Red Line (MBTA)

RED LINE
MBTA Red Line train (Type 3 cars) leaving Charles/MGH station outbound, going over the Longfellow Bridge (view towards Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
Locale	Boston, Massachusetts
Termini	Alewife Ashmont or Braintree
Stations	17 (Alewife–Ashmont) 18 (Alewife–Braintree)
Services	2
Daily ridership	272,684 (2013)[1]
Operation
Opened	1912
Owner	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Operator(s)	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Character	Subway, Grade-separated ROW
Rolling stock	Type 1, Type 2, Type 3 Red Line
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail
Route map Legend Alewife Yard Alewife Davis Porter Fitchburg Line Stadium(special events only; closed 1967) Eliot Street Yard (closed 1983) Harvard/Brattle(closed 1983) Bennett Street Portal Harvard Harvard(pre-1981 location) Harvard/Holyoke(closed 1983) Central Kendall/MIT Longfellow Bridge incline Charles River Charles/MGH Park Street  Green  Winter Street Concourse Downtown Crossing  Orange  Silver  Green  South Station  Silver  Broadway Andrew Old Colony Lines and Greenbush Line JFK/UMass Savin Hill Fields Corner Shawmut Ashmont Codman Yard Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line Cedar Grove Butler Milton Central Avenue Valley Road Capen Street Mattapan Mattapan Yard North Quincy Wollaston Quincy Center Quincy Adams Greenbush Line Braintree Caddigan Yard Old Colony Lines

The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), running roughly northwest to southeast from Alewife station in Cambridge, Massachusetts, through downtown Boston (with transfers to the Green Line at Park Street, the Orange Line at Downtown Crossing, the Silver Line at South Station, Amtrak at South Station as well, and commuter rail at South Station, Quincy Center, Porter and Braintree) then passing through South Boston. South of JFK/UMass it splits into two branches terminating at Braintree or Ashmont stations. At Ashmont passengers may continue via the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) light rail line.

Regular fare is $2.10 when using a CharlieCard or $2.65 using cash or a CharlieTicket. Exit fares on the Braintree extension were discontinued in 2007.^[2]

Approximate travel times to or from Park Street are: northbound to Harvard, 11 minutes; Alewife, 20 minutes; southbound to JFK/UMass, 8 minutes; Ashmont, 17 minutes; Braintree, 28 minutes.^[3]

History

The new Cambridge (now Longfellow) Bridge pre-1912, from the Boston end, with an unfinished rail right-of-way down its center.

Cambridge Tunnel

The Red Line was the last of the four original Boston subway lines (the others being Green, Orange and Blue) to come into being. The section from Harvard and Eliot Yard to Park Street opened on March 23, 1912. At Harvard, a prepayment station provided easy transfer to streetcars routed through what is now the Harvard Bus Tunnel. From Harvard the Cambridge Tunnel, beneath Massachusetts Avenue and Main Street, passes under Kendall Square before the line rises onto the Longfellow Bridge, on which a central right-of-way had been reserved during construction. On the Boston side, the line briefly becomes an elevated railway, maintaining its elevation as vehicle lanes descend grade at Charles Circle; it then quickly enters a tunnel through Beacon Hill leading to Park Street.

Dorchester Tunnel and Extension

The Dorchester Tunnel to Washington Street and South Station Under opened on April 4, 1915 and December 3, 1916, with transfers to the Washington Street Tunnel and Atlantic Avenue Elevated respectively. Further extensions opened to Broadway on December 15, 1917 and Andrew on June 29, 1918, both prepayment stations for streetcar transfer. The Broadway station included an upper level with its own tunnel for streetcars, which was abandoned in 1919 due to most lines being truncated to Andrew. The upper level has since been incorporated into the mezzanine.

