Charles/MGH (MBTA station)

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Charles/MGH Station
An MBTA Red Line train leaving Charles/MGH station bound for Alewife.
Station statistics
Address	181 Cambridge St Boston, MA 02114-2786.
Lines	MBTA Subway Red Line
Platforms	side platforms
Other information
Opened	February 27, 1932
Rebuilt	February 17, 2007
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Charles/MGH Station is located at the intersection of Cambridge Street and Charles Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. The station is on the Red Line and is elevated, being located at the Boston side of the Longfellow Bridge, which carries the Red Line along with vehicle traffic across the Charles River. Trains return to the Red Line tunnel just south of the station.

A new headhouse for Charles/MGH station opened on February 17, 2007, a half block east of its former location. The new headhouse contains escalators and elevators, making the station accessible to persons with disabilities for the first time.^[1] Possible future plans for the station include a connection to a new terminus for the Blue Line below the elevated station.^[2]

Currently the state has agreed to design the project but there are no immediate plans to build it. The first design has the Blue Line trains continuing west from the current terminus at Bowdoin station; the second design has the Blue Line trains running through a new tunnel west from Government Center station. As of August 2007, the future of the project is uncertain.

Contents 1 Recent News 2 Trivia 3 Attractions 4 References

[edit] Recent News

In the wake of the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse and with ongoing concerns of the Longfellow Bridge showing its age, there have been recent talks about temporarily closing the bridge to traffic, which would severely impact travel on the Red Line.^{[citations needed]}

[edit] Trivia

• The Longfellow Bridge opened in 1906 and designed to carry light automobile traffic. It is known by locals as the "Salt and Pepper Bridge" and is close to the Charles River and Massachusetts General Hospital.
• On July 4, the bridge and subway line transport roughly half a million passengers returning from the Boston Pops concert.
• The Red line at Charles/MGH station has been featured in many episodes of Cheers.

[edit] Attractions

• Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
• the Charles River Esplanade
• Community Boating
• Hatch Shell
• Shops and restaurants

[edit] References

Preceding station		MBTA		Following station
Kendall/MIT toward Alewife		Red Line		Park Street toward Ashmont or Braintree