Misplaced Pages

#788211

74-728: The Green Line is a semi-metro system (form of light rail ) run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the Boston , Massachusetts , metropolitan area. It is the oldest MBTA subway line, and with tunnel sections dating from 1897, the oldest subway in North America . It runs underground through downtown Boston, and on the surface into inner suburbs via six branches on radial boulevards and grade-separated alignments. With an average daily weekday ridership of 101,000 in 2023, it

148-785: A request for proposals in December 2019, with notice to proceed expected to be given in 2021. In June 2021, the MBTA indicated that the initial order would be for 102 LRVs operating as single cars, with two-car trains deferred for a later project with federal funding. Manufacturer bids were due in July 2021. The MBTA awarded a $ 811 million contract to CAF USA on August 31, 2022, to manufacture 102 seven-segment Type 10 "Supercar" LRVs. Four pilot vehicles are to be delivered in spring 2026, with deliveries of two LRVs per month from spring 2027 to spring 2031. The contract included options for additional LRVs. As

222-541: A Type 5 A-1 car built in 1924 and retired in 1959, is owned by the Seashore Trolley Museum , but resides semipermanently in Boston. PCC #3295, built in 1951 and retired in 1986, is owned by the MBTA. The cars were formerly used for fantrips , the most recent one being in 1998. In the early 1970s, light rail —which had largely disappeared from North America after the slow decline of streetcar systems from

296-482: A better coverage in suburban areas (from busses and trams). The term semi-metro falls under the umbrella term light rail , which includes many kinds of modern tram transport. Semi-metro is in itself a container concept in which premetro and Stadtbahn fall. Although cheaper than a metro line, the construction of infrastructure for semi-metro routes was often still too expensive. Therefore sections were sometimes not constructed or realised in phases. The entanglement with

370-455: A converted commuter rail line in 1959. The Green Line Extension project extended two branches into Somerville and Medford  in 2022. The Green Line's core is the central subway , a group of tunnels which run through downtown Boston. The Tremont Street subway runs roughly north–south through downtown, with stations at Boylston , Park Street , Government Center , Haymarket , and North Station – all with connections to other lines of

444-857: A new tunnel under the Boston Garden , which consolidated the Orange Line and Green Line at a new North Station "superstation", while continuing to connect to Commuter Rail service north of Boston. The name "Green Line" was assigned in 1967 as part of a major reorganization of the MBTA system's branding. In the 1970s, the Green Line and all other MBTA lines were re-evaluated by the Boston Transportation Planning Review for region-wide efficacy and future modernization alternatives initiated as far as physical plant and operating measures. As of February 2023, each of

518-525: A safety risk. Stations on such routes are rare and may appear similar in style to a tram stop , but often lack platforms, pedestrian islands, or other amenities. In some cases, passengers may be required to wait on a distant sidewalk, and then board or disembark by crossing the traffic. The last street-station in the United States was in Michigan City, closing in 2022. The following list

592-729: A separately-funded project, Lake Street Yard will be fully reconstructed to support Type 10 vehicles, with Riverside Yard and the GLX Vehicle Maintenance Facility also modified. When the Type 10 cars are delivered, the Type 9 fleet is expected to be transferred over to the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line , replacing the PCC streetcars . The Red Line , Blue Line , and Orange Line run rapid transit cars and use stations with high platforms level with

666-479: A streetcar station was opened in 1870. Streetcars continued to run until 1935, and the tunnel was reopened as a road tunnel in 1937 after reconstruction. The first city in Europe to carry a portion of a streetcar line through the city center in a tunnel was Marseille , France , in 1893, with its Noailles subterranean station (see Marseille tramway ). It was initially operated by horse-drawn wagons. A prominent example

740-528: A tram/streetcar line has mostly category C, a light rail line has mostly category B and a semi-metro line has some of category A (combined with category B and sometimes C). Whenever light rail vehicles operate only using category A, it is defined as Light rail rapid transit (LRRT) and is part of the greater light metro class. In the Murray Hill Tunnel in New York, which was completed in 1850,