Next came the Dorchester Extension, now the Ashmont Branch, following a rail right-of-way created in 1870 by the Shawmut Branch Railroad. In 1872, the right-of-way was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad to connect the main line at Harrison Square with the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad, running from the Old Colony at Neponset, west to what is now Mattapan station. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad succeeded Old Colony in operating the branch and passenger service ceased in anticipation of the Boston Elevated Railway expansion on September 4, 1926.^[4]

The Boston Elevated opened the first phase of the Dorchester Extension, to Field's Corner station on November 5, 1927, south from Andrew, then southeast to the surface and along the west side of the Old Colony mainline in a depressed right-of-way. Columbia and Savin Hill stations were built on the surface at the sites of former Old Colony stations. The remainder of the extension opened to Ashmont and Codman Yard on September 1, 1928, and included Shawmut station where there had been no Old Colony station due to its close proximity to Fields Corner. The first phase of the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line opened on August 26, 1929, using the rest of the Shawmut Branch right-of-way, including Cedar Grove station, and part of the old Dorchester and Milton Branch.

MBTA era and branding

Following the completion of the Dorchester Extension, the line became known as the Cambridge-Dorchester Tunnel. It was marked on maps as route 1. After taking over operations in August 1964, the MBTA began rebranding many elements of Boston's public transportation network. On August 26, 1965, the four rapid transit lines were assigned colored names related to their history and geography. On August 26, 1965, the four rapid transit lines received color designations as part of a systemwide rebranding by the newly formed MBTA. The Cambridge-Dorchester Tunnel became the Red Line because crimson is the official color of Harvard University, then the northern terminus of the line.^[5][6][7]

In 1968, letters were assigned to the south branches, "A" for Quincy (planned to extend to South Braintree) and "C" for Ashmont. "B" was probably reserved for a planned branch from Braintree to Brockton. As new rollsigns were made, this lettering was phased out. In 1994, new electronic signs included a different labeling, "A" for Ashmont, "B" for Braintree and "C" for Alewife.^[8]

South Shore Line

The first section of the South Shore Line opened on September 1, 1971, branching from the original Red Line at a flying junction north of Columbia (now JFK/UMass). It ran along the west side of the Old Colony rail right-of-way (which has since been reduced to one track), crossing to the east side north of Savin Hill. The northernmost station was North Quincy, with others at Wollaston and Quincy Center.

Braintree Extension

Beyond Quincy Center, the Braintree Extension runs southward to Braintree, opened March 22, 1980, via an intermediate stop at Quincy Adams which opened on September 10, 1983. The Extension had been first planned by the Boston Transportation Planning Review, published in 1969, originally with proposed North Braintree and South Braintree stations following the Quincy Center station.

Northwest Extension

Subway exit hatches at the northern end of the line, where a future extension to Lexington may someday be added

The first part of the Northwest Extension, the relocation of Harvard station, was finished on September 6, 1983. During construction, several temporary stations were built at Harvard Square. Eliot Yard was demolished: Harvard's Kennedy School of Government now sits inside its retaining walls. Extensions to Porter and Davis on December 8, 1984 and to Alewife on March 30, 1985 brought the line to its current terminus. During the expansion, the MBTA pioneered an investment in the "Arts on the Line" public art program.

This extension had been scaled back from an original plan to extend the line from Harvard Square to Route 128 in Lexington via the former B&M/MBTA Lexington Branch railroad right-of-way. That plan had been supported by the Town of Lexington, but was scuttled by fierce anti-urban sentiment in parts of Arlington. The right-of-way on which the extension would have been built was developed into the Minuteman Bikeway.

Recent history

Old and new construction at Central Square station

Platforms on older stations were lengthened mostly in the 1980s to allow six-car trains, which first ran January 21, 1988.^[9] (The Northwest Extension and the South Shore Line were built with 6-car platforms). JFK/UMass (then called Columbia) was the first to be modified in 1970, followed by Ashmont and Shawmut in 1981. Between 1984 and 1987, the remaining stations on the original Cambridge-Dorchester Line were rebuilt or modified.^[9] In stations like Central and Downtown Crossing, the renovation is apparent where the new architecture is different from the old.

