Arlington (MBTA station)

ARLINGTON
Outbound platform in December 2009
Location	20 Arlington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116
Coordinates	42°21′07″N 71°04′15″W / 42.35186°N 71.070728°W / 42.35186; -71.070728
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Green Line (all branches)
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	November 13, 1921
Rebuilt	May 31, 2009
Traffic
Passengers (2009)	8,378 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Copley toward Boston College Green Line "B" Branch Boylston toward Park Street Copley toward Riverside Green Line "D" Branch Copley toward Cleveland Circle Green Line "C" Branch Boylston toward North Station Copley toward Heath Street Green Line "E" Branch Boylston toward Lechmere

Arlington is a station on the Green Line light rail service of the MBTA transit system. The station is located at the southwest corner of the Boston Public Garden, at the corner of Arlington and Boylston Streets. It is therefore popular for reaching the Public Garden, particularly its famous swan boats.

Location

Arlington station is located at the eastern end of the Back Bay neighborhood, at the intersection of Arlington Street and Boylston Street, in one of the most prosperous areas of Boston.^[2] The station's prime location means that it is close to many popular attractions in the Back Bay area. Arlington is the most convenient station to reach the Boston Public Garden, as it is on the southwestern corner of the park.^[2] The station also serves Bay Village, one of Boston's smallest and least-known neighborhoods.

History

In late 2006, an old station sign was uncovered.

The original mosaic was restored and incorporated into the new station wall.

2006-2009 renovations

Outbound platform

In 2006, the MBTA announced that it would renovate Arlington, Copley and Kenmore stations to upgrade for handicapped accessibility and general station maintenance.^[3] On November 22, 2006, the main entrance to Arlington station closed for extensive construction and originally was not scheduled to re-open until March 1, 2008. Until completion, all access to Arlington station would be through the long–closed alternate entrances at the corner of Boylston and Berkeley Streets.

In 2007, construction crews working on the Arlington Station project were telling people that the Summer 2009 target would be difficult to achieve — that the renovations would most likely be completed closer to the Summer of 2010. However, on May 31, 2009, the temporary Berkeley Street entrances were closed and the long-awaited renovated main entrances on Arlington Street reopened for public use.^[4]

Station layout

Still structured as it was when originally opened, Arlington has two tracks with two side platforms.^[5] In normal service, there are three entrances and exits, all at the intersection of Arlington Street and Boylston Street on the southwestern, southeastern and northwestern corners of that intersection. All entrances serve both the inbound and outbound platforms since they connect to a common mezzanine where there is only one row of faregates.

Unlike several other underground stations on the Green Line, there is a free crossover at the station, allowing inbound travelers to reverse direction without paying an extra fare. In particular, inbound passengers on the Green Line "E" branch must travel past Copley station into Arlington station to reverse direction, to travel outbound on any other Green Line branch.

References

External links

Media related to Arlington (MBTA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Arlington Station site (Green Line)
• Description of Arlington Station renovations
• Arlington Street entrance from Google Maps Street View