The MBTA released the following update this morning on its Green Line Transformation project….
Green Line Transformation Program 2019 Year in Review
As we look toward the important improvements that the Green Line Transformation (GLT) program will deliver to our customers in 2020, we want to share all that has been accomplished in 2019 and to thank you for your patience while work was completed. We know that diversions and construction can be inconvenient at times, and we appreciate your understanding as we work to provide the quality of service you want and deserve, and that we strive each day to deliver.
We’re very excited about the GLT program’s goals in 2020 and beyond. As you know, our overarching objective is to improve the Green Line quality of service, including increased capacity and enhanced accessibility through fleet modernization, infrastructure/facility upgrades, and state-of-the-art technology.
Specifically, we are investing in projects to remove barriers to access, upgrade infrastructure to support a new fleet of Supercars, and make the entire system more resilient in the event of extreme weather. Ongoing projects include:
- B Branch Station Consolidation
- D Branch Track and Signal Replacement
- Fenway Portal Project
- Green Line Extension (GLX)
- Intersection Upgrades
- New Green Line Vehicles
- Newton Highlands Station Accessibility Improvements
- Solar-Powered E Ink Signs
Please click here to see some GLT highlights of 2019 and see below for more details on select projects.
2019 Progress toward Transforming Service for Green Line Riders
D Branch Track and Signal Replacement
Since Fall 2018, we have been replacing track and signals on the D Branch between Beaconsfield and Riverside. This project will improve service, safety, and reliability with new track and updated signal systems. To date, we have replaced 10,200 feet of track and several miles of signal cable.
By the end of the project, we will to replace a total of 25,000 feet of track and 6.5 miles of signal cable, which will enable us to lift speed restrictions on the Green Line D Branch. D Branch shuttles will continue to replace train service on some weeknights and some weekends in 2020 with advance notice.
Fenway Portal Project
Site work has begun to prepare for the installation of large steel doors at the entrance of the Green Line tunnel, as well as a steel gate just outside the entrance of the Green Line tunnel, near Fenway Station to prevent flooding. Crews will also install an updated pumping station and new cameras to monitor potential flooding of the Muddy River and rising water levels that could pose a flood risk to our system.
This project will reduce risk of flooding damage on the Green Line and mitigate weather-related service interruptions. D Branch shuttles will continue to replace train service on weeknights and some weekends in 2020 with advance notice.
Intersection Upgrades
In 2019, we replaced 30 sections of track where the rail crosses the road and pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers pass over the tracks. Uneven pavement was replaced with a new, smooth layer. The work was primarily on the Green Line B and C branches, with an additional section on the Mattapan Line.
The Green Line Transformation team’s acceleration of the 30 intersections upgrades was completed 5 months ahead of the original schedule by maximizing planned diversions. These upgrades bring you a safer, more reliable MBTA.
In addition to accelerating the intersections upgrades, the Green Line Transformation team took advantage of the planned service diversions and incorporated more than 7,000 feet of track replacement work during intersection work to maximize outcomes for our riders. We ultimately exceeded our track work goal and replaced a total of 8,470 feet of track.
Connecting with Riders and Communities Served by the Green Line
Green Line Transformation Public Meetings
In the fall of 2019, the GLT team held five public meetings at key locations across each branch to introduce the holistic program to the communities served by the Green Line. These meetings were an opportunity for riders to engage with the GLT team, ask questions about specific projects, raise any concerns about impacts, and become involved in shaping the future of the Green Line. We heard many good questions and comments during each of the sessions and that input is helping guide the efforts of the Green Line Transformation program going forward.
Stay Connected with GLT!
The Green Line serves to connect people with the places they need to go. That is why we have our riders first and foremost in mind in all that we do, and why we always value your input and feedback. Proactive, transparent and frequent outreach efforts will continue throughout the duration of the GLT program. We welcome questions and comments through the website (mbta.com/GLT) or through our online feedback form at any time. To request a GLT presentation to your community group, please reach out at [email protected].
Thank You to Riders and Neighbors of the Green Line!
The entire GLT team appreciates your patience and understanding as we work to improve the Green Line system. While construction and diversions may cause temporary inconveniences, the result will be a safer, more reliable, and accessible system for all our riders and the communities we serve.
We look forward to continuing our work to improve the Green Line in 2020 and beyond!
Sincerely,
Angel Peña, Chief of Green Line Transformation
and the entire GLT team
Item! The front destination signs on the new trolleys are illegible, unless you’re a fly on the panel glass –
http://www.bu.edu/files/2018/07/MBTA-train.jpg
https://www.dotnews.com/files/Screen%20Shot%202019-01-28%20at%2012.39.16%20PM.png
https://sunbeamwhdh.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/180718_greenline_new.jpg?quality=60&strip=color
The new Newton Highlands station will be a monument to stubbornness and waste at the T. Imagine those smiling, semi-transparent multicultural people in the computer generated image running through a maze to catch an inbound train.
