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The Red Line is a
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
line operated by the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
(MBTA) as part of the
MBTA subway The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates rapid transit (heavy rail), light rail, and bus rapid transit services in the Boston metropolitan area, collectively referred to as the rapid transit, subway, or the T system. The ...
system. The line runs south and east underground from
Alewife station Alewife station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station in the North Cambridge neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the northwest terminal of the rapid transit Red Line (part of the MBTA subw ...
in North Cambridge through Somerville and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, surfacing to cross the
Longfellow Bridge The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bridge carries Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, the MBTA Re ...
then returning to tunnels under
Downtown Boston Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The city of Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; ...
. It continues underground through
South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformat ...
, splitting into two branches on the surface at JFK/UMass station. The Ashmont branch runs southwest through Dorchester to Ashmont station, where the connecting light rail Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line (shown as part of the Red Line on maps, but operated separately) continues to Mattapan station. The Braintree branch runs southwest through Quincy and Braintree to Braintree station. The Red Line operates during normal MBTA service hours (all times except late nights) with six-car trains. The 218-car active fleet consists of three orders of cars built in 1969–70, 1987–89, and 1993–94. A 252-car order from
CRRC CRRC Corporation Limited (known as CRRC) is a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer. It is the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer in terms of revenue, eclipsing its major competitors of Alstom and Siemens. I ...
is being built from 2019 to 2024. The Red Line is fully grade-separated; trains are driven by operators with
automatic train control Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver d ...
for safety. Cabot Yard in South Boston is used for heavy maintenance and storage; yards at Alewife, Ashmont, and Braintree are also used for storage. All 22 Red Line stations are fully
accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
. Averaging 240,000 weekday passengers in 2019, the Red Line has the highest ridership of the MBTA subway lines. The
Boston Elevated Railway The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Rai ...
opened its Cambridge tunnel between and in 1912. It was extended south as the Dorchester Tunnel to Washington (now ) in 1915, in 1916, in 1917, and in 1918. The Dorchester extension added three stops to in 1927 and two more stops to Ashmont in 1928. Charles (now ) was added as an
infill station An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train serv ...
in 1932. The newly formed MBTA assigned colors to its subway lines in 1965, with the Cambridge–Dorchester line becoming the Red Line. The MBTA added the three-station South Shore Line to in 1971; it was extended to Braintree in 1980, with added as an infill in 1983. The Red Line Northwest Extension, originally planned to run to Arlington Heights or
Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 128 ...
, opened to in 1984 and Alewife in 1985.


History


Cambridge tunnel

The Red Line was the last of the four original Boston subway lines (the others being the
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
,
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
, and
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
Lines, opened in 1897, 1901, and 1904, respectively) to come into being. Construction of the Cambridge tunnel, connecting Harvard Square to Boston, was delayed by a dispute over the number of intermediate stations to be built along the new line. Cambridge residents, led by Mayor Wardwell, wanted at least five stations built along the line, while suburbanites interested in faster through travel argued for only a single intermediate station, at Central Square. The contending groups finally compromised on two intermediate stations, at Central and Kendall Squares, allowing construction to start in 1909. The section from Harvard (and new maintenance facilities at Eliot Yard) to Park Street was opened by the
Boston Elevated Railway The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Rai ...
(BERy) 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 traveled beneath Massachusetts Avenue to Central Square station. It then continued under Mass. Ave until Main Street, which it followed to reach Kendall station. The underground line then rose onto the
Longfellow Bridge The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bridge carries Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, the MBTA Re ...
, using a central right-of-way which had been reserved during the bridge's 1900–1906 construction. On the Boston side, the line briefly became an
elevated railway An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...
, as vehicle lanes descended beneath it to Charles Circle; the tracks then immediately entered a tunnel beneath Beacon Hill, leading to new lower-level platforms at Park Street Under. Charles Station (now Charles/MGH) was added above the traffic circle in 1932.