814-505: A wayside Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) system that relies on the operator properly entering the destination manually on a roto-wheel in the train cab at the beginning of a run. The line is monitored from the Operations Control Center (OCC). Responsibility for controlling service is shared by the control room and field personnel along the right of way. Track circuit and signal indications are not transmitted to

SECTION 10

#1732771774789

888-689: Is among the most heavily used light rail systems in the country . The line was assigned the green color in 1967 during a systemwide rebranding because several branches pass through sections of the Emerald Necklace of Boston. The four branches are the remnants of a large streetcar system, which began in 1856 with the Cambridge Horse Railroad and was consolidated into the Boston Elevated Railway several decades later. The branches all travel downtown through

962-423: Is largely similar to semi-metro: a type of public transport in which trams run partly grade separated, by using tunnels and/or viaducts. However, there is one clear distinguishing factor: premetro uses infrastructure that has been explicitly constructed with the ambition to transfer to use metro trains in the future. It is usually also developed from an existing classic tram network. One prominent example

1036-599: Is non-inclusive of tram and light rail systems and is otherwise non-exhaustive. Notable examples in Canada include: For tramways the legal separation of a street running trackbed and an exclusive trackbed in urban traffic is given in § 16 BOStrab tramway regulations . Germany has some street-running railways: The KCR British Section had two street running stretches: a spur line to Whampoa Dockyard through Baker Street  [ yue ] , another across Salisbury Road  [ yue ] and Canton Road to

1110-611: Is regularly used as the downtown terminal for two of the branches: Several other loops and crossovers are not used in regular revenue service, but may be used during construction work or service disruptions, or for non-revenue trains, with some having been regularly used as terminals in the past: The Red, Orange, and Blue lines have block signalling systems that make tracking the location of trains easier. Signs in most station on those lines began to display real-time train information in late 2012 and early 2013, while data feeds have been available for smartphone applications since 2010. However,

1184-489: Is signalled with advisory wayside signals , except on surface portions in street medians or in-street running . Wayside signal territory stretches from Lechmere to the surface portals at Kenmore, and along the entire length of the D–Riverside branch. There are no automatic protection devices , but the cars have track brakes , giving the ability to stop quickly under control of the operator. Interlockings are controlled through

1258-727: Is sometimes also referred to as semi-metro, as the term was originally coined there; this was before switching to the concept of pre-metro. More recent examples are the Madrid Metro Ligero , the Málaga Metro and Alicante Metropolitan-Tram in Spain and the Porto Metro in Portugal. Street-running A street running train is a train which runs on a track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in

1332-808: Is the Edmonton LRT . Notable examples in Germany are the Hanover Stadtbahn , Essen Stadtbahn , Bonn and Cologne Stadtbahns, and the Frankfurt tramways . In the United Kingdom, the Tyne and Wear Metro is by definition a semi-metro system due to eight level crossings. Over several decades a semi-metro system was constructed in the Dutch city of The Hague . The Brussels premetro

1406-534: Is the Tremont Street subway (1897) in Boston , today part of the MBTA Green Line . Brussels, Cologne and Frankfurt pioneered in Europe with long tunnels with multiple stations in the 1960s. Besides regular semi-metro networks, two subtypes exist. Both terms refer to tram networks where tram vehicles use viaducts and/or run through tunnels under city centres, but with key differences: Premetro

1480-477: Is the premetro in Brussels, where several premetro lines have been or will be converted into full heavy rail metro lines. The U-Stadtbahn is also an intermediate transportation form between metro and tram. It has originated in Germany, adapting the existing tram networks. Here specially developed trams run underground through tunnels in central urban areas. Stadtbahn lines can be subdivided by looking at

1554-477: The Boeing-Vertol LRVs ordered in the mid-1970s, when reopening service to Watertown was under consideration. The "A" line tracks remained in non-revenue service to access maintenance facilities at Watertown until 1994. The Pleasant Street portal hosted two services in its final days. The 9 to City Point ended in 1953, and the 43 to Egleston was cut back to Lenox Street in 1956, cut back to

