Charles/MGH (MBTA station)

CHARLES/MGH
Charles/MGH at dusk, looking westward toward Cambridge
Location	170 Charles St. Boston, MA 02114-3253
Coordinates	42°21′41″N 71°04′17″W / 42.3613°N 71.0714°W / 42.3613; -71.0714Coordinates: 42°21′41″N 71°04′17″W / 42.3613°N 71.0714°W / 42.3613; -71.0714
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Red Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	February 27, 1932
Rebuilt	February 17, 2007
Traffic
Passengers (2009 daily)	10,615[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Kendall/MIT toward Alewife Red Line Park Street toward Ashmont or Braintree
Location

Charles/MGH Station also known as Charles or Charles Street, is located above Charles Circle, at the intersection of Cambridge Street and Charles Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. The rapid transit station is on the MBTA Red Line and is elevated, being located at the Boston end of the Longfellow Bridge, which carries the subway and vehicular traffic across the Charles River. Trains enter or exit a tunnel just southeast of the station. The station is one of the few on the Red Line that have no bus connections. On February 17, 2007 a new headhouse for Charles/MGH station was opened a half block east of its former location to house escalators and elevators, making the station accessible to persons with disabilities for the first time.^[2]

Station layout

Overview

New glass headhouse, opened in 2007

Across the street from the station are the historic former Charles Street Jail (which has been converted into the Liberty Hotel), the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), all of which serve as prominent landmarks in the area. The station serves the Boston neighborhoods of Beacon Hill and the West End. Other nearby attractions include the Charles River Esplanade, Community Boating, Hatch Shell, the Longfellow Bridge, the Charles River Bike Path, and shops and restaurants on Charles and Cambridge Streets.

The station, located partially over the intersection of Cambridge and Charles streets, is one of a small number of elevated rapid transit stations remaining in the MBTA system. (The only others are Beachmont, Science Park, Malden Center, Wollaston, and Fields Corner; Lechmere will also become an elevated station as part of the Green Line Extension.) Boston once had several elevated lines, but the Atlantic Avenue Elevated, Charlestown Elevated, Washington Street Elevated, and Causeway Elevated were all torn down in favor of subway and surface-level lines. The old elevated station (pre-renovation) was featured in many episodes of Cheers.

Proposed Blue Line connection

Future plans for Charles/MGH station include a new, underground terminus for the Blue Line below the elevated station.^[3] Currently, there is no direct connection between the Red and Blue lines, causing severe rush-hour overloads on the Green Line. As part of a September 2008 lawsuit settlement, the state agreed to fully design the project but was no longer bound by an earlier commitment to build it. The extension would be carried by a short tunnel west from Bowdoin station under Cambridge Street. Bowdoin station itself is slated to be closed once renovations to the Government Center station are complete. A new turnaround loop beyond the new terminus would be constructed to replace the one at Bowdoin. As of 2015, there are no active plans to pursue this project.^[4][5]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles/MGH (MBTA station).

• MBTA - Charles/MGH
• Charles Street entrance from Google Maps Street View

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Subway lines (List of stations) Heavy rail      Blue      Orange      Red Light rail      Green "B" Branch "C" Branch "D" Branch "E" Branch      Ashmont–Mattapan Former lines      Arborway Line      Atlantic Avenue Elevated      Causeway Street Elevated      Charlestown Elevated      Green Line "A" Branch      Washington Street Elevated      Commuter Rail lines (List of stations) North Station lines Fitchburg Haverhill (Wildcat Branch) Lowell Newburyport/Rockport South Station lines Fairmount Framingham/Worcester Franklin Greenbush Needham Old Colony (Kingston/Plymouth Middleborough/Lakeville      CapeFLYER) Providence/Stoughton Former lines Central Mass Branch Dedham Branch Lexington Branch Millis Branch Woburn Branch      Bus routes (List of routes)      Silver Line Crosstown routes Key routes Trackless trolleys Routes East Boston, Chelsea, Revere Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield South Boston Other services      Boat The Ride Component parts of system lines      Boylston Street Subway      Haymarket North Extension      Lechmere Viaduct      Tremont Street Subway      Washington Street Subway Capital projects Under construction      Chelsea extension      Fairmount Line upgrades      Fitchburg Line upgrades Wachusett extension           Forest Hills modifications           Government Center reconstruction      Green Line Extension      Haverhill Line upgrades      South Coast Rail In planning / proposed      Buzzards Bay extension      Foxboro service      Hynes Convention Center renovation      Kingston R.I. extension      Nashua extension      Route 16 extension      Wollaston renovation Formerly proposed      Arborway Line restoration      Indigo Line (Fairmount Grand Junction Track 61)      Lexington extension      Lynn extension      North–South Rail Link      Plaistow extension      Reading extension           Red Line—Blue Line Connector Urban Ring Project History Predecessor companies Boston Elevated Railway Streetcar lines Boston and Maine Railroad Conrail New York Central Railroad New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Penn Central Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Middlesex and Boston Street Railway Newton and Boston Street Railway Route histories      History of the Green Line Accidents and incidents      1990 Back Bay      2008 Waban/Woodland Other Accessibility Arts on the Line Bicycling CharlieCard Grand Junction Railroad "Charlie on the M.T.A." Nomenclature Police                Winter Street Concourse Yards and maintenance facilities