The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston,Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network includes the MBTA subway with three metro lines,two light rail lines,and a five-line bus rapid transit system;MBTA bus local and express service;the twelve-line MBTA Commuter Rail system,and several ferry routes. In 2023,the system had a ridership of 239,981,700,or about 812,400 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024,of which the rapid transit lines averaged 267,700 and the light rail lines 102,500,making it the fourth-busiest rapid transit system and the third-busiest light rail system in the United States. As of the third quarter of 2024,average weekday ridership of the commuter rail system was 109,300,making it the fifth-busiest commuter rail system in the U.S.
Transportation in Boston includes roadway,subway,regional rail,air,and sea options for passenger and freight transit in Boston,Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates the Port of Boston,which includes a container shipping facility in South Boston,and Logan International Airport,in East Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates bus,subway,short-distance rail,and water ferry passenger services throughout the city and region. Amtrak operates passenger rail service to and from major Northeastern cities,and a major bus terminal at South Station is served by varied intercity bus companies. The city is bisected by major highways I-90 and I-93,the intersection of which has undergone a major renovation,nicknamed the Big Dig.
The Silver Line is a system of bus routes in Boston and Chelsea,Massachusetts,operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It is operated as part of the MBTA bus system,but branded as bus rapid transit (BRT) as part of the MBTA subway system. Six routes are operated as part of two disconnected corridors. As of 2023,weekday ridership on the Silver Line was 27,000.
Francis Williams Sargent 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 governor of Massachusetts from 1967 to 1971. In 1969,he became acting governor when John A. Volpe resigned to become Secretary of Transportation under the Nixon Administration. In 1970,he was elected governor in his own right,defeating the Democratic Party's nominee Kevin White. He lost reelection in 1974 to Democrat Michael Dukakis,who would go on to be the Democratic Party's nominee for President in 1988.
South Station,officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station,is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan International Airport. Located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square,Boston,Massachusetts,the historic station building was constructed in 1899 to replace the downtown terminals of several railroads. Today,it serves as a major intermodal domestic transportation hub,with service to the Greater Boston region and the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. It is used by thousands of commuter rail and intercity rail passengers daily. Connections to the rapid transit Red Line and bus rapid transit Silver Line are made through the adjacent subway station.
JFK/UMass station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transfer station,located adjacent to the Columbia Point area of Dorchester,Boston,Massachusetts. It is served by the rapid transit Red Line;the Greenbush Line,Kingston/Plymouth Line,and Middleborough/Lakeville Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system,and three MBTA bus routes. The station is named for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the University of Massachusetts Boston,both located nearby on Columbia Point.
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over 394 mi (634 km) of track to 135 stations. It is operated under contract by Keolis,which took over operations on July 1,2014,from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR).
The North–South Rail Link (NSRL) is a proposed rail tunnel,or pair of tunnels,that would connect North Station and South Station in downtown Boston,Massachusetts,linking rail networks that serve the city's northern suburbs,New Hampshire,and Maine with the rest of the country. The project would build new underground stations near the existing stations,connect them with about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of tunnels,and add other tunnels to link up with existing surface tracks.
Ruggles station is an intermodal transfer station in Boston,Massachusetts. It serves Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) rapid transit,bus,and commuter rail services and is located at the intersection of Ruggles and Tremont streets,where the Roxbury,Fenway–Kenmore,and Mission Hill neighborhoods meet. It is surrounded by the campus of Northeastern University. Ruggles is a station stop for the Orange Line subway,as well as the Providence/Stoughton Line,Franklin/Foxboro Line,and Needham Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Thirteen MBTA bus routes stop at Ruggles.
The Grand Junction Railroad is an 8.55-mile (13.76 km) long railroad in the Boston,Massachusetts,area,connecting the railroads heading west and north from Boston. The line is notable for its railroad bridge over the Charles River that passes under the Boston University Bridge between Boston and Cambridge,Massachusetts.
The Indigo Line was a proposed rapid transit service of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) that would have incorporated parts of the former Grand Junction Railroad,the Seaport District's Track 61,a spur to Riverside station and segments of other MBTA Commuter Rail lines within the Greater Boston region of Massachusetts. As proposed,the Indigo Line was planned as hybrid rail and would have predominately shared existing infrastructure with the MBTA Commuter Rail.
The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston,Massachusetts,to Worcester,Massachusetts,through the MetroWest region,serving 18 station stops in Boston,Newton,Wellesley,Natick,Framingham,Ashland,Southborough,Westborough,Grafton,and Worcester. It is the third-longest and third-busiest line in the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Service on the line is a mix of local and express trains serving Worcester plus short-turn Framingham locals.
The Urban Ring was a proposed project of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation,to develop new public transportation routes that would provide improved circumferential connections among many existing transit lines that project radially from downtown Boston. The Urban Ring Corridor is located roughly one to two miles from downtown Boston,passing through the Massachusetts cities of Boston,Chelsea,Everett,Medford,Somerville,Cambridge,and Brookline. The project was expected to convert 41,500 car trips to transit trips daily.
The history of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and its predecessors spans two centuries,starting with one of the oldest railroads in the United States. Development of mass transportation both followed existing economic and population patterns,and helped shape those patterns.
Newmarket station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Boston,Massachusetts. It serves the Fairmount Line and a small number of Franklin/Foxboro Line trains. It is located off Massachusetts Avenue at Newmarket Square in the Dorchester neighborhood. The station has two 800-foot (240 m) high-level platforms and sloping walkways connecting it to Massachusetts Avenue. Originally planned to be in service in 2011,it opened on July 1,2013,along with Four Corners/Geneva station.
Boston Landing station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Boston,Massachusetts,United States. It is served by the Framingham/Worcester Line. It is located in the Brighton neighborhood just west of the Everett Street bridge,next to the Massachusetts Turnpike. It serves the Allston-Brighton area as well as the Boston Landing development including Warrior Ice Arena. The station is fully accessible,with a single full-length high-level island platform. Elevators and stairs lead to Arthur Street and to the Everett Street bridge.
Beacon Park Yard was a CSX Transportation rail yard in Allston,Boston,now owned by Harvard University. The yard opened in 1890 on the site of a former trotting park,from which it took its name. It was closed in 2013 following the relocation of the yard's container operations to Worcester,Massachusetts,and opening of a transload facility in Westborough,Massachusetts. Plans for the yard include relocation of the Massachusetts Turnpike Allston exit,construction of a new MBTA commuter rail station,a major real estate development,and possibly a rail layover yard.
West Station is a planned station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line,to be located in the former Beacon Park Yard in Allston,Massachusetts. It was initially proposed as part of a project to straighten the Massachusetts Turnpike through the yard,allowing much of the land to be redeveloped. As of ‹See RfD› 2025,plans for the station have not proceeded beyond conceptual studies.
Alternate Concepts,Inc. (ACI) is a transit management company within the United States. It is currently headquartered in Boston,Massachusetts and provides services to four rail authorities. Between 2003 and 2014,ACI also operated the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's commuter rail system. Additionally,Alternate Concepts is planned to operate MTA Maryland's Purple Line.