SECTION 20

#1732771774789

1628-613: The Charles River with an elevated station at Science Park . The elevated Lechmere station is located on the Green Line Extension viaduct, which continues north to a flying junction with two branches: The Green Line A branch was the northernmost of the branches, running from the Blandford Street portal (still used by the B branch), west to Watertown , mostly street-running . The 57 bus replaced

1702-559: The Kowloon Godowns . Swiss law does not distinguish between trams and railways, making the distinction between street running by trams and that by railways legally indistinct. Street running railways have been much rarer in the United Kingdom than elsewhere. This is due to 19th-century laws requiring railways to be enclosed by fences, which had the consequence that railways could not be built along existing roads and had to use their own rights of way . In cases where street running

1776-596: The Lechmere transfer station was built. In 1914, the Boylston Street subway opened as a westward extension to just short of Kenmore Square , and in 1933 Kenmore station and short tunnel extensions towards two surface lines were added. In 1941, the Huntington Avenue subway and its two additional underground stations removed the last surface streetcars from downtown Boston. Beginning in the 1930s,

1850-603: The MBTA subway system. The Boylston Street subway runs roughly east–west through the Back Bay neighborhood, with stations at Arlington , Copley , Hynes Convention Center , and Kenmore ; it connects to the Tremont Street subway at Boylston. The Huntington Avenue subway diverges from the Boylston Street subway at a flat junction west of Copley, running southwest, with stations at Prudential and Symphony . A branch of

1924-530: The Stadtbahn-car 'type B' . In the United States most semi-metro systems are operated with larger vehicles than those on streetcar systems. The semi-metro sits between rapid transit (with higher investments and a higher capacity and speed) and buses and tram in city streets (with lower investments and a lower capacity and speed). It combines advantages of greater speed (from rapid transit) with

1998-486: The Tremont Street subway , the oldest subway tunnel in North America. The Tremont Street subway opened its first section on September 1, 1897, to take streetcars off overcrowded downtown streets; it was extended five times over the next five decades. The streetcar system peaked in size around 1930 and was gradually replaced with trackless trolleys and buses , with cuts as late as 1985. The new D branch opened on

2072-559: The massive surface streetcar system was " bustituted " with buses and trackless trolleys which had lower operating costs and more flexible routes. As the 1950s closed out, the only remaining streetcar lines were the Watertown Line , Commonwealth Avenue Line , Beacon Street Line , Arborway Line , and the Lenox Street Line plus several short turn services. In 1959, the Boston and Albany Railroad 's Highland Branch

2146-692: The 120 Type 7 cars, 103 were overhauled by Alstom in Hornell, New York . The work includes new propulsion systems, climate control systems and interiors as well as exterior work. The pilot car for the program left in October 2012 and was returned in November 2014, with the last car overhauled in April 2019. Twenty-four new Type 9 Green Line cars were delivered between 2017 and 2020. Revenue service began in late 2018 and all 24 cars were planned to enter service by

2220-413: The 1850s, Boston sprouted a large network of horsecar lines, the first public transit in the city. The West End Street Railway was created by the state legislature in 1887 to build a single line, but soon consolidated many of the existing lines into a single privately owned system with consistent fares and route designations. The Allston – Park Square line (which served the general area of the A branch )

2294-592: The 1920s to the 1950s—was reintroduced as a method of urban renewal less expensive than conventional metro systems. In 1971, as part of a program to supply further work to defense contractors as the Vietnam War wound down, the Urban Mass Transit Administration selected Boeing Vertol as systems manager for a project to design a new generic light rail vehicle. The UMTA hoped that this " US Standard Light Rail Vehicle " would jumpstart

Green Line (MBTA) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-509: The Green Line uses modern streetcars (light rail vehicles) as heavy rail stock would be inappropriate for the surface branches with their numerous grade crossings . Rolling stock as of June 2024: Only MBTA operated vehicles are included here, not cars from the Boston Elevated Railway era. When it opened at the end of the 19th century, the Tremont Street subway was not intended as a full-scale rapid transit line (though it

