Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

[Teban54]

Almost all of the riders got on and off at Union Square, not Lechmere. This was late at night, so probably not indicative of peak ridership, but makes me excited that the new station is actually serving people.

FWIW, on one of the Saturdays after the extension opened, I took it from Union Square and while there were quite a good number of passengers there, there were significantly more at Lechmere. Although I haven't ridden them enough to get a good idea of the ridership patterns yet, and I don't plan to.

 

[CajunAsian]

Tufts Daily Beatin’ the drum:

View attachment 23269

Green Line Extension contributes to increased displacement risk of Somerville tenants - The Tufts Daily

The MBTA Green Line Extension officially began service with the opening of its Union Square Branch on March 21, 2022. The addition extends the Green Line’s service from Lechmere station to the new Union Square station in Somerville. The Medford branch of the GLX, which will terminate at the...

tuftsdaily.com

They changed the headline and issued a correction.

 

[RandomWalk]

The construction access off Murdock St, near the Magoun station, is fenced off with large “No GLXC access” signs. I think that means they’re down to just Central St as temporary construction access points.

 

[RandomWalk]

It’s a small thing, but all the feeders to the OCS are now wired up.

Magoun Square station also has a strange handwritten sign on the entrance stating that it is closed for “testing” and anyone needing access should call Kevin.

 

[Arlington]

OCS = Overhead Contact System (the power wires / aka The Catenary). And if the feeders are up, it may mean it’ll soon be energized (they’ll turn on the power and run some test trains to Tufts).

 

[stefal]

Anybody riding out of Union/live around there able to tell how construction is progressing around there? There were comments that there is some work left to be done - is it mostly night work? Weekends? How are they hitting 100% completion?

 

[RandomWalk]

Magoun Square is still running on generators, though they have pulled utility power from a pole on the Lowell St bridge. The switchgear under the pedestrian bridge is still not connected to the Pearl St substation, but the cables are dangling near the conduits on the other side of the Lowell St bridge.

 

[ceo]

Last I looked, the power distribution cables were pulled to where they connect to the OCS, but hadn't been actually connected to it, in the Gilman Sq to Ball Sq stretch.

 

[737900er]

Yesterday on my trip to Union Square we had to wait a couple minutes approaching Union Square because both platform tracks were occupied. I think a lack of crossover beyond the platform Union Square could come back to bite.

Union Square, at least as currently operated, can only accommodate two trains. Every other endpoint on the system -- with the exceptions of Heath Street and Ashmont, which are loops -- has the ability to accommodate three trains. One arriving, one departing, and one turning around. On days with delays in the Central Subway the current configuration will make it harder to clean up delays without a lot of short-turning cars short of Union Square.

I think it's also possible that this was caused by a yard pullout from Innerbelt Yard to surge capacity after a Red Sox game (the train that left as we pulled in was signed Riverside), which presumably will be better once the other branch opens.

 

[kjdonovan]

I expect they won’t make a delay announcement on the Medford Branch until March 2022, and it will probably be to October 2022.

Just bumping this post from October 2021 and making a prediction that this is probably the closest to an accurate guess so far. If you go back in time five months and look at what's been accomplished, then look at the project's remaining punch list, it's hard not to feel pessimistic about a late summer opening.

 

[HelloBostonHi]

Union Square, at least as currently operated, can only accommodate two trains. Every other endpoint on the system -- with the exceptions of Heath Street and Ashmont, which are loops -- has the ability to accommodate three trains. One arriving, one departing, and one turning around. On days with delays in the Central Subway the current configuration will make it harder to clean up delays without a lot of short-turning cars short of Union Square.

Oak Grove too right? And even though there are storage tracks beyond I'm pretty sure Alewife and Forest Hills only use the switchover before the station regularly and therefore only accomodate two trains in normal service. I know I routinely get stuck outside Forest Hills waiting for a NB train to depart

 

[Brattle Loop]

Oak Grove too right? And even though there are storage tracks beyond I'm pretty sure Alewife and Forest Hills only use the switchover before the station regularly and therefore only accomodate two trains in normal service. I know I routinely get stuck outside Forest Hills waiting for a NB train to depart

Oak Grove has tail tracks, but in fifteen-plus years of using that station the most I've ever seen them used for is very occasional storage for MoW equipment (and one is now partially blocked by the emergency exit from the north end of the platform). It's very common to wait outside of Oak Grove for a SB departure to open up a track (and that's when the crossover south of the platform isn't having one of its bimonthly meltdowns).

 

[LexSEDotVille]

Longtime lurker - first post!

Did some exploring today and snapped some pics of East Somerville Station:

9 by 1, on Flickr

10 by 1, on Flickr

11 by 1, on Flickr

12 by 1, on Flickr

13 by 1, on Flickr

5 by 1, on Flickr

6 by 1, on Flickr

7 by 1, on Flickr

20 by 1, on Flickr

 

[RandomWalk]

Nice shots, but do be careful about entering an active construction site.

 

[Ruairi]

Wow, they put the station entrance as far away from east somerville as possible!

 

[LexSEDotVille]

Agreed! This station seems to have been most affected by the Baker cuts. I remembered seeing renderings of the station that had an elevator and stairs located at the bridge before cost cutting.

The station entrance is 100m-150m from Washington St. It poorly serves the existing neighborhood (bit of a slap in the face, if you ask me), but appears to be well located to serve the new Brickbottom development. I do hope they eventually provide better access to Washington St, or at least add an entrance to the platform on the N/W side of the station platform. The way it's built now requires walking along the community path the lenght of the platform to the entrance at the S/E end of the station's platform.

Wow, they put the station trance as far away from east somerville as possible!

 

[Texasian]

They really should have made the station entrance frames (the black things with the pull down grates) a bit taller. Was coming back from PAX with a friend and he ended whacking his head against the bottom of the grate. He's 6'4", so tall but not like NBA tall.

 

[chrisbrat]

Mmmmm... that's absolutely "NBA tall." But it's still a fair point/critique.

 

[found5dollar]

They really should have made the station entrance frames (the black things with the pull down grates) a bit taller. Was coming back from PAX with a friend and he ended whacking his head against the bottom of the grate. He's 6'4", so tall but not like NBA tall.

The world is built for a six-foot-tall British policeman.

Modulor - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[etik]

Ghosts of Lechmere past