Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

The EGE said:
Someone on railroad.net commented on the Monday opening of GLX, noting that the BERy usually opened new lines on Saturdays when ridership was lower. I got curious.

Recent rapid transit openings have been a mix of days. During the 1960s-1980s expansion period, openings were mostly Saturday for extensions, and Monday or Tuesday for reroutings that required weekend track work.
SL3: Saturday
Assembly: Tuesday
SL4: Thursday
South Boston Transitway: Friday
SL5: Saturday
Braintree platform at JFK/UMass: Wednesday
Southwest Corridor: Monday
Alewife: Saturday
Davis: Saturday
Quincy Adams: Saturday
Harvard: Tuesday
Braintree: Saturday
Harvard/Brattle: Saturday
Oak Grove: Sunday
Malden Center: Saturday
Wellington: Saturday
Sullivan Square: Monday
Quincy Center: Wednesday

During the MTA and BERy era, openings were commonly but not always on Saturdays. Prior to the mid-1910s, it was much more random. Infill stations were a mixed bag.
Highland Branch: Saturday
Science Park: Saturday
Wonderland: Tuesday
Suffolk Downs: Monday
Orient Heights: Saturday
Huntington Avenue Subway: Sunday
Kenmore: Sunday
Charles: Saturday
Butler: Wednesday
Mattapan: Saturday
Milton: Monday
Ashmont: Saturday
Fields Corner: Saturday
Lechmere: Monday
Arlington: Sunday
Everett: Saturday
Andrew: Saturday
Broadway: Saturday
South Station: Sunday
Bowdoin: Saturday
Washington: Sunday
Boylston Street Subway: Saturday
Green Street: Wednesday
Lechmere Viaduct: Saturday
Cambridge Tunnel: Saturday
Forest Hills: Monday
Washington Street Tunnel: Monday
Atlantic Avenue station: Thursday
East Boston Tunnel: Friday
Thompson Square: Thursday
Atlantic Avenue El: Thursday
Main Line El: Monday
Tremont Street Subway (3 segments): Wednesday, Friday, Saturday


There's a definite trend towards Monday openings for commuter rail lines:
Wachusett: Friday
Wickford Junction (weekday only): Monday
TF Green Airport (weekday only): Monday
Greenbush: Wednesday
Old Colony (weekday only): Monday
Newburyport: Monday
Worcester (weekday only): Monday
Forge Park/495: Thursday
Providence (weekday only): Monday
Needham: Monday
Southwest Corridor: Monday
Gardner: Sunday
Haverhill: Monday
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This is very comprehensive analysis. Really cool thanks
 
Nice write-up about GLX, Union Sq, Boynton, Brickbottom, and more.

www.bostonglobe.com

The Green Line is coming to Somerville. Big changes are coming too. - The Boston Globe

Construction is underway on 1.3 million square feet of lab and residential property along the long-delayed extension to Somerville.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
953719D5-6A9C-45DB-818C-5679558C7D1B.jpeg
 
^ That picture really makes it look near impossible to extend glx to porter. On maps it appears theyd have to push the commuter rail tracks further left to be able to just squeeze it in. I know they accounted for this, but its just jarring to see in pictures.
 
stick n move said:
^ That picture really makes it look near impossible to extend glx to porter. On maps it appears theyd have to push the commuter rail tracks further left to be able to just squeeze it in. I know they accounted for this, but its just jarring to see in pictures.
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As has been noted on AB, the electric power substation is the sticky wicket.
 
From this article published yesterday, it appears that the city is aware of the substation issue:

State transportation officials and the Eversource power utility will be reminded by a resolution approved Monday by councillors to finish work around the new Union Square station without blocking a further extension of the green line to Porter Square.

“The [green line extension] commitment to the federal government included that a potential connection of the GLX to Porter Square would not be precluded,” councillor Patty Nolan’s late resolution noted. “It is in the interest of the City of Cambridge that the commitment be honored.”

Eversource is working on figuring out the path and permitting for a major installation of electrical cables from Allston-Brighton through East Cambridge to Union Square, where it is expanding a substation across from the new Union Square station, Nolan said. The resolution is a reminder that the installation of infrastructure shouldn’t interfere with future public transit needs.
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The EGE said:
From this article published yesterday, it appears that the city is aware of the substation issue:
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Interestingly, that's a resolution of the Cambridge City Council, who have a vested interest in the GL reaching Porter.

Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
Nice write-up about GLX, Union Sq, Boynton, Brickbottom, and more.

www.bostonglobe.com

The Green Line is coming to Somerville. Big changes are coming too. - The Boston Globe

Construction is underway on 1.3 million square feet of lab and residential property along the long-delayed extension to Somerville.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
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Next to the Prospect Street bridge in Somerville, a bright yellow crane towers alongside the quickly rising concrete core of an apartment building that will be taller than anything around it.
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Understatement of the year. Also, their map has Lechmere in the wrong place (it really also has East Somerville in the wrong place and Gilman Square not on the rail line). C'mon, Globe, you only had 5 things on that map, and the whole point was new stations.
 
From the GLX email updates:

On Sunday, March 6 at approximately 10 AM, the MBTA will conduct an emergency response drill involving a Green Line train between the newly built Lechmere and Union Square Stations. Local and regional media outlets are expected to cover this drill.

While the exercise is scheduled from approximately 10 AM to 12 PM, surrounding neighbors can expect heightened activity in the area starting as early as 7 AM. There will be regular Sunday service on the Green Line with no impacts to Green Line service. This exercise will take place in the area that is being constructed as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX) project.

The learning exercise will include a scenario in which a train is traveling outbound between Lechmere Station on the Union Square Branch. In the simulated exercise, the train is traveling faster than the posted speed and makes contact with the train directly in front of it and derails before coming to a stop. Several passengers are injured and others must evacuate the train. The exercise is designed to establish a learning environment for public safety officials to exercise emergency response plans, policies, and procedures as they pertain to a mass casualty event on a Green Line train on a new section of the viaduct. To ensure an effective exercise, subject matter experts and representatives from numerous agencies took part in the planning process and will take part in the exercise conduct and evaluation.

Agencies participating in this exercise include MBTA Operations, MBTA Transit Police, Cambridge Fire Department (CFD), Somerville Fire Department (SFD), and Medford Fire Department (MFD).
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Could be a fun photo op!
 
Brick Top said:
In the simulated exercise, the train is traveling faster than the posted speed and makes contact with the train directly in front of it and derails before coming to a stop. Several passengers are injured and others must evacuate the train.
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Well they should be well prepared for this since this scenario happened last year right
 
Even though an event such as this marks a milestone, it may take longer than anticipated for the T to get their act together. Delays seem to always be the norm for most programs. Covid-19 & other things seem to always get the upper hand. :( :eek:
 
Great photos as always BeeLine!

BeeLine said:
IMG_3481 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
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Given that we're 2 weeks out from opening... do we have any idea how access is going to work for Union Square besides the elevator/stairs? I reached out to JT, the ward 2 city councilor, and he said he hadn't been told anything besides there will be a "very nice path". Nobody knows where the path will actually lead, though. Are we getting a sidewalk shed that actually leads to Prospect? Will they shunt folks who want an at-grade access off to go around to Allen St? Honestly, it seems kinda nuts to me that, with two weeks to go, we don't have plans of any sort.
 
Texasian said:
Great photos as always BeeLine!



Given that we're 2 weeks out from opening... do we have any idea how access is going to work for Union Square besides the elevator/stairs? I reached out to JT, the ward 2 city councilor, and he said he hadn't been told anything besides there will be a "very nice path". Nobody knows where the path will actually lead, though. Are we getting a sidewalk shed that actually leads to Prospect? Will they shunt folks who want an at-grade access off to go around to Allen St? Honestly, it seems kinda nuts to me that, with two weeks to go, we don't have plans of any sort.
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Initially I assume it would just be the elevator and the stairs. The whole frontage of Prospect will ultimately be a sloped plaza that leads into the station from that side.
 
Equilibria said:
Initially I assume it would just be the elevator and the stairs. The whole frontage of Prospect will ultimately be a sloped plaza that leads into the station from that side.
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Yep, I'm aware of what the site will look like in its final state. Thats more than a year off, though. Requiring folks with accessibility issues to go up a hill to get to an elevator feels... not right.
 
I recently chatted with some construction workers surveying Squire's Bridge, which carries McGrath over the commuter rail and Union Square branch GLX tracks by Twin City Plaza. They said that the retaining wall on the southeast side is in really poor shape, and may require significant fortification. Given the overall poor condition of the bridge, I would not be surprised if rail traffic under the bridge will need to be disrupted in the near future to accommodate major repairs to the bridge.

(If the bridge needs replacement, necessitating closure of the train tracks underneath, it would be wonderful if the tracks could be buried so that the entirety of McGrath could be grounded from Medford Street to Twin City Plaza. Of course, this will never happen.)
 
Texasian said:
Yep, I'm aware of what the site will look like in its final state. Thats more than a year off, though. Requiring folks with accessibility issues to go up a hill to get to an elevator feels... not right.
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I could be wrong here but it seems like they were doing ground work at the site entrance to the US2 development on prospect. Would they really add so much foot traffic to that area tho. seems like a nuts idea.
 
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