2442-682: The MBTA announced that enough AVI equipment had been installed to allow the release of some underground data by April. Most underground data was live by August, but trains near Park Street and Boylston waited until September. The first predictive countdown signs on the Green Line were activated at Newton Centre and Newton Highlands on April 24, 2015, followed shortly by other D branch stations. Countdown signs at Kenmore and Hynes were activated in August 2015. Signs at Copley and Arlington plus eastbound-only signs from Boylston through Science Park were activated in October 2015. The final set of signs – those on

2516-503: The MBTA announced that it had entered into a restructuring of the deal, reducing the order to 85 cars (with spare parts to be provided in lieu of the 15 remaining cars), and providing for the remaining payment under the original deal only if the cars met performance requirements. Construction of the last car under the order was completed on December 14, 2006. Ultimately, 10 additional cars would be assembled and delivered in late 2007, with five spare shells retained (95 cars in service). The MBTA

2590-895: The MBTA purchased LRVs from the Japanese firm Kinki Sharyo . These Type 7 were designed with the best features of the US SLRV, the Canadian LRV, and the PCC cars. A total of 120 Type 7 vehicles were purchased, 100 were delivered between 1986 and 1988, and an additional 20 cars ordered and delivered in 1997. Low-floor LRVs were added starting in 1998, allowing for accessible boarding directly from slightly raised platforms. MBTA ordered 100 of these Type 8 cars from Italian company AnsaldoBreda . The first Type 8s entered revenue service in March 1999, and quickly proved problematic and difficult to maintain:

2664-656: The Muni Metro's Twin Peaks Tunnel , and SEPTA 's subway–surface lines tunnel . The new cars were faster—a top speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) versus the PCC's 36 miles per hour (58 km/h)—and had an articulated middle section for higher capacity. Boeing began construction of 175 cars for the MBTA in May 1973. The first LRVs entered service on the D branch in December 1976 but were immediately beset with problems. Certain cars frequently derailed on tight turns in

2738-466: The Park Street interlocking, at the new North Station interlocking, and at the new Kenmore interlocking, but are not transmitted to OCC. In January 2013, the MBTA announced plans to add full vehicle location tracking on the Green Line for countdown signs and smartphone applications, including using AVI data in the tunnels and GPS receivers on the surface lines. The first real-time data—location data on

2812-484: The Riverside, Boston College and Lechmere yards. Battery trays, air conditioners—mounted under the cars, continually drawing in dirt and debris from under the car when in the tunnels—and air compressors all suffered numerous failures; the plug-style doors had trouble sealing properly; and traction motors failed sooner than expected. Desperate for reliable rolling stock, in 1977 MBTA launched an overhaul program to extend

2886-475: The Tremont Street subway, disused since 1962, runs south from Boylston to the former Pleasant Street incline . The Green Line has four western surface branches, each with a letter designation: B and C branch service terminates at Government Center, while D and E branch service continues north from downtown Boston. North of North Station , the line inclines up to the Lechmere Viaduct , which crosses

2960-514: The availability of its older PCC cars. A total of 34 cars, primarily out-of-service wrecks and parts cars, were rebuilt to as-new condition. As of 2022, some of these rebuilt PCC cars still run on the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line . After years of fighting between the MBTA and Boeing-Vertol, both sides reached a settlement in 1979. MBTA was allowed to reject the final 40 SLRVs, and Boeing would return $ 40 million to MBTA for

3034-496: The car floor providing easy access for the disabled. The Green Line originated as a streetcar line , and used a variety of streetcars before converting to light rail vehicles. Originally all the Green Line stations had platforms at track level, and passengers had to ascend several steps up into the vehicles. This limited accessibility for persons with disabilities. To address this issue and comply with changing federal and state laws, additional facilities have been added: Beginning in

Green Line (MBTA) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-460: The contract in June 2024 citing a lack of progress and an inability by the contractor to complete the project. The agency planned to instead use an off-the-shelf system from a different vendor. Aside from the terminal stations, several locations have turnaround loops or crossover switches where trains can reverse direction for short turns . One of these, where northbound trains can turn southbound,

