Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

ulrichomega said:
Lechmere to Union was super slow the one time I've taken it, and that was months ago, but I don't think it was 25 minutes slow. Are we dealing with variable delays for some reason? Is testing the Medford branch slowing down Union Square trains because they're making sure signals are working right? Sure would be nice if we had some communication on this issue.
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Yeah, the 25 minutes was inclusive of a long stop on the viaduct before the Union/Medford switched and a long stop somewhere behind the Target. Two inbound trains from Union passed us in the mean time, and the other track was occupied once we finally pulled into the station. 🙄
 
The fake trains are brutal. Got on a "Union" train at Arlington. Kicked off at Govt Center. Got on another - kicked off at Lechmere. Finally got one to Union. Why bother?
 
Reddit is spitting out garbage rumors of a random armchair person's guess for when the GLX Medford Branch is opening. I've had to downplay this rumor since it's anyone's guess.

The Medford Branch has no announcement yet, and WMATA will be opening their Silver Line extension before the MBTA's Medford Branch in Somerville opens. Like the reddit armchair person's bold and unverified claim for the GLX Medford Branch's opening, WMATA citied the Thanksgiving holiday as one of the reasons for opening their Silver Line extension the week before Thanksgiving.

https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/ylxp53/_/iv22scj
 

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It seems though Google Maps decided January 2023 is how long the School St. bridge will remain closed.

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fattony said:
Curb extension/bump-out being built opposite Ball Square Station. The intersection of Broadway and Boston Ave is being reworked for pedestrian comfort.
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I really hope that means they're putting in a crosswalk from the corner of Broadway and Rogers. Otherwise everyone will just jaywalk across the middle of the intersection rather than take the half-block detour to cross at a crosswalk.
 
No pix or anything fun to support this, but I took the Green Line from Union to Government Center (and, many hours later, back) and it was excellent, across the board. Zero (under 5 minutes) wait in both directions, no weird stops or misleading signage/announcements; yeah, inbound over the highest part from Union to Lechmere (across from Twin City Plaza) it slowed down for a bit, but nothing major or long-lasting. People who whine and moan about the T should really travel to other places more often. NYC, San Fran, Chicago (and plenty other places) would be stoked to have rapid transit this good.
 
chrisbrat said:
At its slowest I saw 12ish mph, but that lasted literally seconds.
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I ride this often and agree there has been a recent improvement in the viaduct slowdown; however, there's definitely still a slowdown there. The train runs distinctly faster between the Charlestown Ave/Gilmore Bridge underpass and the new Lechmere station (i.e., new portion of viaduct) compared to between there and Science Park (in both directions). I agree with chrisbrat that it is only a few seconds in duration and is more tolerable. It still seems, however, that rather than fully lifting the reduction they have simply raised it from about 5mph to 10mph on this stretch. Hopefully this is part of an incremental plan that will result in it stepping up in speed again soon.
 
bigpicture7 said:
I ride this often and agree there has been a recent improvement in the viaduct slowdown; however, there's definitely still a slowdown there. The train runs distinctly faster between the Charlestown Ave/Gilmore Bridge underpass and the new Lechmere station (i.e., new portion of viaduct) compared to between there and Science Park (in both directions). I agree with chrisbrat that it is only a few seconds in duration and is more tolerable. It still seems, however, that rather than fully lifting the reduction they have simply raised it from about 5mph to 10mph on this stretch. Hopefully this is part of an incremental plan that will result in it stepping up in speed again soon.
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I role the GLX to Union Square yesterday and can confirm the speed limit on the viaduct between Science Park and the Gilmore Bridge is 10 MPH. I rode yesterday for the first time since early summer and was curious to see if any improvements to speed/efficiency had been made since and I have to say, I came out of it pretty disappointing. Overlooking the fact that the train I was on went out of service unexpectedly at Lechmere, the ride from Lechmere into Union Square was especially slow and tedious, including a 90-second stop while a train was moved into the Somerville maintenance facility. (Once we got moving, it was the requisite crawl into Union) Based on some of the video I've seen on Twitter, it does look like the speeds on the Medford branch will be more normal and efficient, but I'm increasingly concerned that the Union Square branch is going to be too slow and inefficient to be practical. I fear the presence of the Medford branch junction and the entrance to the maintenance facility on the spur to Union is going to create a lot of sources of conflict that will slow down the trains along that branch. Hope I'm proven wrong.
 
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