The Blue 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 c ...
line in the
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
metropolitan area, one of
four rapid transit lines 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). It runs from
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 ...
in downtown Boston under
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
to
East Boston
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and do ...
and
Revere on the inner North Shore, where it terminates at
Wonderland. The stop at
Airport Station An Airport station or Airport Station may refer to a train station named as such or similarly. For other train stations located at an airport and named otherwise, see list of airport stations.
Airport station may refer to:
* Aeroport (Moscow Metr ...
, by way of a free shuttle bus, is one of two rapid transit connections to
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...
. In 1967, during a systemwide rebranding, the line was assigned the blue color because it passes under the
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
.
[ With an end-to-end travel time of less than twenty minutes, the Blue Line is the shortest of Boston's heavy-rail lines and the only line to have both third rail and overhead catenary sections.
The East Boston Tunnel was built as a streetcar tunnel in 1904 with Howard A. Carson as chief engineer; after an extension to Bowdoin in 1916, it was converted to heavy rail metro rolling stock in 1924. In 1952 and 1954 the line was extended along the former route of the ]Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad
The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachus ...
, in a project intended to reach Lynn but ultimately cut short to Wonderland. Further extensions to Lynn and Charles/MGH downtown are long-planned but not yet funded. From approximately 1998–2011, the MBTA made most Blue Line stations fully accessible as part of a larger effort to accommodate 6-car trains on the line. , the only station in service on the Blue Line which is not fully accessible is the downtown Boston terminus Bowdoin.
History
East Boston Tunnel
The East Boston Tunnel under Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
was the first North American subway tunnel to run beneath a body of water when it opened in 1904, and the second underwater vehicular tunnel of significant length built in the United States. The tunnel was constructed using a modified version of the Greathead Shield; of the tunnel is actually under water. The excavation took two-and-a-half years, and cost $3 million and the lives of four workmen.
Initially used as a streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
tunnel, it ran from Maverick Square in East Boston to downtown Boston's Court Street station, with an intermediate stop at Devonshire (now State). Court Street had pedestrian access to Scollay Square station (now Government Center) but transfers to the East Boston Tunnel required an additional fare of 1 cent.[ In 1906, Atlantic Station (now Aquarium) was opened, with a connection to the ]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 ...
. Court Street proved to be a problematic terminus as its single-track design limited frequent service.
Bowdoin extension
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 Railwa ...
(BERy) began an extension towards Beacon Hill in 1912. This downtown extension was opened to Bowdoin, with an intermediate stop at Scollay Under (now Government Center), on March 18, 1916.[ Immediately west of the new Bowdoin station platforms, a tight turnaround loop track underground allowed trains to quickly reverse direction for the return trip.] The project also included a new portal at Joy Street, which was used by a Central Square–Orient Heights line. The total cost of the extension was $2.3 million.
Metro conversion
The East Boston Tunnel was originally planned to be operated with high-floor metro rolling stock and connected to the then-planned Cambridge Elevated line. When that plan was dropped in 1903 due to a disagreement between the Boston Transit Commission and the BERy, the stations were built with low platforms. Large bi-loading streetcars (with high floors but capable of loading from low platforms), which incorporated many attributes from metro cars used on the Main Line Elevated
The Orange Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south on the surface from Oak Grove station in Malden, Massachusetts through Malden and ...
, began use in 1905. However, neither these nor the large center-entrance cars introduced in 1917 (which were designed for multiple unit
A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...
operation) could fully handle the crowds.
In 1921, the Boston Transit Department (BTD)—the successor to the BTC—began work at Maverick Square to convert the East Boston Tunnel to high-floor metro trains. The next year, the BTD board approved the construction of high-level platforms at the four downtown stations. The Maverick Square incline was replaced with Maverick station
Maverick station (known as Maverick Square) is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Blue Line and is located at Maverick Square in East Boston. It is the easternmost underground station on the Blue Line and a ...
, which provided cross-platform transfers between tunnel trains and surface streetcars.