This does give new meaning to transparency.
I just want to know when they will discontinue bussing on the D branch on weekends
Fingers crossed!
Do any of our state or local government employees take the green line into Boston on a regular basis????? While this is a lovely article, it doesn’t state that if you are trying to commute into Boston during the week (with a family at home) that the multiple breakdowns in 2019 caused many families to miss the daycare or aftercare pick up. It doesn’t state how many times people were late to work because of the breakdowns.
It also doesn’t state that while a 30 minute ride from Newton Highlands to Government Center took over an hour on weekends due to busing.
I don’t drive into Boston because of the stress, but the MBTA now believes that because I don’t want to drive, I am willing to sit for a 75 minute ride each way into Boston. Would Governor Baker do this? Would the Lt. Governor? What about all the people who work in the state house? This is a PR piece that delivers news, but not all of the news. Those of us who rely on the T have been late and waste alot of time because of bussing and breakdowns. It has now turned into a time proposition for me on weekends, and I don’t want to spent all that time on the T, so I skip Boston Public Market, Newbury Street, the MFA and visit other areas outside of Boston.
@NewtonMom, I share your pain. I understand that the track repairs and signal replacements are important and necessarily disruptive, but the shuttle buses as they run them nearly triple my commuting time. What I find frustrating about this MBTA update is that there is no mention of when they will finally finish! Digging further, I read that they hope to wrap up in about 12 months. Even if they make that goal, we will have spent 2+ years with highly compromised service and extra expense. Surely, they could have come up with a less awful way to shuttle us back and forth during the shutdown, e.g. by running scheduled express shuttles between Kenmore and select stops in Newton.
What I find helps some when the shuttles are running is get off at Reservoir and switch to the C line. It is slower than the D but faster than the shuttle
Here’s a slightly different take….
As individuals, we all have an internal, personal evaluation (balance) is how much “bad” we are willing to tolerate to offset the “good” – ie a value proposition.
If the goal is the get more Newtonians who work downtown to take the T regularly, signal delays would be more tolerable if…..
1. The T is free (subsidized by a gas tax? Lottery?)
2. More parking spaces so people can park and ride. Even a 1/2 or 1/4 mile walk is a barrier to many
Just a thought….while riding the T. #ChooChoo
@Adam, what are your complaints about the Newton Highlands station redesign?
I think the longer ramp is a significant improvement over the ≈10% grade that used to be there, not only for wheelchair users but for walkers.
Also, if the intention of the maze to the inbound train is to keep pedestrians safe then I’m all for it, especially after a woman was seriously injured when she was hit by a train at the Newton Centre station on Saturday evening.
And I’m pleased that the Roxbury puddingstone seems to be relatively unscathed in the artist’s renderings.
John White, I don’t have a monthly pass, so if I get off at Reservoir to get on the C line, I have to pay again.
Michael, the station needs new ramps and to be made accessible. No question. The fences you see in the photos were actually rejected by the carmen’s union as dangerous more than a year ago, so I don’t know why they’re still shown, and the maze doesn’t add to anyone’s safety. My complaints are that it’s just terrible design. It does not consider the needs of the customer, or even accessibility in the broad sense (elderly, mobility impaired people without motorized wheelchairs, etc.) People of all abilities will have longer distances to travel to board the trains. Trains will not stop opposite each other, further adding to the roundabout paths one will have to take. The design was planned around 4-car trains of the current length, an edge case most other stations will never support because the type 10 will run single, longer trains, and you’d never have 4 of them in a station… There’s probably much more I’m forgetting. And of course, costs spiraled out of control, essentially to build a couple of ramps and raise the platforms (this started as a $2-4M project). Several of us fought with the MBTA and got nowhere, so it’s a dead issue.
It didn’t have to be this way. The right thing to do would have been to lower the tracks, last done about 100 years ago. This option was rejected early in the process before anyone knew they’d be reconstructing tracks throughout the D line, including some in the station. As we know, this is extremely expensive and disruptive, but now that it’s happening anyway, it’s a once in a century opportunity to get it right. When repeatedly questioned, the MBTA clung to what several advocates think are excuses and faulty reasoning and stuck with the original plan, which raises the platforms the required height (perhaps still not high enough for type 10 cars?) such that there is no longer enough clearance under the awning of the historic station structure. That’s right, the train will no longer stop at the station building outbound. It will stop a few hundred feet further away from the village, another blow to usability and accessibility. There was never a serious attempt to design and price an alternative in conjunction with the current track work.
@Adam – Thanks for taking the time to explain. That’s a real shame.
Thank you for your work on this.
I commute to Boston with the green line which is a main reason why I live in Newton.
We should really find a way to allow bikes on the green line!
How fast will it go when the tracks are replaced?