A second Red Line platform opened at JFK/UMass on December 14, 1988, allowing Braintree Branch trains to stop at the station. Since then, the configuration of the line has remained essentially static. In January 2012, the state's Central Transportation Planning staff released a conceptual plan for widening the Southeast Expressway, which would involve completely rearranging JFK/UMass station. The Red Line would be reduced to two tracks sharing a single platform, similar to the arrangements at Andrew, and the junction between the Ashmont and Braintree branches would be streamlined and moved just south of the station. This would allow for a second commuter rail track through the station, allowing more trains to stop and eliminating a major bottleneck for the Old Colony Lines and the Greenbush Line.^[10]

A $255 million project, which started in Spring 2013, will replace structural elements of the Longfellow Bridge, which carries the line across the Charles River between the Charles/MGH and Kendall/MIT stations. The project will require at least 25 weekend shutdowns including temporary relocation of the tracks (substitute bus shuttle service will be provided). All outbound roadway traffic will be detoured from the bridge for the three years of construction. The construction completion has been pushed back to late 2018.^[11] The rebuilt bridge will have widened sidewalks and bike lanes.^[12][13]

On December 10, 2015, a Red Line train in revenue service traveled from Braintree to North Quincy without an operator in the cab before it was stopped by cutting third rail power. The MBTA initially said that the train appeared to have been tampered with and the incident was not an accident, but later determined that it was an error by an operator.^[14]

Winter issues and resiliency work

Buses forming a "bus bridge" between JFK/UMass and North Quincy in August 2015 during winter resiliency work

During the unusually brutal winter of 2014–15, the entire MBTA system was shut down on several occasions by heavy snowfalls. The aboveground sections of the Orange and Red lines were particularly vulnerable due to their exposed third rail, which iced over during storms. When a single train stopped due to power loss, other trains soon stopped as well; without continually running trains pushing snow off the rails, the lines were quickly covered in snow. (Because the Blue Line was built with overhead lines on its surface section due to its proximity to corrosive salt air, it was not subject to icing issues.)

During 2015, the MBTA is implementing its $83.7 million Winter Resiliency Program, much of which focused on preventing similar issues with the Orange and Red lines. The section of the Braintree Branch between JFK/UMass and Wollaston has old infrastructure and is largely built on an embankment, rendering it more vulnerable. New third rail with heaters and a different metal composition to reduce wear is being installed along with snow fences and switch heaters.^[15][16] The work requires bustitution of the line from JFK/UMass to North Quincy on many weeknights.^[17] The program does not include work south of Wollaston, although that may be performed in future years.^[15]

Operations and signaling

The line used trip-stop wayside signaling for the Ashmont and Harvard branches until the mid-1980s, while the Braintree Branch was one of the earliest examples of Automatic Train Control (ATC). The Alewife Branch was built with ATC, at which point the remainder of the line was upgraded to ATC as well. The line was under local control at towers until 1985, when an electromechanical panel was completed at the 45 High Street control room. This was replaced in the late 1990s with a software-controlled Automatic Train Supervision, using a product by Union Switch & Signal, subcontracted to Syseca Inc. (now ARINC), at a new control room at 45 High Street. Subsequent revisions to the system were made internally at the MBTA.

The shortest scheduled headway run on the line was most likely the 1 ³⁄₄ minute interval in the schedule published in 1928. Ridership peaked around 1947, when passenger counters logged over 850 people per four-car train during peak periods. The newer ATC signaling was designed to higher safety standards, but the block layout in the downtown area reduced the capacity by 50% over the previous wayside signaling system. The net loss of capacity measured in cars per hour has not been rectified, although at the same time the platforms were lengthened to run six-car trains, which are now operated on a longer headway.

During snowstorms, the MBTA runs an empty train during non-service hours to keep the tracks and third rail clear.^[18] The Red Line experienced major service disruptions in the winter of 2014–15 due to frozen-over third rails, leaving unpowered trains stranded between stations with passengers on board.

Accessibility

All stations are wheelchair accessible except Wollaston on the Braintree branch, and Valley Road on the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line. As of 2015, there are plans to make Wollaston wheelchair accessible.^[19]

Rolling stock

The line is standard gauge heavy rail, except for the Mattapan Line, which runs trolleys. Trains consist of mated pairs of electric multiple unit cars powered from a 600V DC third rail. All trains run in six-car sets.

