MBTA subway
| MBTA Subway | |
|---|---|
 Orange Line train near Ruggles station | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |
| Locale | Boston, MA |
| Transit type | rapid transit: heavy rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit |
| Number of lines | 3 heavy rail (Red Line, Orange Line, Blue Line), 2 light rail (Green Line, Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line), 1 BRT (Silver Line) |
| Number of stations | 133;[1] 6 new stations are being built as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX) project[2] [dubious – discuss] |
| Annual ridership | 352,519,591 (2014)[1] |
| Website | mbta |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | September 1, 1897 (Tremont Street Subway) |
| Operator(s) | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) |
| Train length | 6 cars (heavy rail) 1-2 cars (light rail) |
| Technical | |
| System length | 78 mi (126 km) |
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates heavy rail, light rail, and bus transit services in the Boston metropolitan area collectively referred to as the Rapid Transit or Subway system.[1] Although largely an identity of the MBTA, the T is often used to refer to the subway system by locals, by news sites and guidebooks [3] [4] [5], and by the MBTA itself[6].
The colored rail trunk lines consist of 3 heavy rail lines (Red, Orange, and Blue), one branched light rail system (Green), and a short light rail line (the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, colored as part of the Red Line). All except the Ashmont-Mattapan Line operate in tunnels in the downtown area; no route operates entirely underground. The four branches of the Silver Line bus are also shown as part of the rapid transit system. Two branches operate underground as bus rapid transit and charge rapid transit fares; two branches operate entirely on the surface and charge lower bus fares.
The section of the Tremont Street Subway between Park Street and Boylston Street stations on the Green Line opened in 1897, making it the oldest transit subway in the United States still in use. (Only the short-lived Beach Pneumatic Transit demonstration line was built before.)
History
Opened in September 1897, the four-track-wide segment of the Green Line tunnel between Park Street and Boylston stations was the first subway in the United States, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The downtown portions of what are now the Green, Orange, Blue, and Red line tunnels were all in service by 1912. Additions to the rapid transit network occurred in most decades of the 1900s, and continue in the 2000s with the addition of Silver Line bus rapid transit and planned Green Line expansion.[citation needed] (See MBTA History and MBTA Future plans sections.)
Streetcar congestion in downtown Boston led to the establishment of subways and elevated rail, the former in 1897 and the latter in 1901. The Tremont Street Subway was the first rapid transit tunnel in the United States. The grade-separated railways added transportation capacity while avoiding delays caused by intersections with cross streets.[7] The first elevated railway and the first rapid transit line in Boston were built three years before the first underground line of the New York City Subway, but 34 years after the first London Underground lines, and long after the first elevated railway in New York.[citation needed]
Various extensions and branches were added to the subway lines at both ends, bypassing more surface tracks. As grade-separated lines were extended, street-running lines were cut back for faster downtown service. The last elevated heavy rail or "El" segments in Boston were at the extremities of the Orange Line: its northern end was relocated in 1975 from Everett to Malden, MA, and its southern end was relocated into the Southwest Corridor in 1987. However, the Green Line's Causeway Street Elevated remained in service until 2004, when it was relocated into a tunnel with an incline to reconnect to the Lechmere Viaduct. The Lechmere Viaduct and a short section of steel-framed elevated at its northern end remain in service, though the elevated section will be cut back slightly and connected to a northwards viaduct extension in 2017 as part of the Green Line Extension.
System
Lines
The rapid transit lines consist of 3 heavy rail lines, 2 trolley lines, and an underground bus rapid transit line.
The traditional heavy rail lines include the Blue Line, which is a former trolley line running from Revere to downtown Boston; the orange Line, which was converted from an elevated line running from Roxbury to Malden; and the Red Line, running from Cambridge to Ashmont or Braintree.
The trolley lines include 4 Green Line branches which terminate in Brighton, Brookline, Newton, and Roxbury, and the Mattapan High Speed Line.
Two branches of the Silver Line, the SL1 and SL2, operate in underground tunnels for part of their length, with direct transfers at South Station. These two lines use the higher subway fare, while SL4 and SL5 follow bus fare rules.
| Line | Color | Route | Inauguration | Number of stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Line | Green | B: Government Center ↔ Boston College
C: North Station ↔ Cleveland Circle D: Government Center ↔ Riverside E: Lechmere ↔ Heath Street |
1897 | 66 |
| Orange Line | Orange | Oak Grove ↔ Forest Hills | 1901 | 19 |
| Blue Line | Blue | Wonderland ↔ Bowdoin | 1904 | 12 |
| Red Line | Red | 1912 | 23 | |
| Silver Line | Silver |
SL1: South Station ↔ Logan International Airport SL2: South Station ↔ Design Center SL3: South Station ↔ City Point (terminated in 2008) SL4: South Station ↔ Dudley Square SL5: Downtown Crossing ↔ Dudley Square |
2002 | 22 |
Coverage
All four subway lines cross downtown, forming a quadrilateral configuration, and the Orange and Green Lines (which run approximately parallel in that district) also connect directly at two stations just north of downtown. The Red Line and Blue Line are the only pair of subway lines which do not have a direct transfer connection to each other. Because the various subway lines do not consistently run in any given compass direction, it is customary to refer to line directions as "inbound" or "outbound". Inbound trains travel towards the four downtown transfer stations, and outbound trains travel away from these hub stations.[8]
The Green Line has four branches in the west: "B" (Boston College), "C" (Cleveland Circle), "D" (Riverside), and "E" (Heath Street). The "A" Branch formerly went to Watertown, filling in the north-to-south letter assignment pattern, and the "E" Branch formerly continued beyond Heath Street to Arborway.