Over the weekend of April 18–21, 1924, the East Boston Tunnel was converted to use the new high-floor trains. The tightly staged changeover required 1500 men to complete. Temporary wooden platform sections were put in place to allow service to begin on April 21, with the permanent concrete sections completed over the following months. The edges of the original low platforms can still be seen under the high platforms at State and Aquarium. Rather than modify the narrow tunnel, the BERy elected to replace the streetcars with brand-new smaller-than-usual high-platform rapid transit cars which could operate in tight clearances—particularly around the tight loop at Bowdoin. Blue Line cars are thus long, substantially shorter than the Orange Line cars and the Red Line cars.
Revere extension
From 1952 to 1954, a surface-level extension was constructed along the recently-defunct Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad
The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachus ...
, from Maverick to the current terminus at Wonderland. The original trackage had been narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
, but was converted to standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
for this Revere Extension of the subway. The first above-ground station on the new extension served Boston's Logan Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partiall ...
, and was the first American urban transit connection to a commercial airfield. Beyond Maverick, the power feed was changed from 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 t ...
to 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 ...
(both at 600 V DC) to reduce the risk of winter ice buildup due to proximity to the ocean.
The line was officially renamed the East Boston Tunnel & Revere Extension by the MTA in 1952, and designated as "Route 3" on system maps. It was renamed as the Blue Line on August 26, 1965, as part of the new MBTA's color-based rebranding. The color blue represented water, as the line passes under Boston Harbor and travels near the coast for much of its length. Until the Silver Line was extended to Logan in 2004–05, the Blue Line was the primary rapid transit connection to the airport.
On April 21, 2018, the SL3 Silver Line service to Chelsea opened with a connection to the Blue Line at Airport station, providing transfer service to Chelsea, the Seaport District and South Station.
Station renovations
Unlike the Red Line and Orange Line, which had substantial new sections and station renovations in the 1970s and 1980s, most of the Blue Line had not been substantially modified since 1954. By the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...
, only and the eastbound platform at were 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.e ...
, with then under construction. In 1988, the MBTA began planning for accessibility modifications as well as platform extensions to accommodate 6-car trains - similar to what had been done on the Orange and Red lines. The project was then expected to be complete in 1994. In 1989, the MBTA awarded design contracts for modernization and platform lengthening (to accommodate six-car trains) at nine Blue Line stations. Final design on a number of the modifications - the Blue Line Modernization Project - began in 1990–92.
The first main construction phase of the project began on June 25, 1994, the line was cut back to at all times to permit reconstruction of the outer stations. and were completely rebuilt, while , and were renovated.
second page
A simultaneous $8 million noise reduction program added sound walls at Beachmont and Orient Heights, rubber mats under tracks, and soundproofing of nearby homes. The stations reopened on June 26, 1995. Unlike the other stations, Wood Island was not accessible after the 1994-95 renovation; elevators were not added until 2000.
was closed from October 14, 2000, until October 29, 2001, for renovations, which were completed in 2003. A relocated station opened on June 3, 2004. An extension renovation of , during which the station remained open, lasted from November 2004 to May 2011. Sequential closures of Wonderland, Wood Island, Revere Beach, and Beachmont stations took place in June through November 2008 for platform repairs.
Reconstruction of began on October 4, 2005. The project was sufficiently progressed for six-car trains to enter service on September 15, 2008, though the station was not completed until 2009. Orient Heights was closed from March 23 to November 26, 2013, for a complete reconstruction. closed from March 22, 2014, to March 21, 2016, for a complete renovation and accessibility modifications. This left all Blue Line stations accessible except for , which also has an eastbound platform that cannot be modified for six-car trains.
Service between Bowdoin and Airport was replaced by buses from May 18–31, 2020, and April 25 to May 17, 2022, for track replacement and waterproofing work in the East Boston Tunnel. During the 2022 closure, temporary ferry service between Long Wharf and East Boston was also offered. An additional closure of the outer portion of the line from May 22 to June 8, 2022, will allow for repairs to the Suffolk Downs footbridge.
Proposed expansions
Extension to Lynn
There is a proposal to extend the Blue Line northward to Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
. The land to extend the line was purchased for the initial construction of the Revere Extension, but due to budgetary constraints Wonderland station was designated the northern terminus. Two potential extension routes have been identified. One proposed path would run through marshland alongside the existing Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line, on rail lines formerly operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
. An alternative route would extend the line alongside Revere Beach Boulevard
Revere Beach is a public beach in Revere, Massachusetts, located about north of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, Boston. The beach is over long. In 1875, a rail link was constructed to the beach, leading to its increasing popularity as a summer ...
through Point of Pines and the Lynnway
Route 1A is a north–south state highway in Massachusetts. It is an alternate route to U.S. 1 with three signed sections and two unsigned sections where the highway is concurrent with its parent. Due to the reconfiguration of tunnel intercha ...