Rolling stock is stabled and maintained at the Cabot Yard near Broadway in South Boston. The connection to this yard is at the junction where the two branches split, near JFK/UMass. Trains are also stabled overnight at Braintree (Caddigan Yard) and Ashmont (Codman Yard), and at the stub tracks west of Alewife.^[20] Eliot Yard, on the surface near Harvard, served East Boston Tunnel (now Blue Line) cars for a short time and Red Line cars until it was demolished in the 1970s. (East Boston Tunnel cars accessed the yard through the now-closed Joy Street portal near Bowdoin and a track connection on the Longfellow Bridge).

1912 Cambridge Subway and 1928 Dorchester cars

The Cambridge Subway began service in 1912 with 40 all-steel motor cars built by the Standard Steel Car Company, and 20 cars from the Laconia Car Company. They had a novel design as a result of studies about Boston‘s existing lines, with a then-extraordinary length of 69 feet (21 m) over buffers, and a large standee capacity, while weighing only 85,900 pounds (39,000 kg). They had an all-new door arrangement: three single sliding doors per side evenly distributed along the car‘s length so that the maximum distance to a door was around 9 feet (2.7 m). Upon their debut, the new subway cars were the largest in the world.^[21]:127 A similar configuration was later adopted by the BMT's Standard cars in New York and the Frankford Elevated Line's cars in Philadelphia.

About 20 feet (6.1 m) of the Boston car was separated by a bulkhead for a smoking compartment. In contrast to the elevated lines, passenger flowthrough was not intended, and every door was used as both entrance and exit.^[22] Thirty-five cars of similar design were added in 1919 from the Pressed Steel Car Company, followed by 60 more in 1928 from the Bradley Car Company for the Dorchester Extension.^[5]

1963 Pullman cars

The 1912-1928 Cambridge-Dorchester fleet remained in service until 1963, when it was replaced all at once by 92 married-pair cars from Pullman-Standard numbered 01400-01491. These carbon-steel cars were originally delivered in a blue, white and gold paint scheme (the state colors of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, who funded their purchase),^[23] which they retained into the early 1980s when most were finally repainted into proper Red Line colors for the opening of the Alewife Extension. The 01400s (or 1400s) were the last pre-MBTA transit cars and also the last ones built without air conditioning. All were retired from passenger service by 1994, with delivery of the 1800-series; four cars (01469/01470 and 01477/01480) remain as Red Line work equipment and two more are preserved at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.^[5]

Aluminum-bodied cars

Three series of older aluminum-bodied cars were built: the 1500 and 1600 series by Pullman-Standard 1969–1970 (known as the "No. 1" fleet), and 1700-57 by UTDC in 1988 ("No. 2" fleet). These cars seat 62 to 64 each and approximately 132 cars are in active service as of 2015, including some of the oldest cars still in regular revenue service on the MBTA system. All cars are painted white with red trim, with manually operated exterior roll signs. Before their overhauls, the 1500 and 1600 series had a brushed aluminum livery with a thin red stripe and were usually called "Silverbird" cars from their natural metal finish.

All these cars use traditional DC traction motors with electromechanical controls manufactured by Westinghouse and can interoperate. The 1500 and 1700 series cars could operate as singletons, but in practice are always operated as mated pairs. The 1600 series could only operate as married pairs. Originally, the 1500s were double-ended and had two cabs, but were converted to single ended during their midlife overhaul.^[24] Headlights are still present on the non-cab ends on the 1500s. The 1700s also have headlights on their non-cab end, but they were built with only one cab.

