History UsefulNotes / TheT

'''Orange Line:''' The main north-south line... kind of. Originally elevated over city streets for most of its length (with an elevated branch along the waterfront that was finally scrapped during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII), its outer ends were entirely rebuilt along railroad rights of way in the 1970s and 1980s. It starts in Oak Grove way up in Malden, continues south through Charlestown, tunnels under the river and runs through downtown under Washington Street. (The four innermost stations originally had different names for the northbound and southbound platforms, none of which lie exactly opposite each other and in the case of State are several blocks apart.) It continues south-southwest in an open cut through the South End, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, ultimately ending in Forest Hills.

'''Blue Line:''' Cutting on a northeast diagonal through the city, this line starts downtown at Bowdoin, tunnels under State Street and Boston Harbor into East Boston, surfaces near Logan International Airport, and from there past Suffolk Downs and along the shore to Revere Beach and Wonderland. This line is unique in that the line runs on electric third rail from Logan Airport to Bowdoin in the underground section, but runs on overhead catenary from the Airport to Wonderland, on the aboveground section. The underground section was originally operated with trolley cars that continued along East Boston streets from where Maverick station was later built, while most the aboveground section was built along part of a defunct suburban railroad.

'''Orange Line:''' The main north-south line... kind of. Originally elevated over city streets for most of its length (with an elevated branch along the waterfront that was finally scrapped during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII), its outer ends were entirely rebuilt along railroad rights of way in the 1970s and 1980s. It starts in Oak Grove way up in Malden, continues south through Charlestown, tunnels under the river and runs under Washington Street. It continues south-southwest in an open cut through the South End, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, ultimately ending in Forest Hills.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (the metonym "The T" can describe either this organization in general, or refer specifically to the subway system it runs) is the public transit operator for the city of UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} and environs. It consists of a subway/streetcar/trackless trolley system, a network of buses, the T Commuter Rail (which shares large amounts of trackage and station space with Amtrak), and a harbor ferry service. Like many American subway services, it originated out of privately owned streetcar and elevated train lines built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though unlike in many other American cities, practically all the now-existing lines were always operated by a single company. The color-coding and the "T" symbol were introduced during the 1960s, in the years following the MBTA's takeover of the system formerly known as the MTA and before that as the Boston Elevated. One of these lines, the Tremont Street Subway (now part of the Green Line), began service in 1897, giving the T the title of "oldest subway in America." The T is the fourth-busiest subway in the United States, moving just short of 600,000 subway riders and a total of 1.3 million fares across all modes daily.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (the metonym "The T" can describe either this organization in general, or refer specifically to the subway system it runs) is the public transit operator for the city of Boston and environs. It consists of a subway/streetcar/trackless trolley system, a network of buses, the T Commuter Rail (which shares large amounts of trackage and station space with Amtrak), and a harbor ferry service. Like many American subway services, it originated out of privately owned streetcar and elevated train lines built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though unlike in many other American cities, practically all the now-existing lines were always operated by a single company. The color-coding and the "T" symbol were introduced during the 1960s, in the years following the MBTA's takeover of the system formerly known as the MTA and before that as the Boston Elevated. One of these lines, the Tremont Street Subway (now part of the Green Line), began service in 1897, giving the T the title of "oldest subway in America." The T is the fourth-busiest subway in the United States, moving just short of 600,000 subway riders and a total of 1.3 million fares across all modes daily.

The T proper consists of four subway lines (Green, Red, Orange, Blue), as well as a high-speed bus line (Silver). Each line uses its own type of equipment, even though in the early 20th century what are now the Blue and Green Lines were both operated with trolleys and the Tremont Street Subway was temporarily rebuilt to accommodate elevated cars.

* "Charlie on the MTA" was originally written as a campaign song for Walter O'Brien's unsuccessful 1949 mayoral bid. The song was popularized ten years later by the Kingston Trio and ultimately became an AscendedMeme when the MBTA rolled out its [=CharlieCard=]/[=CharlieTicket=] fare system in late 2004.

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's rapid transit lines, with the longest cars of them all, the Red Line extends from the Alewife parking garage in western Cambridge, east under a railroad turned bike path to Davis Square in Somerville, south back into Cambridge in a very deep tunnel, tightly curving around Harvard Yard and running east underground towards the MIT campus, surfacing to cross the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge (now undergoing major reconstruction), briefly becoming elevated before going into a tunnel under Beacon Hill and the Boston Common, then connecting with the Green and Orange Lines on a lower level and continuing underground south through South Boston, surfacing in Dorchester and splitting into two branches, one due south to Quincy and Braintree and one south-southwest through Dorchester to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line, a heritage streetcar line operated with PCC streetcars that formerly served the Green Line, functions as an extension of the Ashmont branch, heading due west and straying across the Neponset River into Milton.)

