MBTA Blue Line
A Blue Line train at the rebuilt Airport station
Info
Type	Rapid transit
Locale	Boston, Massachusetts
Terminals	Bowdoin Wonderland
No. of stations	12
Operation
Opened	1924 (streetcar) 1952 (rapid transit)
Owner	MBTA
Operator(s)	MBTA
Rolling stock	#4 East Boston cars
Technical
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Line map Blue Line Wonderland Revere Beach Beachmont Suffolk Downs Orient Heights Wood Island Airport Maverick Aquarium * State Government Center Bowdoin *Wheelchair access on outbound side only at State; exiting inbound riders change direction at Government Center

The Blue Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It extends from Wonderland station in Revere, Massachusetts in the northeast to Bowdoin station near Beacon Hill in Boston in the southwest. It meets the Green Line at Government Center, connects with the Orange Line at State station, and provides service to Airport station with a free shuttle connection to the various airline terminals. The line is designated Blue because for much of its length it uses the old Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad right-of-way along the seacoast in Revere and East Boston, and the tunnel to East Boston runs under the Atlantic Ocean. Boston's Blue Line was the first subway in the world to run underneath a section of the ocean.

Blue Line cars are unique among rapid transit vehicles in Boston in that they use both third rail and overhead pantograph current pickup. The line switches between the two at the Airport station where it transitions between running in a tunnel and running above ground. (The Silver Line waterfront switches between overhead and diesel power.) The overhead pantograph was implemented to avoid the third rail icing that frequently occurs in winter.

These cars are also shorter than otherwise similar ones running on the Orange Line, as the Blue Line (known as the East Boston Tunnel before the MBTA was formed) was initially designed to carry streetcars. The subway portion of the line was retrofitted with raised station platforms and rapid transit cars in the 1920s, with the surface portion between East Boston and Revere (known pre-MBTA as the Revere Extension) added in the 1950s.

As of 2005, there is a proposal to extend the Blue Line northward to Lynn, Massachusetts. The land to extend the line was purchased during initial construction, but due to budgetary constraints Wonderland station was designated the northern terminus. Two potential extension routes have been identified. One proposed path would run through marshland alongside the existing Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line, on rail lines formerly operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad. An alternative route would extend the line alongside Revere Beach Boulevard through Point of Pines and the Lynnway, along the remainder of the BRB&L right of way.^[1]

In addition, the MBTA has committed to designing an extension of the line's southern end west to Charles/MGH, where it would connect with the Red Line.^[2] This was one of the mitigation measures the Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreed to as part of the Big Dig, originating from planning of the Boston Transportation Planning Review.

The Blue Line Modernization Project begun in the late 1990s includes renovating stations to increase the length of trains from four to six cars, make all stations wheelchair accessible, and improve cosmetic appearance. Bowdoin Station is likely to be closed due to the difficulty of accommodating 6-car trains inside the wedge-shaped track. Platform legnthening of Bowdoin is unlikely to occur. If platform length is increased to the west, expensive track re-organization must occur, and expanding to the east would make the station too close to Government Center Station. (Bowdoin is the western terminus, where inbound trains follow a tight loop to the outbound side.)

Station listing

Station	Time to Government Center[3]	Opened	Transfers and notes
Wonderland	21 minutes	January 19, 1954	former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station
Revere Beach	19 minutes	January 19, 1954	former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station
Beachmont	17 minutes	January 19, 1954	former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station
Suffolk Downs	15 minutes	April 21, 1952	former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station
Orient Heights	13 minutes	January 5, 1952	former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station
Wood Island	11 minutes	January 5, 1952	Formerly Day Square, renamed Wood Island Park October 21, 1954, renamed Wood Island 1967
Airport	9 minutes	June 3, 2004	Old station opened January 5, 1952 and closed June 2, 2004
Maverick	7 minutes	April 18, 1924	Streetcar portal opened December 30, 1904
Aquarium	4 minutes	April 5, 1906	Formerly Atlantic, renamed February 13, 1967 Had a transfer to the Atlantic Avenue Elevated
State (outbound platform only)	2 minutes	December 30, 1904	Orange Line Formerly Devonshire, renamed January 25, 1967
Government Center	0 minutes	March 18, 1916	Green Line Formerly Scollay Square Under, renamed October 28, 1963 Court Street opened December 30, 1904 and closed March 17, 1916
Bowdoin	2 minutes	March 18, 1916	Closed evenings and weekends

Accessibility

The Blue Line is accessible except for the most important stations: those downtown. Currently, the outbound Blue Line platform at State Street is wheelchair accessible to the street. Inbound wheelchair users can take the Blue Line to Government Center and cross the platform there to an outbound Blue Line train and take it to the accessible State Street platform. The MBTA has plans to make the remaining Blue Line stations accessible as part of a larger effort to permit 6 car trains on the line. See MBTA accessibility.