Stainless steel-bodied cars

The 1800-85 series of stainless steel–bodied cars was built in 1993–1994 by Bombardier from components manufactured in Canada and assembled in Barre, Vermont. (This is known as the "No. 3" fleet.) These cars seat 50, and 86 cars are in active service. An automated stop announcement system provides station announcements synchronized with visual announcements in red LED signs ceiling-mounted in each car. These cars are stainless steel with red trim, and use yellow LCD exterior signs. These cars originally had red cloth seats (in contrast to the black leather seats of other cars), but in the early 21st century the cloth seats were replaced with black leather seats. More recently the black leather seats were replaced with vandalism-proof reinforced carpet type seats containing multi-colored patterns, as with the other Red Line stock.

They have modern AC traction motors with solid state controls manufactured by General Electric, can operate only as mated pairs and can partially interoperate with older cars in emergencies or non-revenue equipment moves, but not in revenue service.

Big Red high-capacity cars

In December 2008, the MBTA began running a set of modified 1800 series cars without seats, in order to increase train capacity. The MBTA became the first transit operator in the United States with heavy rail operations to run cars modified for this purpose. These cars have been designated as "Big Red" cars, denoted by large stickers adjacent to the doors. New automated service announcements at stations alert passengers to the arrival of these high-capacity trains.^[25] So far, the MBTA has only one pair of modified cars, in a consist that runs only once during the morning rush hour, toward Alewife and once during the evening rush hour toward Braintree, departing Alewife at the top of the evening rush.

Replacement of 1500, 1600, & 1700 series cars

In October 2013, MassDOT announced plans for a $1.3 billion subway car order for the Orange and Red Lines, which would provide 74 new cars to replace the 1500 and 1600 series cars, with an option to increase the number to 132 to replace the 1700 series cars and for more frequent rush hour service.^[26]

On October 22, 2014, the Department of Transportation Board awarded Chinese manufacturer CNR a $566.6 million contract to build 132 replacement railcars for the Red Line, as well as additional cars for the Orange Line. CNR will build the cars at a new manufacturing plant in Springfield, Massachusetts at the site of the former New England Westinghouse Company, with initial deliveries of Red Line cars expected in 2019 (Orange Line deliveries will begin a year earlier) and all cars in service by 2023. In conjunction with the new rolling stock, the remainder of the $1.3 billion allocated for the project will pay for testing, signal improvements and expanded maintenance facilities, as well as other related expenses.^[27]

The new cars will hold 15 additional passengers, will have four wheelchair parking areas per car, and will be equipped with on-board video surveillance. The cars will have wider doors to allow faster boarding at busy stations, and can allow wheelchair access even if one of a pair of door panels fails to open.^[28]

• 

  Red Line cars are stored at Cabot Yard

• 

  1800 series (left) and old 1400 series (work cars, at right) trainsets at Cabot Yard

• 

  Aluminum-bodied 1700 series train at Braintree station

• 

  Bombardier (1800 series) car at Harvard station

Art and architecture

The MBTA pioneered a "percentage for art" public art program called Arts on the Line during its Northwest Extension of the Red Line in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Arts on the Line was the first program of its kind in the United States and became the model for similar programs for art across the country.

The Kendall/MIT station features an interactive public art installation by Paul Matisse called the Kendall Band, which allows the public to activate three sound-producing machines utilizing levers on the wall of the station. Above the tracks at Alewife hangs a series of red neon tubes called The End of the Red Line, by the Boston artists Alejandro and Moira Sina. Many stations built or renovated in the past three decades now feature public art.^[29]

The MBTA maintains an online catalog of the over 90 artworks installed along its six major transit lines. Each downloadable guide is illustrated with full-color photographs, titles, artists, locations, and descriptions of individual artworks.^[30]

Newer aboveground stations (particularly Alewife, Braintree, and Quincy Adams, which all have large parking garages) are excellent examples of brutalist architecture.

Advertising

Between South Station and Broadway, as well as Harvard and Central, there have been advertisements in the form of a linear zoetrope. Each frame of the ad is mechanically revealed as the train goes by, to create an animation effect.^[31] From time to time, the advertisements are changed or removed altogether. There have been similar advertisements in parts of the New York City Subway, the Washington Metro, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), and the Singapore SMRT.^[32]

Station listing

Red Line signage

Park Street outbound side platform, with electronic countdown sign

A rollsign in a Red Line car. This selection was only used in late 1984 and early 1985, while the Red Line was being expanded towards Alewife; during that time, Davis was the end of the line. However, this photo was taken in 2005 and was thus anachronistic.