3182-400: The cost of repairs and modifications to several cars. In the early 1980s, with a final settlement with Boeing in place, MBTA started looking for new equipment to supplement and replace the problematic LRVs. In 1980, the MBTA tested Canadian Light Rail Vehicles for three months to determine whether they could be used on the Green Line. The MBTA ultimately found them unsuitable. Ultimately,

3256-411: The development of transit lines just as the standardized PCC streetcars had done decades prior. Boston (with its older streetcar tunnel systems) and San Francisco (with a new Muni Metro streetcar tunnel being built as part of BART construction) were chosen as the testbeds for this new rolling stock. The vehicle was designed as the largest rolling stock that would fit through the Tremont Street tunnel,

3330-504: The early 1890s, the sheer quantity of streetcars during peak periods was clogging the streets of downtown Boston. The Tremont Street subway, the first passenger subway in North America, was opened in stages in 1897 and 1898, with underground stations at Boylston , Park Street, Scollay Square , Adams Square , and Haymarket . The Main Line Elevated was run through the tunnel from 1901, displacing through-running streetcars, until it

3404-413: The end of the year. The first Type 9 car, #3900, began revenue service on December 21, 2018. Planning for a Type 10 fleet—which would replace all Type 7 and Type 8 cars in the mid-2020s—began in 2018 with plans for a fully low floor fleet. At 113 feet (34 m) long, Type 10 cars would be significantly longer than the existing fleet, and carry twice as many passengers as existing cars. The MBTA released

3478-728: The existing tram network is an advantage compared to constructing a separate light metro line. Often several tram branches at grade are needed in order to make fully use of the high capacity tunnels. A rail transit system is firstly determined by its main right-of-way category and secondly by other parameters like power supply and operating speed. There are three major right-of-way categories, having been labelled A, B and C. Category A: independent right-of-way, without level road or pedestrian crossings resulting in conflict free sections. Catergory B: reserved right-of-way to avoid traffic congestion, but with level road or pedestrian crossings. Category C: street running lines in mixed traffic. Typically,

3552-603: The fall of 2019, although actual acceptance continued through 2021. The Type 9 cars will provide additional rolling stock to allow for Green Line Extension operations, and will not replace any of the existing fleet. The cars were made by CAF USA, Inc. , with the shells and frames made in Spain, and final assembly and testing done at their plant in Elmira, New York . As of March 2017, the first unit had been expected to enter passenger service in Spring 2018, with all 24 cars in service by

3626-477: The first cars failed every 400 miles (640 km), far short of the 9,000 miles (14,000 km) specified by the MBTA, and were prone to derailment at higher speeds as well as brake problems, echoing the problems with the Boeing stock. In December 2004, the MBTA canceled orders for the cars still to be delivered as part of the authority's nine-year, US$ 225 million deal with Breda. One year later, in December 2005

3700-459: The four branches operate on 7- to 9-minute headways during weekday peak hours, and 8- to 12-minute headways at other times. Vehicle usage ranges from 45 trains (90 cars) to 62 trains (124 cars). Unlike the MBTA's heavy rail subway lines, the Green Line has only limited central control and monitoring. This also means that it has lagged behind the other three rail lines in the availability of countdown signs and "next train" arrival information. The line

3774-676: The last of the Boeing-Vertol cars were retired in March 2007 and all except ten of the cars were scrapped. Of the remaining cars, six were sold to the US Government and are now in Pueblo, Colorado for testing purposes, one was given to the Seashore Trolley Museum , and three were retained by the MBTA for work service. In 2006, as part of a legal settlement , the MBTA committed to always operate at least one low-floor car in each train, with no trains consisting only of Type 7 cars. Of

SECTION 50

#1732771774789

3848-472: The last older cars. Beginning in 1923, all streetcars on the system were painted orange for maximum visibility in traffic. In 1971, the MBTA began painting Green Line streetcars in a green and white scheme to match the new line name. Two older streetcars are on display on the unused outer inbound track at Boylston station, which formerly carried cars coming from the Pleasant Street portal . Car #5734,