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 The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an elevated railway around the east side of Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, providing a second route for the Boston Elevated Railway's Main Line Elevated (now the MBTA's Orange Line) around the Washington Street ...
, respectively. Further extensions opened to
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
on December 15, 1917 and
Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
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 soon abandoned in 1919 due to most lines being truncated to Andrew. The upper level at Broadway was later 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 The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall Ri ...
to connect their main line at
Harrison Square Harrison Square is a mixed-use downtown revitalization project in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The project includes a ballpark that is primarily used for baseball, home field to the Fort Wayne TinCaps minor league baseball team. Also included are new retai ...
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 The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
succeeded the Old Colony in operating the branch, but passenger service ceased on September 4, 1926, in anticipation of the construction of the BERy's Dorchester extension. The BERy opened the first phase of the Dorchester extension, to Fields Corner station, on November 5, 1927, south from
Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
, 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 Savin Hill is a section of Dorchester, the largest neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Named after the geographic feature it covers and surrounds, Savin Hill is about one square mile in area, and has a population of about 1 ...
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 Codman may refer to: Buildings * Codman Building, historic building at 55 Kilby Street, Boston, Massachusetts *Codman House, historic house set on a estate at 36 Codman Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts * Codman–Davis House, four-story, red brick, ...
on September 1, 1928, and included Shawmut station, where there had been a surface Old Colony station, but where the new rapid transit station was placed underground. 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. Charles was renamed Charles/MGH in December 1973, and Kendall was renamed Kendall/MIT on August 7, 1978. In January 1981, the MBTA proposed to close the Ashmont branch on Sundays – and the Mattapan Line at all times – beginning that March due to severe budget issues. The closure was cancelled, though the lines were closed from June 20, 1981, to January 16, 1982, for track replacement and tunnel repairs.


MBTA era and branding

The line was sometimes referred to as the Cambridge–Dorchester line and the Cambridge–Dorchester subway. 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. Colors were assigned to the rail lines on August 26, 1965 as part of a wider modernization developed by
Cambridge Seven Associates Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. (stylized as CambridgeSeven, and sometimes as C7A) is an American architecture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Buildings designed by the firm have included academic, museum, exhibit, hospitality, transpo ...
, with the Cambridge–Dorchester line becoming the Red Line. Peter Chermayeff claims to have assigned red to the line because of Harvard's association with crimson. 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
rollsign A destination sign (North American English) or destination indicator/destination blind (British English) is a sign mounted on the front, side or rear of a public transport vehicle, such as a bus, tram/streetcar or light rail vehicle, that di ...
s 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.


South Shore line

On July 28, 1965, the MBTA signed an agreement with the
New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
to purchase of the former Old Colony mainline from
Fort Point Channel Fort Point Channel is a maritime channel separating South Boston from downtown Boston, Massachusetts, feeding into Boston Harbor. The south part of it has been gradually filled in for use by the South Bay rail yard and several highways (specif ...
to South Braintree in order to construct a new rapid transit line along the corridor. The line was expected to be completed within two years. The agreement also provided for the MBTA to subsidize commuter service on the railroad's remaining commuter rail lines for $1.2 million annually. Original plans called for the South Shore line to be largely independent of the existing Red Line, with either a northern terminus at the surface level at South Station or a tunnel leading to a stub-end terminal between Post Office Square and State Street. However, it was later decided to have the line be a new southern branch of the Red Line. The first section of the South Shore line, under construction since 1966, opened on September 1, 1971, branching from the original Red Line at a
flying junction A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is " g ...
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. Service began alternating between Ashmont and Quincy. Ashmont service operated with 1400-series cars, while the Quincy branch only had 1500- and 1600-series cars because they had cab signaling. In December 1969, the MBTA purchased
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
's Dover Street Yards for $7 million. Vi
Tremont Street Subway NHL documentation
The site was used for the South Bay Maintenance Center (later Cabot Yard), which included Red Line shops (to replace Eliot Yard) and an adjacent bus garage. A $7.8 million construction contract was awarded in 1972, with groundbreaking on September 16. The facility was dedicated on June 24, 1974; on December 28, Bartlett Street garage in Roxbury was closed. Three southbound trains collided inside the Beacon Hill tunnel on August 1, 1975, injuring 132 passengers.