Station	Location	Opened	Transfers and notes
Alewife	Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge	March 30, 1985[9]	Bus terminal, park and ride garage, Minuteman Bikeway
Davis	Davis Square, Somerville	December 8, 1984[9]	Somerville Community Path
Porter	Porter Square, Cambridge	December 8, 1984[9]	MBTA Commuter Rail, Fitchburg Line
Harvard	Harvard Square, Cambridge	September 6, 1983	Original station opened March 23, 1912 and closed January 30, 1981, replaced by the current station.
Central	Central Square, Cambridge	March 23, 1912
Kendall/MIT	Kendall Square, Cambridge	March 23, 1912	Originally Kendall until August 6, 1978, named Cambridge Center/MIT between December 2, 1982 and June 25, 1985
Charles/MGH	Cambridge and Charles Streets, Boston	February 27, 1932	Originally Charles until December 1973
Park Street	Park, Tremont, and Winter Streets, Boston	March 23, 1912	Green Line Originally Park Street Under
Downtown Crossing	Summer, Washington, and Winter Streets, Boston	April 4, 1915	Orange Line and Silver Line Phase I Originally Washington until May 3, 1987
South Station	Dewey Square, Boston	December 3, 1916	Silver Line Phase II and MBTA Commuter Rail south side lines Had a transfer to the Atlantic Avenue Elevated
Broadway	Broadway and Dorchester Avenue, South Boston	December 15, 1917
Andrew	Andrew Square, South Boston	June 29, 1918
North of JFK/UMass, the Red Line surfaces and separates into two branches which operate on separate platforms at JFK/UMass. Just south of the station, the two branches divide as described below.
JFK/UMass	Columbia Road and Morrissey Boulevard, Dorchester	November 5, 1927	MBTA Commuter Rail: Old Colony Lines and Greenbush Line Originally Columbia until December 1, 1982, Braintree platform opened December 14, 1988 Formerly called Crescent Avenue[33] as an Old Colony Railroad station
Services to Ashmont and Braintree split
Service to Ashmont
Savin Hill	Savin Hill Avenue and Sydney Street	November 5, 1927	Formerly an Old Colony Railroad station; tracks for the Braintree branch run next to the station but trains do not stop.
Fields Corner	Charles Street and Dorchester Avenue	November 5, 1927	Formerly a Shawmut Branch Railroad station
Shawmut	Dayton Street	September 1, 1928
Ashmont	Ashmont Street and Dorchester Avenue	September 1, 1928	Continuing service to Mattapan via the 10-minute Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line (opened December 21, 1929) Formerly a Shawmut Branch Railroad station Cedar Grove station on the Shawmut Branch Railroad is now a station on the Mattapan Line, after which the line merges with the former Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad right-of-way
Service to Braintree
North Quincy	East Squantum and Hancock Streets, Quincy	September 1, 1971
Wollaston	Newport Avenue and Beale Street, Quincy	September 1, 1971
Quincy Center	Hancock and Washington Streets, Quincy	September 1, 1971	MBTA Commuter Rail: Old Colony Lines and Greenbush Line, no parking garage active since July 2012.
Quincy Adams	Burgin Parkway and Centre Street, Quincy	September 10, 1983	Park and ride
Braintree	Ivory and Union Streets, Braintree	March 22, 1980	MBTA Commuter Rail: Old Colony Lines Park and ride

References

Further reading

• Cheney, Frank. (2002) Boston's Red Line: Bridging the Charles from Alewife to Braintree, Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738510477

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to MBTA Red Line.

• MBTA - Red Line
• nycsubway.org - MBTA Red Line
• Video of BIG RED train at Park Street on YouTube
• Demanding, Designing, and Building the Northwest Extension of Boston’s Red Line at the Wayback Machine (archived February 6, 2009)

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