RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEMS:
SUBWAY (HEAVY RAIL, LIGHT RAIL, TROLLEY) AND SILVER LINE

Presented here is a description of the MBTA’s subway service, which includes the MBTA's heavy rail (Red, Orange, and Blue lines), light rail (Green Line), and trolley (Mattapan-Ashmont) systems, as well as the Silver Line service. (The MBTA Ridership and Service Statistics (“The Blue Book”), 2005-2006 edition, is the source of this information, unless noted otherwise.)

SUBWAY SERVICE
Subway Operations Statistical Highlights:

• Nine Routes: 4 heavy rail, 4 light rail, 1 trolley
• Revenue Vehicle Fleet Size: 614 (includes 30 Type 8 LRVs)
• 131 Stations and Stops (by route, seven stations are shared)
• 79.6 Route Miles of Service (63.5 miles discounting route designation overlap)

Average Weekday Unlinked Ridership by Route

Click here for a map of typical weekday station entrances.

Click here for a look at the typical weekday ridership on the subway system for the years 1964 through 2003.

Subway System Infrastructure

Subway vehicles range from 1945-vintage Electric Railway President's Conference Committee (“P.C.C.”) trolleys to the newest Type 8 low-floor Light Rail vehicles now in service. Rail vehicles are maintained and stored at individual facilities on each line, since dimensional considerations generally preclude vehicle transfers between lines. The Operations Control Center at 45 High Street, Boston provides dispatching support.

Light-Rail Fleet Roster (source: 2005 MBTA Title VI Report, Table 3-4)

Heavy-Rail Fleet Roster (source: 2005 MBTA Title VI Report, Table 3-5)

SILVER LINE SERVICE
The Silver Line is comprised of two rapid transit lines: Washington Street Branch and the Waterfront Branches in South Boston. A description of each service is provided below. (The MBTA Ridership and Service Statistics (“The Blue Book”), 2005-2006 edition, is the source of this information, unless noted otherwise.)

Phase I—Washington Street
The first segment of the Silver Line opened on July 20th, 2002, and provides bus rapid transit (BRT) service linking Downtown Crossing at Temple Place with Dudley Square Station via Washington Street.

The Silver Line, Washington Street Branch, includes eight all-new BRT stations on Washington Street (Herald St, East Berkeley St, Union Park St, Newton St, Worcester Square, Mass. Ave, Lenox St, and Melnea Cass Blvd.). At Dudley Square, the existing (since 1987) bus terminal is used. At the four downtown stations:

• New England Medical Center: Shelter is provided by the Medical Center structure itself, which covers Washington Street.

• Downtown Crossing: A shelter furnished by the Wall Corporation is provided for Silver Line customers on Temple Place. A pre-existing passageway from the Orange Line southbound platform to Temple Place was re-opened for the convenience of transferring customers here.

• Chinatown and Boylston: No permanent facilities were provided there.

A Silver Line (Washington Street Branch) round trip is about 4.5 miles in length and takes 23 to 41 minutes, depending upon the time of day.

Click here for a look at the typical weekday ridership
on the Washington Street Branch of the Silver Line.

All Silver Line vehicles are equipped with GPS-based vehicle identification and location equipment that permits constant real-time monitoring by dispatching staff. Other customer amenities include real-time information kiosks and shelters at stops, all-new graphics (including posted schedules at stops), and automated stop announcements on-board the buses.

Phase II—Waterfront
The Silver Line Waterfront opened on Friday, December 17th, 2004. Initial service was provided the length of the new South Boston Waterfront Transitway tunnel (South Station to World Trade Center via Courthouse) to the portal at D Street and turnaround loop and layover facility at Silver Line Way (Connector Road). On December 31st, 2004, the service was expanded to include two subway-surface routes: SL2 (Boston Marine Industrial Park) and SL3 (City Point). On June 1st, 2005, Route SL1 (Logan Airport) was inaugurated.

Round-trip run times vary based on the time of day but are approximately as follows:

• Tunnel Shuttle: 15 mins.
• SL1 (Logan Airport): 38–40 mins.
• SL2 (Boston Marine Industrial Park): 23–24 mins.
• SL3 (City Point): 35 mins.

Silver Line (Waterfront) Ridership

Silver Line—Future Expansion Plans
An additional service, Route SL4, final configuration to be determined, is under consideration for future implementation. It may serve the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Andrew Station, the South Boston Residential Area, and/or other points.

Phase III of the Silver Line, now in planning and design, will link the existing two phases via a new tunnel from the Waterfront segment at South Station to the Washington Street segment via a to-be-determined routing.

For more information about the Silver Line, including updates on the expansion plans, please visit the MBTA’s Silver Line website by clicking here.

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