In this second post
on the T, I’ll be talking about the Green Line. The green line is
the oldest, and in my opinion most interesting, of Boston’s subway
lines. It has its beginnings in 1897 as a tunnel under Tremont
Street, allowing streetcars to bypass downtown congestion. Its four
branches are all that remains of Boston’s once comprehensive
streetcar network. This original tunnel ran from Boylston to
Haymarket, and was accessed via portals on Pleasant Street and the
Public Gardens at the southern end, and at Canal Street on the
northern end after the extension to Government Center (then Adams and Scollay Squares) and North
Station in 1898.
A diagram of the Green Line tunnels before the construction of Government Center
Originally, it was
shared with many different streetcar companies which were
consolidated into the Boston Elevated Railway in 1922. This later
became the MTA in 1947, and the MBTA in 1964.
“So how come the
lettering starts with B?” you ask.
Good question.
Unfortunately, the MBTA has not been reserved in mutilating what
remains of its streetcars.
Originally, the
Green Line did start with A. The A branch went to Watertown, and was
mostly a streetcar line, while the rest of the lines are at least
partially grade separated. Service on this branch was discontinued in
1969, and the tracks removed in the 1990s as the streets were
rebuilt.
A T map showing the A branch to Watertown
Likewise, the E
branch originally followed Heath Street to Arborway, where it
connected with the Orange Line at Forest Hills. Like the A branch,
this segment was mostly street running, and still is to its current
end at Heath Street. A lawsuit was filed by the community when the
MBTA cancelled plans to restore this service as part of transit
mitigations to the Big Dig, but the suit was ultimately thrown out of
court and the tracks removed.
An older map showing suspended Arborway service
Interestingly, a
short segment of the original tunnel from Pleasant Street to Boylston
was also abandoned. Riders are reminded of this going through the
sharp turn just before entering Boylston.
Original plans of the Boylston Station. The current Green Line alignment goes towards the top of the plan
This is the
inevitable result when 21st century light rail vehicles
meet 19th century tunnels. While many complain about the
sounds of grinding metal, I applaud them for even trying.
There are two main
types of vehicles that run on the Green Line. The Type 7 and Type 8
streetcars. The Type 7 cars were built by Kinki-Sharyo in two sets,
the first set in the mid 1980s, and the second set in the late 1990s.
Type 8 cars were built by AnsaldoBreda starting in the late 1990s,
and were completely delivered by the mid 2000s with their own set of
teething issues. Both of these types replaced the infamous
Boeing-Vertol cars, constructed in the mid 1970s and in service in
some capacity until the mid 2000s, despite the fact that words cannot
describe what mechanical nightmares the Boeings turned out to be.
Trains usually consist of one Type 7 and one Type 8 coupled together.
This is because the Type 7 cars have high floors and are not
compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Type 8 cars
have a low floor section, and seating facing the center of the car
throughout.
A Type 8 train
Recently, the Type 7
cars have been rebuilt by Alstom. These rebuilt cars feature the
original green and white paint scheme, as well as black padded seats
and automated announcements. Thankfully, they still have the original
seat layout, allowing one to comfortably look out the window while
riding. The automated announcements are often punctuated by the train
operator’s announcements, in many cases it’s “Stand clear stand
clear, doors closing (and pahk yah cah in Havahad Yahd)”. Unrebuilt
cars often feature either a faded original white and green scheme, or
a take on the Type 8 scheme, where white is replaced with grey and
the green mixed slightly with blue.
A Type 7 train
In the next several
years, Type 9 cars will be added to the fleet. This will be in
conjunction with the extension north from Lechmere to Union Square
and College Avenue. None of the Type 7 or 8 cars will be replaced by
Type 9s. There is also cyclical discussion about extending the Green
Line to the south or east, either by rebuilding the Arborway branch
of the E (despite the defeat of a lawsuit which would mandate this),
or the creation of a new branch to Dudley Square that would replace
the current Silver Line service. However, neither of these are on any
official MBTA plans.
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