Equipment

The Blue Line is standard gauge^[4] heavy rail. Unlike the rest of the MBTA rapid transit system, equipment have a projected lifespan of 24 years as opposed to 35 because the line runs very close to ocean and runs next to a major airport, resulting in prolonged exposure to corrossive substances. Its current fleet is the 0600 series, built 1978-1980 by Hawker Siddeley Canada Car and Foundry (now Bombardier Transportation) of Fort William, Ontario, Canada. They are 48.5 feet (14.8 meters) long and 111 inches (2.8 meters) wide, with two pairs of doors on each side. They are based on the PA3 model used by PATH in New Jersey. There are 70 Hawker cars, numbered 0600-0669.Most cars are scheduled to be retired soon because of severe corrosion due to the nature of the line. However, 12 cars will be retained until 2012.

The MBTA has ordered 94 new cars (47 pairs) with stainless steel bodies from Siemens Transportation Systems with dimensions identical to cars of the current fleet. The cars are of a similar design to those built for the Tren Urbano system in San Juan, Puerto Rico, also designed by Siemens. Originally scheduled to be delivered beginning in January, 2004, the development of the trains has been beset with development problems. The contract price of the cars is $174 million, with a total cost to the MBTA (including engineering and other related services) of $200 million. As of August 6, 2007, 12 of the 94 new cars, 702-703,704-705, 706-707, 708-709,710-711, and 712-713 have arrived and are now being tested at Wellington Station on the Orange Line and Orient Heights carhouse. 4 cars(704-705 and 702-703) are being tested on the Orange Line, making use of the unused express track between Wellington and Sullivan. Each car must be tested and run for at least 500 miles before it is allowed to be in service. The first units should be in revenue service by the end of 2007. Cars will be delivered at a rate of 4 per month until summer 2008, when all 94 cars should be in service.

Trivia

The 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland features some scenes from the Blue Line.

References

External links

• MBTA - Blue Line (official site)
• Blue Line at world.nycsubway.org
• Blue Line car specifications from Siemens
• History of Revere, including the Narrow Gauge predecessor of the Blue Line
• Blue Line Video actual video from a station and using the line
• Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district
• MBTA Vehicle Inventory Page

[ edit ] Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Red Line		Alewife – Ashmont / Braintree ––– Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line: Ashmont – Mattapan
Green Line		Lechmere – Boston College ("B") / Cleveland Circle ("C") / Riverside ("D") / Arborway (Heath Street) ("E") ––– Watertown ("A")
Orange Line		Oak Grove – Forest Hills ––– Charlestown Elevated – Atlantic Avenue Elevated – Washington Street Elevated
Blue Line		Wonderland – Bowdoin
Silver Line		Dudley Square – Downtown Crossing; South Station – various points
Buses		List - Crosstown Buses - Former Streetcars - Trackless Trolleys - Key Routes - East Boston Area - South Boston
Commuter Rail		Greenbush – Old Colony Lines (MBTA) – Fairmount – Providence/Stoughton Line – Franklin – Needham – Framingham/Worcester – Fitchburg – Lowell – Haverhill/Reading – Newburyport/Rockport - North-South Rail Link''
Miscellaneous		Accessibility – Boat service – CharlieCard – Nomenclature - List of subway stations
Predecessors		Boston Elevated Railway – Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway – Middlesex and Boston Street Railway

•  • [ e] Currently operating heavy rail rapid transit systems in the United States
MBTA Blue, Orange, and Red Lines | MTA New York City Subway and Staten Island Railway | PATH | SEPTA Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines | PATCO Speedline | Metro Subway (Baltimore) | WMATA Washington D.C. Metrorail | MARTA | Miami Metrorail | Tren Urbano | RTA Rapid Transit Red Line | Chicago 'L' | BART | LACMTA Purple and Red Lines