3922-579: The old Mystic River Bridge to Chelsea was closed to streetcars and the lines were replaced by bus service; the next year the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) bought the Eastern Mass Chelsea Division and through-routed it with its lines connecting to the East Boston Tunnel at Maverick . Like the three other MBTA subway lines, the line uses standard gauge tracks. However, instead of heavy rail metro rolling stock,

3996-476: The operational personnel sites. In lieu of track circuit indications, the AVI system is displayed in the control room to provide a periodic update to train position wherever AVI detectors exist. The AVI system user interface was solely text based until the current control room was opened, in which a new schematic display based on AVI data was instituted. Track circuit indications are available digitally in signal houses at

4070-552: The portal and its North Station surface station as a terminal. In addition to the lines that later became the E branch, the predecessors to the 58 and 60 split in Brookline , one branch running into the current "E" tracks and into the Boylston Street portal , and the other running up Brookline Street to end at Massachusetts Avenue station. These were truncated in 1932 into a shorter route from Brookline Village to

4144-529: The portal in 1961, and ended operation in 1962. Prior to that, the 48 serviced Tremont Street to Dover Street and Washington Street , ending at Dudley , and last running in 1938. The last two routes to continue beyond the Canal Street portal both ran to Sullivan . The 92 ran via Main Street, last running in 1948, and the 93 via Bunker Hill Street last ran in 1949. Until 1997, trains continued to use

4218-776: The remaining streetcar services were designated the "Green Line" because several of them traveled near the Emerald Necklace park system. The streetcar lines were given letter designations: "A" to the Watertown Line, "B" to the Commonwealth Avenue Line, "C" to the Beacon Street Line, "D" to the Riverside Line, and "E" to the Arborway Line. The Watertown Line ran mostly in mixed traffic after diverging from Commonwealth Avenue; it

4292-461: The roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being referred to as running in mixed traffic . Tram and light rail systems frequently run on streets, with light rail lines typically separated from other traffic. For safety, street running trains travel more slowly than trains on dedicated rights-of-way. Needing to share the right-of-way with motor vehicles can cause delays and pose

4366-525: The streetcar line in 1969. The A branch diverged from Commonwealth Avenue west of Boston University and ran to a terminus in Watertown , across the Charles River from Watertown Square, until 1969. Although the route-letter scheme had been introduced two years prior to its closure, the "A" designation was never signed on streetcars to Watertown . It was, however, included in the destination signs on

4440-400: The subway via the Boylston Street portal, which itself stopped running in 1938 (being cut back to Brigham Circle short-turn trips), three years before the closure of that portal. The last "foreign" cars to operate in the subway were those of the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway , running from the Canal Street portal to the Brattle Loop at Scollay Square until 1935. It was then that

4514-404: The surface lines—became available in October 2014. Full tracking was expected by early 2015. The MBTA typically runs two-car trains at all times. The last scheduled use of one-car trains on weekdays was in March 2007. Three-car trains were added on the B and D branches in 2010 – their first use since 2005 – and a four-car train was tested in April 2011. In March 2011, the number of three-car trains

SECTION 60

#1732771774789

4588-476: The tunnels, and GPS receivers on the surface sections. In September 2013, the MBTA announced that "Next Train" signs would be unveiled at Kenmore that month. On October 23, 2014, location tracking data became available for Green Line trains above ground. Arrival predictions for surface stations – including the activation of countdown signs along the D branch – and underground tracking and predictions were to be rolled out in two phases by early 2015. In March 2015,

4662-439: The types of rolling stock. There are many regions with forms of light rail, but only few where light rail uses tunnels and/or viaducts. In the United States, the most prominent examples are the San Francisco Muni Metro and Green Line in Boston. The Buffalo Metro Rail , Seattle's Link light rail , the light rail lines in Cleveland and the MetroLink in St. Louis are also considered semi-metro. A clear example in Canada