The T proper consists of four subway lines (Green, Red, Orange, Blue), as well as a high-speed bus line (Silver). Each line requires a different type of equipment, even though in the early 20th century what are now the Blue and Green Lines were both operated with trolleys and part of the Green Line was temporarily rebuilt to accommodate elevated cars.

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's rapid transit lines, with the longest cars of them all, the Red Line extends from the Alewife parking garage in western Cambridge, east under a railroad turned bike path to Davis Square in Somerville, south back into Cambridge in a very deep tunnel, tightly curving around Harvard Yard and running east underground towards the MIT campus, surfacing to cross the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge (now undergoing major reconstruction), briefly becoming elevated before going into a tunnel under Beacon Hill, then continuing underground south through South Boston, surfacing in Dorchester and splitting into two branches, one due south to Quincy and Braintree and one south-southwest through Dorchester to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line, a heritage streetcar line operated with PCC streetcars that formerly served the Green Line, functions as an extension of the Ashmont branch, heading due west and straying across the Neponset River into Milton.)

'''Blue Line:''' Cutting on a northeast diagonal through the city, this line starts downtown at Bowdoin, tunnels under State Street and Boston Harbor into East Boston, surfaces near Logan International Airport, and from there along the shore to Revere Beach and Wonderland. This line is unique in that the line runs on electric third rail from Logan Airport to Bowdoin in the underground section, but runs on overhead catenary from the Airport to Wonderland, on the aboveground section. The underground section was originally operated with trolley cars that continued along East Boston streets from where Maverick station was later built, while most the aboveground section was built along part of a defunct suburban railroad.

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's rapid transit lines, with the longest cars of them all, the Red Line extends from the Alewife parking garage in western Cambridge, east under a railroad turned bike path to Davis Square in Somerville, south back into Cambridge in a very deep tunnel, tightly curving around Harvard Yard and running east underground towards the MIT campus, surfacing to cross the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge (now undergoing major reconstruction), briefly becoming elevated before going into a tunnel under Beacon Hill, then continuing underground south through South Boston, surfacing in Dorchester and splitting into two branches, one due south to Quincy and Braintree and one south-southwest through Dorchester to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line, a heritage streetcar line operated with PCC streetcars, functions as an extension of the Ashmont branch, heading due west and straying across the Neponset River into Milton.)

'''Green Line:''' This is a light rail/streetcar line, using articulated vehicles to negotiate tight curves. Extends from Lechmere on the Cambridge side of the Charles River, on a viaduct across to the Museum of Science, then past North Station and south through Tremont Street and around Boston Common, west under Boylston Street through the Back Bay (the "E" branch splits off past Copley Square and heads more sharply southwest along Huntington Avenue, underground at first but surfacing at Northeastern University and passing the Museum of Fine Arts and the medical area, finally turning to reach its current terminal at Heath Street), continuing west to Kenmore Square, where it splits into three streetcar lines that soon surface, "B" (due west past Boston University and along winding Commonwealth Avenue to Boston College and the city line), "C" (west-southwest along the median of straight Beacon Street to Coolidge Corner and Cleveland Circle), and "D" (west-southwest past Fenway Park and following the meandering route of an old railroad branch through Brookline and Newton all the way out to Riverside).

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (the metonym "The T" can describe either this organization in general, or refer specifically to the subway system it runs) is the public transit operator for the city of Boston and environs. It consists of a subway/streetcar/trackless trolley system, a network of buses, the T Commuter Rail (which shares large amounts of trackage and station space with Amtrak), and a harbor ferry service. Like many American subway services, it originated out of privately owned streetcar and elevated train lines built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though unlike in many other American cities, practically all the now-existing lines were always operated by a single company. One of these lines, the Tremont Street Subway (now part of the Green Line), began service in 1897, giving the T the title of "oldest subway in America." The T is the fourth-busiest subway in the United States, moving just short of 600,000 subway riders and a total of 1.3 million fares across all modes daily.

The T proper consists of four subway lines (Green, Red, Orange, Blue), as well as a high-speed bus line (Silver).

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's two main north-south lines, with the longest cars of the four, the Red Line extends from the Alewife parking garage in western Cambridge, east under a railroad turned bike path to Davis Square, south back into Cambridge in a very deep tunnel, tightly curving around Harvard Yard and running east underground towards the MIT campus, surfacing to cross the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge (now under major reconstruction), briefly becoming elevated before going into a tunnel under Beacon Hill, then continuing underground south through South Boston, surfacing in Dorchester and splitting into two branches, one due south to Quincy and Braintree and one south-southwest through Dorchester to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line, a heritage streetcar line operated with PCC streetcars, functions as an extension of the Ashmont branch, heading due west and straying across the Neponset River into Milton.)

