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 755,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023, of which the rapid transit lines averaged 267,100 and the light rail lines 80,300, making it the fourth-busiest rapid transit system and the third-busiest light rail system in the United States. As of the fourth quarter of 2023, average weekday ridership of the commuter rail system was 97,100, making it the fifth-busiest commuter rail system in the U.S.
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 134 stations. It is operated under contract by Keolis, which took over operations on July 1, 2014, from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR).
Riverside station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail station located in the Auburndale village of Newton, Massachusetts. It is the western terminal of the Green Line D branch service. The station is located near the interchange of Interstate 95 and the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) and serves as a regional park and ride station. West of the station is Riverside Yard, the main maintenance facility and largest storage yard for the Green Line. The station is fully accessible.
Sullivan Square station is a rapid transit station on the MBTA subway Orange Line, located adjacent to Sullivan Square in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is a major transfer point for MBTA bus service, with 12 routes using a two-level busway. The station has two island platforms serving the two active Orange Line tracks plus an unused third track. The Haverhill Line and Newburyport/Rockport Line pass through the station on separate tracks but do not stop.
The Fairmount Line or Dorchester Branch is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Except for a short portion in Milton, it lies entirely within Boston, running southwest from South Station through the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park. Weekend service began on November 29, 2014. Most trains reverse direction at the south end at Readville, but some Franklin/Foxboro Line trains use the Fairmount Line rather than the Northeast Corridor.
The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 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 Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Providence station or Wickford Junction station in Rhode Island, while the Stoughton Branch splits at Canton Junction and terminates at Stoughton. It is the longest MBTA Commuter Rail line, and the only one that operates outside Massachusetts. The line is the busiest on the MBTA Commuter Rail system, with 17,648 daily boardings in an October 2022 count.
Bellingham Square station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Silver Line bus rapid transit (BRT) station located near Bellingham Square slightly north of downtown Chelsea, Massachusetts. The station has two accessible side platforms for buses on the SL3 route. The Boston and Maine Railroad and predecessor Eastern Railroad served Chelsea station at the same location from the mid-1850s to 1958. The MBTA opened Chelsea station on the Newburyport/Rockport Line in 1985. Prior to its 2010 cancellation, the Urban Ring Project planned for a circumferential BRT line with a stop at Mystic Mall. Planning continued for the Chelsea segment; a Silver Line extension to Mystic Mall was announced in 2013. Construction began in 2015, and SL3 service to the renamed Bellingham Square station began on April 21, 2018. Commuter rail service moved to the newly constructed Chelsea station on November 15, 2021.
Middleborough/Lakeville station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Lakeville, Massachusetts, just south of the Middleborough border. It is the southern terminus of the Middleborough/Lakeville Line; it is also an intermediate stop for seasonal CapeFlyer service to Cape Cod. Middleborough/Lakeville has a single full-length high-level side platform serving the line's single track.
Mishawum station is an MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line station located in the north part of Woburn, Massachusetts just north of the Route 128/I-95 beltway. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. Mishawum is a limited-service flag stop intended for reverse commuting to the adjacent office park, with no weekend service. With just 32 boardings on an average weekday in 2018, Mishawum is one of the least busy stations on the commuter rail system.
Medford/Tufts station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located off Boston Avenue near College Avenue in Medford, Massachusetts, adjacent to Tufts University. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is the northern terminus of the E branch.
Ball Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Ball Square in Somerville and Medford, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
Magoun Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Lowell Street south of Magoun Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
Gilman Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Gilman Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
East Somerville station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located in southeastern Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
Daniel Anthony Grabauskas is an American transportation executive and government figure, who is the former executive director and CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) and former general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
James A. "Jim" Aloisi Jr. is a Boston-based writer, lawyer and consultant with a specialty in transportation planning and policy. Aloisi is secretary of Boston-based transit policy advocacy group TransitMatters and a lecturer at the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning.
Chelsea station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station located adjacent to the Mystic Mall in Chelsea, Massachusetts. It is the terminus of the SL3 route of the MBTA Silver Line bus rapid transit (BRT) network, and is served by the Newburyport/Rockport Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail. The accessible station has a loop with two small platforms for the Silver Line, and two full-length side platforms for commuter rail trains.