Braintree extension

Beyond Quincy Center, the Braintree extension runs southward to Braintree, opened on March 22, 1980, via an intermediate stop at Quincy Adams which opened on September 10, 1983 due to delays. The extension was part of the massive 1965 extension plan, although it was delayed due to questions over station siting in Braintree. The
Boston Transportation Planning Review Boston Transportation Planning Review (BTPR), published in 1972, was a transportation planning program for metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, which was responsible for analyzing and redesigning the entire area-wide transit and highway system in ...
, published in 1969, proposed North Braintree and South Braintree stations following the Quincy Center station. Several outlying sections of the MBTA subway system, including Quincy Adams and Braintree, originally charged a double fare to account for the additional costs of running service far from downtown. Passengers paid two fares to enter at the stations, and an
exit fare An exit fare is a method of collecting ridership fees, or fares, from a transportation system, where the fee (or part of the fee) is collected from passengers upon reaching their destination. Examples Exit fares were used on the subway lines of ...
when leaving the station. Double fares on the Braintree extension, the last on the system, were discontinued in 2007 as part of a wider fare restructuring.


Northwest extension

By 1922, the BERy believed that Harvard would be the permanent terminus; the heavy ridership from the north was expected to be handled by extending rapid transit from Lechmere Square. The 1926 ''Report on Improved Transportation Facilities in the Boston Metropolitan District'' proposed an extension from Lechmere to North Cambridge via the Southern Division and the
Fitchburg Cutoff The Fitchburg Cutoff (also called the Freight Cutoff) was a rail line running from Brighton Street (Hills Crossing station) in Belmont, Massachusetts, to Somerville Junction in Somerville, Massachusetts. It was constructed in two segments in ...
, with a possible further extension along the Lexington Branch. An extension of the Cambridge–Dorchester Line under Mount Auburn Street to Watertown, and thence along the
Watertown Branch The Watertown Branch Railroad was a branch loop of the Fitchburg Railroad that was meant to serve the town of Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown and the City of Waltham, Massachusetts, Waltham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County ...
to Waltham, was also raised as a possibility. A northwards extension from Harvard to the North Cambridge/Arlington border was proposed by Cambridge mayor John D. Lynch in 1933 and by then-freshmen state representative
Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...
in 1936, but was not pursued. The 1945 Coolidge Commission report – the first major transit planning initiative in the region since 1926 – recommended an extension from Harvard to Arlington Heights via East Watertown. The 1947 revision recommended an extension north to Porter Square instead, with branches along the Fitchburg Division to Waltham and the Lexington Branch to Lexington. The 1966 ''Program for Mass Transportation'' by the 1964-created MBTA called for an immediate extension to Alewife Brook Parkway via Porter Square, with possible future extensions to Arlington or Waltham. Original plans called for a subway under Massachusetts Avenue to Porter Square, then a surface route along the Fitchburg Route to Alewife. In the late 1960s, the project was expanded to follow the Lexington Branch to a terminal at
Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 128 ...
. In 1970, Cambridge began advocating for the project, and for the consideration of an all-subway route under Garden Street. That October, then-governor
Francis Sargent Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 – October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd Lieutenant Govern ...
suspended most highway construction inside Route 128 and created the Boston Transportation Planning Review, which focused on the implementation of new transit routes. In 1972, a new all-subway route via Porter Square and Davis Square was considered (and ultimately chosen). By the mid-1970s, the project was split into two phases: an all-subway extension to Arlington Heights via Alewife, with a later extension to Route 128. Arlington did not wish for Arlington Heights to be even a temporary terminal. In March 1977, Arlington voters rejected the project in a nonbinding referendum, citing fears of increased taxes and congestion. A May 1977 state bill prohibiting extension into Arlington was vetoed by then-governor
Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
. The Environmental Impact Statement, released in August 1977, primarily evaluated the Arlington Heights terminus but also provided for a shorter Alewife extension. By the time the northwest extension began construction in 1978, opposition in Arlington and reductions in federal funding had caused the MBTA to choose the shorter Alewife alternative. The Red Line was extended temporarily to Harvard–Brattle over former yard and storage tracks on March 24, 1979. This allowed for bus transfers to be provided. The Harvard bus tunnel was closed temporarily at the time. On January 31, 1981, the original Harvard station was permanently closed, as its demolition was required. To replace it, a temporary station at Harvard–Holyoke was built across the tracks. The two temporary stations were closed on September 2, 1983 in preparation for the opening of the new Harvard station. On September 6, 1983, the new station at Harvard opened, with trains changing direction at Davis Square without carrying passengers. Eliot Yard was demolished;
Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
now sits inside its retaining walls. The line was extended to Davis with a station at
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
on December 8, 1984. The line was extended to its current terminus at Alewife on March 30, 1985. At the time, all off-peak trains terminated there, but due to the incomplete construction of a yard at Alewife, only Ashmont trains ran to Alewife during rush hours. Davis was the terminal for rush hour Braintree trains. These trains were finally extended to Alewife during rush hours on December 26, 1985, with the completion of the yard at Alewife. During the expansion, the MBTA pioneered an investment in the " Arts on the Line"
public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...
program. Fill from the tunnel excavation was used to create Danehy Park on the former site of the Cambridge City Dump, and to restore Russell Field in Cambridge and Magnolia Park in Arlington.