'''Orange Line:''' The other north-south line... kind of. Originally elevated over city streets for most of its length (with an elevated branch along the waterfront that was finally scrapped during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII), its outer ends were entirely rebuilt along railroad rights of way in the 1970s and 1980s. It starts in Oak Grove way up in Malden, continues south through Charlestown, tunnels under the river and runs under Washington Street. It continues south-southwest in an open cut through the South End, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, ultimately ending in Forest Hills.

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's two main north-south lines, with the longest cars of the four, the Red Line extends from the Alewife parking garage in western Cambridge, east under a railroad turned bike path to Davis Square, south back into Cambridge in a very deep tunnel, tightly curving around Harvard Yard and running east underground towards the MIT campus, surfacing to cross the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge (now under major reconstruction), briefly becoming elevated before going into a tunnel under Beacon Hill, then continuing underground south through South Boston, surfacing in Dorchester and splitting into two spurs, one due south to Quincy and Braintree and one south-southwest to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line, a heritage streetcar line operated with PCC streetcars, also originates at Ashmont, heading due west.)

'''Green Line:''' This is a light rail/streetcar line. Extends from Lechmere on the Cambridge side of the Charles River, on a viaduct across to the Museum of Science, then past North Station and south through Tremont Street and around Boston Common, west under Boylston Street through the Back Bay (the "E" branch splits off past Copley Square and heads more sharply southwest along Huntington Avenue, underground at first but surfacing at Northeastern University and passing the Museum of Fine Arts and the medical area, finally turning to reach its current terminal at Heath Street), continuing west to Kenmore Square, where it splits into three streetcar lines that soon surface, "B" (due west past Boston University and along winding Commonwealth Avenue to Boston College and the city line), "C" (west-southwest along straight Beacon Street to Coolidge Corner and Cleveland Circle), and "D" (west-southwest past Fenway Park and following the meandering route of an old railroad branch through Brookline and Newton all the way out to Riverside).

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's two main north-south lines, the Red Line extends from Alewife north of Cambridge, through Harvard's and MIT's campuses (from which the line's color code arises), surfacing to cross the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge (now under major reconstruction), briefly becoming elevated before going into a tunnel under Beacon Hill, then continuing underground south through South Boston, surfacing in Dorchester and splitting into two spurs, one due south to Quincy and Braintree and one south-southwest to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line, a heritage streetcar line operated with PCC streetcars, also originates at Ashmont, heading due west.)

'''Blue Line:''' Cutting on a northeast diagonal through the city, this line starts downtown at Bowdoin, tunnels under State Street and Boston Harbor out to Logan International Airport, and from there along the shore to Revere Beach and Wonderland. This line is unique in that the line runs on electric third rail from Logan Airport to Bowdoin in the underground section, but runs on overhead catenary from the Airport to Wonderland, on the aboveground section. The underground section was originally operated with trolley cars that continued along East Boston streets from where Maverick station was later built, while most the aboveground section was built along part of a defunct suburban railroad.

'''Green Line:''' This is a light rail/streetcar line. Extends from Lechmere on the Cambridge side of the Charles River, on a viaduct across to the Museum of Science, then past North Station and south through Tremont Street and around Boston Common, west under Boylston Street through the Back Bay (the "E" branch splits off past Copley Square and heads more sharply southwest along Huntington Avenue, underground at first but surfacing at Northeastern University and passing the Museum of Fine Arts and the medical area, finally turning to reach its current terminal at Heath Street), continuing west to Kenmore Square, where it emerges to street level and splits into three streetcar lines, "B" (due west past Boston University and along winding Commonwealth Avenue to Boston College and the city line), "C" (west-southwest along Beacon Street to Coolidge Corner and Cleveland Circle), and "D" (west-southwest past Fenway Park and following the route an old railroad branch through Brookline and Newton all the way out to Riverside).

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's two main north-south lines, the Red Line extends from Alewife north of Cambridge, through Harvard's and MIT's campuses (from which the line's color code arises), across the river and past Beacon Hill, then continuing south through South Boston, Dorchester and ultimately splitting into two spurs, one due south to Braintree and one south-southwest to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line, a heritage streetcar line operated with PCC streetcars, also originates at Ashmont, heading due west.)

'''Orange Line:''' The other north-south line... kind of. Originally elevated over city streets for most of its length (with an elevated branch along the waterfront that was finally scrapped during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII), its outer ends were entirely rebuilt along railroad rights of way in the 1970s and 1980s. It starts in Oak Grove way up in Malden, continues south through Charlestown, crosses the river and runs under Washington Street. It continues south-southwest through the South End, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, ultimately ending in Forest Hills.

'''Orange Line:''' The other north-south line... kind of. Originally elevated over city streets for most of its length (with an elevated branch along the waterfront that was finally scrapped during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII), its outer ends were entirely rebuilt along railroad rights of way in the 1970s and 1980s. It starts in Oak Grove way up in Malden, continues south through Charlestown, crosses the river and runs under Washington Street. It continues south-southwest through Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, ultimately ending in Forest Hills.