4736-511: The wayside signalling system used in the Green Line's tunnels and the D branch does not provide for that level of tracking, nor do the basic stop/go signals used on the street-level branch lines. In January 2013, the MBTA announced plans to provide full tracking data for the Green Line by 2015, allowing use of smartphone applications and in-station countdown signs. The $ 13.4 million system is funded by MassDOT; it uses existing Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) systems plus additional sensors in

4810-641: The westbound platforms of Science Park through Boylston – were activated in January 2016. Because holding and short-turning trains at the downtown terminals makes time-based predictions unreliable, the signs instead show how many stops away a train is. Semi-metro One key difference from metro lines (rapid transit) is that semi-metro lines only partially run in tunnels and on viaducts. A metro line has an entirely conflict-free track, often completely grade separated. Semi-metro routes are operated by regular trams (with or without low floor ) or with specially developed tramcars (light rail vehicles), such as

4884-423: Was 28% complete by December 2021; installation of in-vehicle electronics was scheduled to be complete by September 2023, with wayside installation complete in June 2024 and full operation that December. A reallocation of funds in January 2022 shortened the project timeline, with completion expected in 2023. However, in January 2023, an NTSB report found that the project had been delayed to June 2025. The MBTA cancelled

4958-440: Was built to semi-metro standards), but to allow ordinary streetcars to bypass the worst street congestion in downtown Boston. Operations by several different companies were eventually consolidated into the Boston Elevated Railway, which ran a mixture of car types. After receiving a test unit in 1937, the BERy began to standardize on PCC streetcars , acquiring 320 units between 1941 and 1951 plus an additional 25 in 1959 to phase out

5032-412: Was converted to the Riverside Line , a fully grade-separated suburban service. In 1961, the last through service to Lenox Street via the Pleasant Street portal ended, though a Pleasant Street – Boylston shuttle continued for one more year. In 1963, part of the original subway was rebuilt under Government Center , abandoning and partially demolishing Adams Square station. In 1947, the now-bankrupt BERy

5106-400: Was criticized for their failure to assess Bredas' reliability before entering into the deal, and during delivery. The agency was also forced to spend an additional US$ 9.5 million to modify tracks to prevent derailments and the Type 8 fleet was unable to be used on the D branch (where cars reach full speed) after those modifications were complete in 2008. As the final Type 8s were delivered,

5180-401: Was permanently replaced with buses in 1969. The section of the Arborway Line past Heath Street was "temporarily" – ultimately permanently – bustituted in 1985. In 2001, with new low-floor streetcars entering service, the MBTA began retrofitting underground stations and major surface stops with low raised platforms for accessibility for all. In 2004, the Causeway Street Elevated was replaced with

5254-410: Was replaced by the public Metropolitan Transit Authority (M.T.A.). The new agency was unpopular, even spawning a popular protest song ; in 1964, it was replaced with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority which had an expanded funding area to preserve suburban commuter rail lines. In 1967, as part of a systemwide rebranding that included new station names and color names for the transit lines,

5328-647: Was rerouted to its own Washington Street Tunnel in 1908, and the streetcars were returned to the Tremont tunnel. Though initially intended merely to clear streetcars from the busiest sections of downtown streets, the Tremont Street subway became useful as a rapid transit service in its own right. The 1912 completion of the Causeway Street Elevated and Lechmere Viaduct extended grade-separated service to Lechmere Square in Cambridge, and in 1922

5402-421: Was substantially increased, including use on the E branch. However, three-car trains suffered from reliability problems and slow boarding. The use of three-car trains ended in March 2016. The MBTA approved a $ 82.6 million contract in May 2019 for a train protection system for the Green Line. The system would enforce red signals and automatically stop a train if it approached another train too closely. The project

5476-559: Was the first section to be converted to electric traction in 1889. It used modified existing horsecars outfitted with Frank J. Sprague 's revolutionary electrical equipment, which had first been demonstrated the previous year in Richmond, Virginia . In 1897, the West End Street Railway property was handed over to the Boston Elevated Railway in the form of a 24-year lease, and the companies were ultimately combined. By

#788211