Station renovations

A 1979 renovation of added two elevators, making it the first
accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
station on the Red Line. In the early 1980s, the MBTA began extending platforms for six-car trains: and in 1981, in 1982, and and in the mid-1980s. (The Northwest and South Shore extensions had been built for longer trains, while had been modified in 1970.) In the mid-1980s, the MBTA spent $80 million to extend the platforms of seven underground Red Line stations (, , Park Street,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, , , and ) and three Orange Line stations. Six-car trains entered service on January 21, 1988. Central, Kendall/MIT, Park Street, and Downtown Crossing (renamed from Washington in 1987) were completed in 1988. A major reconstruction of JFK/UMass added a platform for the Braintree branch, which opened on December 14, 1988. Renovations to Broadway were completed in October 1989. and were accessible by 1989, if not from their original construction. South Station was completed around 1992, followed by Andrew in 1994. The 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act spurred the renovation of additional stations. was modified in 1991, followed by in 1998. Charles/MGH was rebuilt from 2003 to 2007. The agency began design for the four Ashmont branch stations in 2001. Savin Hill was closed from May 2004 to July 31, 2005 for reconstruction. It was followed by the completion of the rebuilt Fields Corner station in 2008, the modified Shawmut in 2009, and the rebuilt Ashmont in 2011. The final Red Line station to be modified for accessibility was , which was closed from January 2018 to August 2019 for a complete reconstruction.


2010s

A $255 million project, which started in Spring 2013, replaced structural elements of the
Longfellow Bridge The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bridge carries Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, the MBTA Re ...
, which carries the line across the Charles River between the Charles/MGH and Kendall/MIT stations. The project required at least 25 weekend shutdowns, including temporary relocation of the tracks and a substitute bus shuttle service. All outbound roadway traffic was detoured from the bridge for the three years of construction. The bridge finished construction in May 2018. On December 10, 2015, a Red Line train in revenue service traveled from to without an operator in the cab before it was stopped by cutting power to the
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
. The MBTA initially said that the train appeared to have been tampered with and the incident was not an accident, but later determined operator error to have been the cause. On February 21, 2018, a Red Line train motor failed on approach to
Andrew station Andrew station is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at Andrew Square in South Boston, it serves the MBTA Red Line and the MBTA bus system. Named for John Albion Andrew, the square is at the intersection of several ma ...
causing the train to derail. On June 11, 2019, a Red Line train derailed just north of JFK/UMass station, damaging three sheds of signal equipment that control the complex interlockings around the station. The Red Line was limited to 10 trains per hour (instead of the usual 13-14) for several months while repairs were made. The derailment was caused by a broken axle, which had been made brittle by sparks from a faulty grounding component on a motor. Full service resumed on September 25, 2019.