, along the remainder of the BRB&L right of way. Other alternatives include increased commuter rail or bus service, or connecting the Blue Line to a commuter rail stop near Wonderland via a short connector.
The Blue Line extension has been proposed in various forms for over 80 years. The 1926 ''Report on Improved Transportation Facilities'' and 1945–47 ''Coolidge Commission Report'' recommended that the East Boston Tunnel line, which had been converted to rapid transit from streetcars in 1924, be extended to Lynn via the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn right-of-way. Ever since the 1954 Revere extension was cut short to Wonderland, a further extension to Lynn has been planned. Following on the 1926 and 1945-47 studies, the 1966 ''Program for Mass Transportation'' recommended that the Blue Line be extended to Lynn, while the 1969 ''Recommended Highway and Transit Plan'' proposed that the extension run as far as Salem. An extension was not present in the 1972 ''Final Report of the Boston Transportation Planning Review'', but the 1974 ''Transportation Plan'' revived the project with possible termini of Lynn, Salem, or even Route 128 in Peabody. The 1978 ''Program for Mass Transportation'' report and 1983 Transportation Plan both continued support for an extension to Lynn. Despite the continued recommendations, however, other projects like extensions of the Red and Orange lines were given funding instead of the Blue Line.
In 2005, Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Kerry Healy
Kerry Murphy Healey (born April 30, 1960) is a former American politician who served as the 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 under Governor of Massachusetts, Governor Mitt Romney. She is currently the inaugural preside ...
estimated construction would begin in 2017. Authorization to bond for planning money for the project was included in an April 2008 state bond bill, and $25 million in federal earmarks have been obtained. A 2004 state bond bill authorized $246.5 million on the condition of finding 50% non-state matching funds (which presumably would come from the federal government). The Draft Environmental Impact Report was expected to be complete by the end of 2008, but has been delayed as planners focus on meeting the legal deadline for the Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford.
Red Line–Blue Line connector
The Blue Line and Red Line are currently the only 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 c ...
rail lines without a direct transfer to each other; passengers must ride one stop on the Green or Orange lines to transfer. The proposed Red–Blue connector would extend the Blue Line west from Bowdoin to an underground platform at Charles/MGH station
Charles/MGH station is a rapid transit station on the MBTA Red Line (MBTA), Red Line, elevated above Charles Circle (Boston), Charles Circle on the east end of the Longfellow Bridge in the West End, Boston, West End neighborhood of Boston, Mass ...
, allowing direct transfers to the Red Line.
An extension of the East Boston Tunnel to Charles Street was considered in a 1924 study of Charles station.[ ] A 1926 proposal to convert the Tremont Street subway
The Tremont Street subway in Boston's MBTA subway system is the oldest subway tunnel in North America and the third oldest still in use worldwide to exclusively use electric traction (after the City and South London Railway in 1890, and the Bud ...
and connecting streetcar lines into a pair of rapid transit trunk lines called for the East Boston Tunnel to be extended south to Park Street station, with through service running between Maverick Square and Brighton using the Commonwealth Avenue line. (Three potential alignment were considered: one running south from Bowdoin, and two running southwest from a relocated Scollay Under.) Regional transportation plans from the 1940s to the early 1970s focused on suburban extensions, with no downtown extension past Bowdoin.
The rise of Kendall Square
Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The square itself at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. It also refers to the broad business district east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charles River, north of MIT ...
as a major employment center, the coming of the Red Line Northwest Extension
The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south and east underground from Alewife station in North Cambridge, Massachusetts, North Cambr ...
, and increased traffic to Logan Airport created demand in the 1970s for a direct connection between the Red and Blue lines. A 1974 state plan again proposed an extension to Park Street, while the 1978 and 1983 Program for Mass Transportation updates called for an extension to Charles/MGH instead. A 1986 MBTA feasibility study for a Charles/MGH extension called for a cut-and-cover
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...
tunnel beginning west of Bowdoin Street with no changes to Bowdoin station. The project was then estimated to cost $79–95 million (equivalent to $– million in ). A 1987 cost-effectiveness study estimated 9,030 daily one-way trips over the extension.