The Red Line has two branches in the south—Ashmont and Braintree, named after their terminal stations.
Colors
Originally, transit lines in the region only used geographic names. Numbering was added to public maps in 1936. The three heavy rail lines were numbers 1, 2, and 3; what is now the Green Line had different numbers for each branch. However, riders more commonly used the geographic names.[9] The colors were assigned on August 26, 1965 as part of a wider modernization in conjunction with design standards developed by Cambridge Seven Associates, and have served as the primary identifier for the lines since then.[10] The numbers for the heavy rail lines and the Mattapan Line were retained in public information until 1966.[9] The then-five branches of the Green Line were lettered A through E in 1967.[9] Vehicles were switched from the BERy/MTA orange color to a muted gray scheme; only later in the MBTA's history were vehicles repainted to match the colors of their lines.[citation needed]
Cambridge Seven originally intended to use Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue for the four lines. However, yellow proved unsuitable for this use; orange was substituted, and yellow eventually used for bus signage.[11] Later sources claim meaningful origins for the color names, although these were not discussed at the time of the switch. According to this explanation, the Orange Line is so named because it then run along part of lower Washington Street which was formerly Orange Street; the Green Line because it runs adjacent to parts of the Emerald Necklace park system; the Blue Line because it runs under Boston Harbor; and the Red Line because its northernmost station used to be at Harvard University, whose school color is crimson.[12][13]
When the switch to colored names was made, the MBTA planned to color bus rollsigns and bus stop signs to match the destination station of the route.[14] However, that scheme was never implemented.[citation needed]
Stations
The MBTA rapid transit system consists of 133 stations, with another 7 in construction as part of the Green Line Extension project in Somerville.
Rolling stock
The four transit lines all use standard rail gauge, but are otherwise incompatible; trains of one line would have to be modified to run on another. Orange and Blue Line trains are similar enough that modification of some Blue Line trains for operation on the Orange Line was considered, although ultimately rejected for cost reasons. Also, some of the new Blue Line cars from Siemens Transportation were tested on the Orange Line after hours, before acceptance for revenue service on the Blue Line. There are no direct track connections between lines, except between the Red Line and Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, but all except the Blue Line have little-used connections to the national rail network, which have been used for deliveries of railcars and supplies.[15]
Fares
As of July 1, 2016, MBTA fares are based on the trip type. A one-way ticket or cash on board costs $2.75, or $2.25 if loaded onto a reusable CharlieCard. The monthly LinkPass (which includes unlimited travel on rapid transit and bus) costs $84.50 per month. Daily and weekly passes are available at $12.00 and $21.25, respectively, and discounts are provided to seniors and high school students. Children up to 11 years old ride free when accompanied by an adult; limit 3.[16]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
- ^ "Green Line Extension Project - Fall 2012 Fact Sheet" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 2012.
- ^ Boston Globe. "Can a group of runners really outpace the T?". bostonglobe.com. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ Boston-Discovery-Guide. "Boston's Subway - The "T"". Boston-Discovery-Guide.com. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ Instructables. "How to ride the T". Instructables.com. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ MBTA. "MBTA Subway 'The T' > Maps, Schedules, and Fare Information for the Boston Area Subway System". mbta.com. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ "Famous Firsts in Massachusetts". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Ferry, J. Amanda (May 20, 2003). "Boston's subway". Boston.com. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
- ^ a b c Belcher, Jonathan (August 30, 2016). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district 1964-2016" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ "Cambridge Seven Associates Website". C7a.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Tran, Andrew Ba (June 2012). "MBTA Orange Line's 111th anniversary". Boston Globe. p. 11. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ^ Kleespies, Gavin W.; MacDonald, Katie. "Transportation History". Harvard Square Business Association. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|lastauthoramp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help) - ^ Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority – via MIT.
- ^ Hanron, Robert (August 30, 1965). "Transit Is the Word for It!". Boston Globe. p. 16 – via Proquest Historical Newspapers.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ Discussion of rail intereconnections. The Red Line connection is at JFK/UMass, the Orange Line at Wellington (last used ca. 1981), and the Green Line at Riverside. Tractor trailer trucks may also be used to deliver train cars from the manufacturer. http://groups-beta.google.com/group/ne.transportation/browse_frm/thread/e6ba611be5abb7a/6c500ca982d60b28
- ^ http://www.mbta.com/fares_and_passes/subway/
External links
