Boylston (MBTA station)

BOYLSTON BOYLSTON
Outbound Green Line platform
Station statistics
Address	Boylston and Tremont Streets, Downtown Boston
Lines	Green Line all branches   Silver Line
Platforms	2 island platforms (used as side platforms)
Tracks	4 (2 used)
Other information
Opened	September 3, 1897 (Green Line) July 30, 2002 (Silver Line)
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Arlington toward Boston College Green Line "B" Branch Park Street toward Government Center Arlington toward Riverside Green Line "D" Branch Arlington toward Cleveland Circle Green Line "C" Branch Park Street toward North Station Arlington toward Heath Street Green Line "E" Branch Park Street toward Lechmere Tufts Medical Center toward Dudley Square Silver Line SL5 Downtown Crossing One-way operation

For the Orange Line station formerly called Boylston, see Chinatown.

Boylston is a station on the Green Line light rail service of the MBTA rapid transport network, and is located on the southeast corner of Boston Common at the intersection of Boylston and Tremont Streets.

Contents 1 Location 2 History 2.1 Accidents and incidents 3 Station layout 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

Location

Boylston station is located at the intersection of Boylston Street and Tremont Street in southern Downtown Boston, slightly to the east of the Back Bay neighborhood.^[1] Boylston's central location places it near many important Boston landmarks and points-of-interest. The southeastern corner of Boston Common and the northeastern corner of Emerson College are located at the intersection of Boylston Street and Tremont Street.^[1]

History

Boylston and Park Street were the first two stations built in the Tremont Street Subway. The subway was built between 1895 and 1897, and first broke ground on the site of the current Boylston station. When the station opened in 1897, it became not just the first rapid transport station in Boston, but in the entire United States.^[2] Of the two original stations, Boylston retains more of its original appearance, having undergone only minimal changes in over a century of continuous operation.

Historic Boston PCC trolleys are sometimes kept on display in the station, though it is doubtful that they are in fully operable condition. The trolleys are parked on a set of outer tracks leading to a tunnel continuing southward under Tremont Street and heading to the old Pleasant Street Incline. Boylston station once connected via this tunnel to the Incline and a portal located in what is now Eliot Norton Park, immediately east of the Bay Village neighborhood of Boston. From the portal, several trolley lines diverged, including service through to South Boston via Broadway station. The trolley service was discontinued in 1962, the route was converted to buses, and the portal was later covered by construction of the park.^[3]

Some of the proposals for completing Phase III of the Silver Line involved reopening portions of the tunnel for direct connections to the Boylston Green Line station. As of 2010, all proposals for Phase III tunnel construction have been postponed indefinitely, due to lack of funding, and heavy community opposition.

Accidents and incidents

On 6 June 1906, there was an explosion at Boylston station.^[4] The origin of the explosion was deemed to be the short-circuiting of the overhead lines in the station which began to burn and catch fire.^[4] Because of the electrical nature of the fire, spraying water to stop the flames failed and fire-fighters who attempted to do so were met with electric shocks. Only three people were injured and the fire extinguished itself.^[4]

On 15 November 2008, two Green Line trains collided at the northbound platform of Boylston station.^[5] Although the cars themselves were not visibly damaged, a few passengers complained about neck and back pains and were sent to the hospital.^[5] A few hours later, the Green Line re-opened between Arlington and Government Center stations and temporary buses stopped running.^[5]

Station layout

Currently, Boylston has four tracks with two island platforms. The two outer tracks, which formerly led to the Pleasant Street Portal, are not in revenue service and are used for storage and other miscellaneous purposes.^[6] Two former streetcars — one of the Boston Elevated Railway and one of the old M.T.A. — are displayed on the outer track of the inbound platform.

There is no free crossover between the platforms, thus passengers must pay attention to signs at street level denoting the entrances to the inbound and outbound platforms. A former crossover was sealed years ago for security reasons.

The Green Line takes a sharp right-angle turn just south of Boylston station, as it turns from Tremont Street onto Boylston Street. The tight radius of curvature of the track can cause loud squealing noises from the train wheels, which are audible at street level near the station entrance at the corner.

Although nominally a station on a branch of the Silver Line, the Boylston stop consists of a single one-way Bus Rapid Transit stop at street level. As of 2010, construction of a proposed underground Silver Line station at this location has been postponed indefinitely.

During the summer of 2006, the MBTA began installing brighter lighting at Boylston station, changing the old dim appearance of the underground space.

Boston's Chinatown is directly east of the station, and the Chinatown station on the Orange Line, only a block east on Washington Street, took its name from the neighborhood in 1987; it had previously been named Boylston as well.

References

Further reading

• Belcher, Jonathan, "Remnants of Abandoned Stations, Tunnels, and Station Entrances found on the MBTA" (archived 2007)
• Bierman, Noah, "Transit archeology: Tour of abandoned subway network offers a glimpse of how the T was built", Boston Globe, Saturday, December 26, 2009.
• Cheape, Charles W. (1980). Moving the masses : urban public transport in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, 1880-1912. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674588274. http://books.google.com/books?id=NkDeRf2FKTkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Cheney, Frank; Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell (2000). When Boston rode the El. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 978-0738504629. http://books.google.com/books?id=FXsLiV1aNRUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Cudahy, Brian J. (1972). Change at Park Street Under; the story of Boston's subways. Brattleboro, Vt.: S. Greene Press. ISBN 978-0828901734. 
• McKendry, Joe (2006). Beneath the streets of Boston: Building America's first subway. Boston: David R. Godine. ISBN 978-1567922844. 

External links

• MBTA Green & Silver Lines – Boylston Station
• Boylston Street entrance from Google Maps Street View

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