In 1991, the state agreed to built a set of transit projects as part of the settlement of a lawsuit by the Conservation Law Foundation
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) is an environmental advocacy organization based in New England. Since 1966, CLF's mission has been to advocate for New England's environment and its communities. CLF's advocacy work takes place across five integr ...
(CLF) over auto emissions from the Big Dig
The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project), commonly known as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93 (I-93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4& ...
project. Among these projects was A Red Line–Blue Line connector, to be complete by the end of 2011. The 2003–07 reconstruction of Charles/MGH station was designed to accommodate a future Blue Line platform. In 2005, the state replaced the connector with other projects providing equivalent air quality improvements. After a second lawsuit from the CLF, the state agreed in 2006 to complete design of the connector. An Expanded Environmental Notification Form was released in September 2007
The 2010 Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) instead called for a pair of deeper tunnels bored by a tunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore throu ...
(TBM), starting east of Bowdoin station and passing underneath the existing platform. Keeping the existing station and loop was judged infeasible because evacuation from a disabled train would not be possible in the confined loop, and the eastbound platform is not long enough for six-car trains. Use of a TBM rather than cut-and-cover construction was intended to reduce construction cost and limit disruption on Cambridge Street. Alternatives with a replacement Bowdoin station west of Bowdoin Street, and without a replacement station, were considered; the latter was recommended due to lower cost and reduced travel time. The preferred alternative was estimated to cost $748 million and take six years to construct. Daily ridership was estimated to be 18,940 one-way trips in 2030.
Lacking available funding for construction, the MBTA did not complete design of the extension. The possibility of a public-private partnership (P3) to advance the project was studied in 2013. In 2015, the EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
removed the requirement for the MBTA to complete design. In 2018, the state commissioned a $50,000 study to reevaluate tunneling costs; it found that contrary to the 2010 DEIR, cut-and-cover tunneling could be considerably less costly than a TBM, albeit with more surface disruption. Cut-and-cover was estimated to cost $200–250 million for the tunnel costs alone, compared to $300–350 million for TBM and the $413 million estimated in the DEIR. In April 2019, the MBTA indicated plans to spend $15 million to design the connector in a five-year spending plan.
A conceptual design completed in 2020 called for cut-and-cover construction, with Bowdoin station still planned for closure. The new Blue Line level at Charles/MGH would have entrances from the existing lobby and a new headhouse in an MGH development on the north side of Charles Street. Total project cost was estimated as $850 million ($740 million for construction including 30% contingency, $50 million for design, $30 million in administration costs, and $30 million for additional rolling stock), with construction lasting from 2025 to 2030.
A 2018 MBTA long-range planning document considered a pedestrian tunnel between the Orange Line platforms at and , which would allow transfers between the Red and Blue lines similar to (though longer than) the Winter Street Concourse
The Winter Street Concourse is a pedestrian tunnel connecting the upper levels of the Downtown Crossing (MBTA station), Downtown Crossing and Park Street station (MBTA), Park Street subway stations in Boston, Massachusetts. It facilitates movemen ...
between the Green and Orange lines.
Previous connection
A physical rail connection between the Red and Blue Lines existed in the early part of the 20th century (prior to the MBTA assigning the color designations of the subway lines). Railcars from what is today the Blue Line could emerge from a ramp portal surfacing between Joy Street and Russell Street, just beyond Bowdoin station. The railcars would run on former streetcar track down Cambridge Street and then most of the distance to the western end 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 R ...
, connecting to what is now the Red Line just east of its Cambridge subway portal, near what is now Kendall/MIT station. Because the tracks were unpowered, individual cars had to be towed along the street at night. This connection was never used in passenger
A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...
service, but was used to transport Blue Line cars to the Eliot Street Yard maintenance shops then located near Harvard Square
Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busin ...
station. When the Blue Line eventually got its own maintenance shops, the connection was removed and the ramp portal was permanently covered in 1952.
