday, the MBTA will run the Red Line on a "rush hour service" schedule from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Red Line may skip the Broadway stop "during certain times due to heavy crowds," the T said. The MBTA will also offer shuttle buses from South Station to South Boston on parade day."

Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day parade in South Boston will draw approximately one million attendees on March 15, creating significant challenges for public transportation. The MBTA experienced severe overcrowding last year, forcing the Red Line to bypass Broadway Station. To address these issues, the transit agency is implementing multiple mitigation strategies including running the Red Line on rush hour service from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., potentially skipping Broadway Station during peak times, and deploying shuttle buses from South Station to South Boston. Additional train cars will be added to Commuter Rail lines including Fairmount, Fall River/New Bedford, Framingham/Worcester, Franklin/Foxboro, Greenbush, Kingston, and Providence/Stoughton. Increased transit police will be deployed to manage crowds and prevent crime.

Read at Boston.com