'''Blue Line:''' Cutting on a northeast diagonal through the city, this line starts downtown at Bowdoin, tunnels under State Street and Boston Harbor out to Logan International Airport, and from there along the shore to Revere Beach and Wonderland. This line is unique in that the line runs on electric third rail from Logan Airport to Bowdoin in the underground section, but runs on overhead catenary from the Airport to Wonderland, on the aboveground section. The underground section was operated with trolley cars, while the aboveground section was built along part of a defunct suburban railroad.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (the metonym "The T" can describe either this organization in general, or refer specifically to the subway system it runs) is the public transit operator for the city of Boston and environs. It consists of a subway/streetcar/trackless trolley system, a network of buses, the T Commuter Rail (which shares large amounts of trackage and station space with Amtrak), and a harbor ferry service. Like many American subway services, it was created out of a mishmash of privately owned streetcar and elevated train lines in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. One of these, the Park Street-Ashmont Line, began service in 1897, giving the T the title of "oldest subway in America." The T is the fourth-busiest subway in the United States, moving just short of 600,000 subway riders and a total of 1.3 million fares across all modes daily.

'''Green Line:''' This is a light rail/streetcar line. Extends from Lechmere on the Cambridge side of the Charles River, across to the Museum of Science, then approximately west-southwest underground through Prudential Center/Copley Square (the "E" branch splits off here and heads more sharply south, through Northeastern University and the Museum of Fine Arts to Heath Street), continuing west to Kenmore Square, where it emerges to street level and splits into three streetcar lines, "B" (due west through Boston University to Boston College and Newton), "C" (west-southwest to Cleveland Circle and Brookline), and "D" (west-southwest past Fenway Park and all the way out to Riverside).

'''Blue Line:''' Cutting on a northeast diagonal through the city, this line starts downtown at Bowdoin, goes under Boston Harbor out to Logan International Airport, and from there along the shore to Revere Beach and Wonderland. This line is unique in that the line runs on electric third rail from Logan Airport to Bowdoin in the underground section, but runs on overhead catenary from the Airport to Wonderland, on the above ground section.

'''Orange Line:''' The other north-south line... kind of. It starts in Oak Grove way up in Malden, continues south through Charlestown, crosses the river and continues south-southwest through Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, ultimately ending in Forest Hills.

-->''"Pahk Street. Change heah fa' dah Red Line. Dorrs onna left."''[[note]]The current automated announcements do not have anywhere near such a strong accent. It will usually be something like [[http://youtu.be/8GqE2jcZEzM?t=54s "Next stop, Park Street. Doors will open on the left/on both sides of the train."]][[/note]]

'''Green Line:''' Extends from Lechmere on the Cambridge side of the Charles River, across to the Museum of Science, then approximately west-southwest to Prudential Center/Copley Square (the "E" branch splits off here and heads more sharply south, through Northeastern University and the Museum of Fine Arts to Heath Street), continuing west to Kenmore Square, where it emerges to street level and splits into three streetcar lines, "B" (due west through Boston University to Boston College and Newton), "C" (west-southwest to Cleveland Circle and Brookline), and "D" (west-southwest to Riverside).

'''Red Line:''' One of the system's two main north-south lines, the Red extends from Alewife north of Cambridge, through Harvard's and MIT's campuses (from which the line's color code arises), across the river and past Beacon Hill, then continuing south through South Boston, Dorchester and ultimately splitting into two spurs, one due south to Braintree and one south-southwest to Ashmont. (The Mattapan High Speed Line also originates at Ashmont, heading due west.)

'''Blue Line:''' Cutting on a northeast diagonal through the city, this line starts downtown at Bowdoin, goes under Boston Harbor out to Logan Airport, and from there along the shore to Revere Beach and Wonderland.

-->''"Pahk Street. Change heah fa' dah Red Line. Dorrs onna left."''[[note]]The current automated announcements do not have anywhere near such a strong accent. It will usually be something like "Next stop, Park Street. Doors will open on the left/on both sides of the train."[[/note]]

-->''"Pahk Street. Change heah fa' dah Red Line. Dorrs onna left."''

'''Green Line:''' Extends from Lechmere on the Cambridge side of the Charles River, across to the Museum of Science, then approximately west-southwest to Prudential Center/Copley Square (the "E" branch splits off here and heads more sharply south), continuing west to Kenmore Square, where it emerges to street level and splits into three streetcar lines, "B" (due west to Boston College and Newton), "C" (west-southwest to Cleveland Circle and Brookline), and "D" (west-southwest to Riverside).

''"Pahk Street. Change heah fa' dah Red Line. Dorrs onna left."''