Station listing
Rolling stock
![Blue Line 700 cars at Airport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Blue_Line_700_cars_at_Airport.jpg)
Current
Like the Orange Line and Red Line, the Blue Line tracks are standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...
. The Blue Line fleet consists of 94 700-series cars (47 pairs) with stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
bodies from Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
, with each car long and wide, with two pairs of doors per side. Uniquely among MBTA rolling stock, Blue Line cars use both 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 t ...
power and pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
current pickup from 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 ...
wires. The overhead pantograph was implemented to avoid third rail icing that frequently occurs in winter. Third rail power is used in the original Blue Line tunnels, which are smaller than most modern subway tunnels. Trains switch between the two modes at Airport station An Airport station or Airport Station may refer to a train station named as such or similarly. For other train stations located at an airport and named otherwise, see list of airport stations.
Airport station may refer to:
* Aeroport (Moscow Metr ...
, near where the line transitions between running in a tunnel and running above ground. Previously, the switchover was made underground at Maverick station.
The MBTA awarded the $174 million construction contract for the 94 cars in November 2001, with a total program cost of $200 million. The first deliveries were scheduled for January 2004, but ultimately delayed to 2007 due to manufacturing issues. The first set entered revenue service on February 20, 2008. The first three six-car trains began operating on September 15, 2008; by February 2009, eight of thirteen trainsets used at rush hour were six-car sets. By November 2009, all service was with six-car trains.
, the line operates at 4.5-minute headways at weekday peak hours, with headways ranging from 5.5 to 9 minutes at other times. Afternoon and peak service operates with 12 trains (72 cars), while other service uses 6 trains (36 cars). The MBTA expects to replace the current fleet in the mid-2030s after a 25-year operating lifespan. A 130-car fleet is planned to replace the existing 94-car fleet.
Former
The first generation of high-floor rolling stock on the line were the No. 1 and No. 2 East Boston Rapid Transit cars, which were built by Pullman-Standard
The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...
in 1923–1924 when the line was converted from streetcar operation to rapid transit. These were supplemented by the No. 3 fleet, built in 1951 by St. Louis Car Company
The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
History
The St. Louis Car Company ...
, which was acquired for the Revere Extension. Cars in these earlier fleets were numbered in the 0500 series.
The Nos. 1–3 fleets were replaced by 70 cars in the 0600 series (No. 4 cars), built 1978-1980 by Hawker Siddeley Canada
Hawker Siddeley Canada was the Canadian unit of the Hawker Siddeley Group of the United Kingdom and manufactured railcars, subway cars, streetcars, aircraft engines and ships from the 1960s to 1980s.
History
Founded in 1962 as the Canadian divi ...
Car and Foundry of Thunder Bay, Ontario
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...
, 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 ...
. They were long and wide, with two pairs of doors on each side. The design was based on the PA3 model used by PATH
A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail.
Path or PATH may also refer to:
Physical paths of different types
* Bicycle path
* Bridle path, used by people on horseback
* Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle
* Desire p ...
in New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. They were narrower and shorter than otherwise similar ones running on the Orange Line, due to the stations and tunnels on the Blue Line having been originally designed to accommodate streetcars. In late 2009, 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, ...
received retired Hawker set 622-623 for their collection. By 2011, most of the 600-series cars were retired because of severe corrosion from the salty ocean air. Several 600-series cars were retained on MBTA property but no longer usable. Parts of scrapped cars are used to maintain Orange Line 1200 series rolling stock, which were built at the same time by Hawker Siddeley and used many of the same components. In 2012, set 616-617 was placed in the former Broadway streetcar tunnel for use in emergency training.
File:Blue Line at Wonderland in 1967.jpg, No. 1 cars at Wonderland in 1967
File:MBTA East Boston Tunnel Car interior in 1967.jpg, Interior of a No. 1 or No. 2 car
File:Train reversing at Wonderland, September 1965.jpg, No. 3 cars near Wonderland in 1965
File:Outbound train at Revere Beach station, July 2007.jpg, No. 4 cars at Revere Beach in 2007
References
External links
MBTA - Blue Line
(official site)
MBTA – Red Blue Connector
at world.nycsubway.org
{{authority control
Standard gauge railways in the United States
Tunnels completed in 1904
Airport rail links in the United States
600 V DC railway electrification
Transportation in Suffolk County, Massachusetts