2020s

On September 28, 2021, another derailment at
South Station (subway) South Station (also signed as South Station Under) is a transfer station on the MBTA rapid transit Red Line and bus rapid transit Silver Line, located at Summer Street and Atlantic Avenue in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is a part of the ...
was caused because of a southbound train was traveling at a slow speed when it came in contact with the edge of the platform, causing the second car of the six-car train to derail.


Winter issues and resiliency work

During the unusually brutal winter of 2014–15, the almost entire MBTA rail 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 A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
power feed, which iced over during storms. If a single train were stopped due to power loss, other trains behind it soon had to stop as well; without continually running trains pushing snow off the rails, the lines would become quickly blocked by heavy snowfalls. (Because the Blue Line was built with
overhead catenary An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...
on its surface section due to its exposure to corrosive salt air, it was not as easily disabled by the icing conditions.) During 2015, the MBTA implemented its $83.7 million Winter Resiliency Program, much of which focused on preventing similar vulnerabilities with the Orange and Red lines. The section of the Braintree branch between JFK/UMass and Wollaston had old infrastructure and was largely built on an embankment, rendering it more vulnerable. New third rail with heaters and a different metal composition to reduce wear was installed, along with
snow fence A snow fence, similar to a sand fence, is a barrier that forces windblown, drifting snow to accumulate in a desired place. They are primarily employed to minimize the amount of snowdrift on roadways and railways. Farmers and ranchers use snow f ...
s and switch heaters. The work required
bustitution A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or hea ...
of the line from JFK/UMass to North Quincy on many weeknights. This program did not include work south of Wollaston. In July 2016, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a $18.5 million contract to complete work along the remainder of the southern branches. The project included all remaining third rail replacement, track work between Fields Corner and Savin Hill, signal system work between North Quincy and Braintree, and track replacement at Quincy Center, Quincy Adams, and Braintree. The work was completed in the second half of 2016.


Operations and signaling

, both branches operate on 9-minute headways during weekday peak hours (with a combined 4.5-minute headway between Alewife and JFK/UMass) and 10 to 13 minute headways at other times. Saturday service has 14-minute headways, while Sunday service has 15-minute headways. Fleet utilization ranges from 16 trains (96 cars) on weekends to 24 trains (144 cars) at peak hours. The Ashmont and Harvard branches were both built with
automatic block signaling Automatic block signaling (ABS), spelled automatic block signalling or called track circuit block (TCB ) in the UK, is a railroad communications system that consists of a series of signals that divide a railway line into a series of sections, ...
and trip-stop train protection, while the Braintree and Alewife extensions of the 1980s were constructed with
Automatic Train Control Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver d ...
(ATC) using audio frequency
cab signaling Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an e ...
. In 1985 the entire Red Line was converted to the new cab signal standard with any remaining interlocking towers being closed with a relay based
centralized traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system cons ...
machine being installed in a dispatch office at 45 High Street. This in turn was replaced in the late 1990s with a software-controlled Automatic Train Supervision product by
Union Switch & Signal Union Switch & Signal (commonly referred to as US&S) was an American company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was acquired by Ansaldo STS (from 2015, Hitachi Rail ...
, subcontracted to Syseca Inc. (now ARINC), in a new control room. Subsequent revisions to the system were made internally at the MBTA. Scheduled headways were as low as 2 minutes after the 1928 extension to Ashmont. When Stadium station was in use for Harvard football games, headways as low as 1 minutes were used. Ridership peaked around 1947, when passenger counters logged over 850 people per four-car train during peak periods. After the conversion to ATC, throughput in the downtown corridor was 13 trains per hour or a little less than 5 minute headway which gives a maximum capacity of 20,280 passengers per hour. In October 2018, the MBTA awarded a $218 million improved signal contract for the Red and Orange Lines, which will allow 3-minute headways between JFK/UMass and Alewife beginning in 2022. The decreased headway will be achieved through increased vehicle performance, an upgrade of the existing ATC system to use higher performance digital components and a reduction in the length of signaling blocks to 500 feet. During snowstorms, the MBTA runs an empty train during non-service hours to keep the tracks and third rail clear. 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.


Rolling stock

The Red Line is standard gauge heavy rail. Trains consist of mated pairs of electric multiple unit cars powered from a 600 V DC
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
. All trains run in six-car sets. All cars are roughly long, wide, and have a platform height of above the top of rail. Rolling stock is maintained at the Cabot Yard in
South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformat ...
. Yard leads connect to the mainline at Columbia Junction, just north of JFK/UMass station. Trains are also stored at Braintree (Caddigan Yard), Ashmont (Codman Yard), and Alewife. Eliot Yard, on the surface near Harvard Square, served East Boston Tunnel 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 station Bowdoin station ( ) is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) rapid transit station in Bowdoin Square in Boston, Massachusetts. The station is the downtown terminus of the Blue Line, part of the MBTA subway system. It has a singl ...
and a track connection on the
Longfellow Bridge The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bridge carries Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, the MBTA Re ...
).


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 The Standard Steel Car Company (SSC) was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock in the United States that existed between 1902 and 1934. Established in 1902 in Butler, Pennsylvania by John M. Hansen and "Diamond Jim" Brady, the company quic ...
, 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 over buffers, and a large standee capacity, while weighing only . 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 . Upon their debut, the new subway cars were the largest in the world; they remained so until the Toronto M1 cars were built in 1962. A similar configuration was later adopted by the BMT's Standard cars in New York and the Broad Street Subway cars in Philadelphia. About 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. Thirty-five cars of similar design were added in 1919 from the
Pressed Steel Car Company The Pressed Steel Car Company was a builder of railroad cars and equipment based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was founded in 1899, and had facilities in Pittsburgh and Chicago. It operated until 1956. Early history The Pressed Steel Car C ...
, followed by 60 more in 1928 from the Bradley Car Company for the Cambridge–Dorchester subway.


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
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, which funded their purchase), and retained that color scheme into the early 1980s when most were finally repainted into 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 Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
. All were retired from passenger service by 1994 due to mechanical and electrical equipment not being able to operate with six-car trains. With delivery of the 1800-series, four cars (01470/01471 and 01480/01481) remain as Red Line work equipment, and 01450 and 01455 are preserved at the
Seashore Trolley Museum Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's first and largest museum of mass transit vehicles. While the main focus of the collection is trolley cars (trams), it also includes rapid transit trains, ...
in
Kennebunkport, Maine Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland– Biddeford metropolitan statistical area. The town center, the are ...
.


Aluminum-bodied cars

Three series of older
aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...
-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 The Urban Transportation Development Corporation Ltd. (UTDC) was a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario, Canada. It was established in the 1970s as a way to enter what was then expected to be a burgeoning market in advanced l ...
in 1988 ("No. 2" fleet). These cars seat 62 to 64 each and approximately 132 cars are in active service , 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 sign A destination sign (North American English) or destination indicator/destination blind (British English) is a sign mounted on the front, side or rear of a public transport vehicle, such as a bus, tram/streetcar or light rail vehicle, that dis ...
s. 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 motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles ( electric multiple ...
s with
electromechanical In engineering, electromechanics combines processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focuses on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems ...
controls manufactured by Westinghouse and can interoperate. The 1500 and 1700 series cars could operate as singles, but in practice are always operated as married 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. 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 1993–94 by Bombardier from components manufactured in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and assembled in
Barre, Vermont Barre, Vermont may refer to: *Barre (city), Vermont *Barre (town), Vermont Barre ( ) is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 7,923 at the 2020 census, making it the 3rd largest municipality in Washington County ...
. (This is known as the "No. 3" fleet.) These cars seat 50, and all 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 General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
, very similar to the Breda A650 for the Los Angeles Metro Rail, the Bombardier R110B prototype for the New York City Subway, and the Washington Metro 1000 series. They 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. In December 2008, the MBTA began running a pair 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, set 1802–1803, have been designated as "Big Red" cars, denoted by large stickers adjacent to the doors. Automated service announcements at stations alert passengers to the arrival of these high-capacity trains. As of 2018, both Big Red cars have been retrofitted with seats, about half as many as the standard 01800 series cars. Cars 01816 and 01817, out of service since 2004, were donated to the US Coast Guard in November 2021. They were relocated to
Otis Air Force Base Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...
for training use.


CRRC cars and upgraded signal system

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 1500/1600-series cars, with an option to increase the number to 132 to replace the 1700-series cars. On October 22, 2014, the MassDOT Board awarded a $567 million contract to build 132 replacement railcars for the Red Line, as well as additional cars for the Orange Line to a China based manufacturer CNR (which became part of
CRRC CRRC Corporation Limited (known as CRRC) is a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer. It is the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer in terms of revenue, eclipsing its major competitors of Alstom and Siemens. I ...
the following year). CRRC will build the new cars at a new manufacturing plant in Springfield at the site of the former New England Westinghouse Company, with initial deliveries of Red Line cars expected in 2020 (Orange Line deliveries began a year earlier) and all cars required to be in service by 2023. The Board forwent federal funding to allow the contract to specify the cars be built in Massachusetts, to create a local railcar manufacturing industry. 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. Sixty percent of the car's components are sourced from the United States. 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 Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...
. 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. The MBTA rebuilt Track 61 to serve as a test track for the new Red Line cars. In December 2016, the MBTA opted to purchase additional identical cars from CRRC, allowing replacement rather than costly refurbishment of the 01800 series cars. The second order is for 120 cars costing $277 million, with an option for 14 additional cars. Combined, the 2014 and 2016 orders will provide a single common fleet for the entire Red Line, with enough cars to eventually run 3-minute headways at peak. Replacement of the signal system is expected to be complete by 2021 on the Red Line; the total cost is $218 million for both the Red and Orange Lines. The first trainset of new cars entered revenue service on December 30, 2020. The cars were taken out of service on March 16, 2021 after a CRRC car on the Orange Line derailed. After investigations were completed, they returned to service in January 2022, at which point an increased number of deliveries was expected during 2022. The cars were pulled from service again in June 2022 after a battery failure; they returned in July 2022. Production delays became apparent in 2019, and then factory shutdowns and staffing limitations caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
delayed projected final delivery to 2024, with subsequent issues with staffing, supply chain, and delaying expected completion to summer 2025.More new T cars? Not so fast. New Red, Orange Line trains face more delays.
/ref> The CRRC contract specifies a penalty of $500 per car per day of delay after September 2023; as of September 2022, 12 cars had been delivered.


Art and architecture

The MBTA pioneered a "percentage for art"
public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...
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. 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. Newer aboveground stations (particularly Alewife, Braintree, and Quincy Adams, which all have large parking garages) are excellent examples of brutalist architecture.


Station listing


References


Further reading

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


External links


MBTA – Red Linenycsubway.org – MBTA Red Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Line (Mbta) Standard gauge railways in the United States 600 V DC railway electrification