Green Line

Speeches amidst the glorious rumble of trains overhead.

The STEP crew is beyond overjoyed at the opening of Phase 1 of the Green Line Extension today. A few of us joined present and former mayors and a crowd of many others who helped make the Green Line a reality over so many years. THE TRAINS ARE RUNNING, SOMERVILLE! https://youtu.be/bTvLxH51XxI The station from Prospect St bridge. Station entrance with the glorious sign we've been waiting for. So many Somerville mayors! All aboard! Mayor Ballantyne talking with STEP's Ellin Reisner and Karen Molloy.

"Green Line extension to Union Square will open March 21, MBTA says" (Boston Globe) New stations at Lechmere and Union Square will welcome passengers that day, marking a major milestone for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which has been discussing extending the Green Line for decades. “It’s a really proud moment for the T, a really important moment for the region, and really a symbol that we can do big things and we can get things done,” said MBTA General Manger Steve Poftak at a MBTA board meeting. The timing of the opening of the separate and much longer Green Line extension branch to Medford, which includes five new stations, was tentatively scheduled for May, but may not start carrying passengers until summer.

"And now . . . the Green Line Extension. For real, this time, the T promises." (Boston Globe) "...more than three decades after the state first promised to extend the Green Line as environmental mitigation for the Big Dig, test trains are gliding along the tracks between North Station and Union Square ahead of a planned opening of the project’s first branch next month.... The extension will have to pass federal safety certifications, Poftak said, and the T is still working on finishing the two new stations and training drivers. The timing of the opening of the much longer second branch to Medford, which includes five new stations, was tentatively scheduled for May, but may not start carrying passengers until summer.... As part of the foundation’s settlement with the state in 2007, the…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pti746ZAtbs "Baker goes on GLX joyride" (CommonWealth Magazine) Somerville mayor-elect Katjana Ballantyne, who joined current Mayor Joseph Curtatone at the press availability at the new Lechmere stop in Cambridge, also provided a preview of what is likely to become a common refrain as the Green Line extension opens: How come it took so long? Ballantyne took out a copy of the Somerville Journal from 2005. On the front page was a picture of her 7-year-old daughter, who spoke out in favor of the project at a meeting attended by former mayor Michael Capuano and then-MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas. Ballantyne said her daughter came over to her after she spoke and asked: “Momma, when can I ride the train? I said maybe when you’re a senior in high school.” Ballantyne added: “She’s 25…

Here's a test run into the new Union Square station. The Green Line is coming soon!

Frustrating news: The Union Square station, previously delayed to open in December, will now open in March. From a press release: “Senior MBTA and GLX leadership are working closely with GLXC to bring this project to fruition on this updated timetable,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. “We’re strongly committed to GLX and very close to safely bringing extended Green Line service into Somerville and Medford.” “We are disappointed that the schedule has had to be adjusted, but GLXC is dedicated to working with our MBTA partners to complete this project by March,” said Thomas Nilsson, president of Fluor’s Infrastructure business line and a GLXC board member. “We are committed to providing MBTA Green Line passengers with a quality, safe, and affordable mode of transportation for decades to come.” "The opening of the…

"Why does it cost so much to build things in America?" (Vox) "The 4.3-mile [Green Line] light rail project was estimated to cost $1.12 billion in 2012 — by 2015, that number had nearly tripled. The researchers were able to identify a few reasons for what happened to the Green Line: Jockeying between two different understaffed agencies with little experience managing large projects and consultants, a laissez-faire approach to allowing stakeholders’ expensive ideas to be added to the project scope 'even if impractical,' and public pressure for more as the project dragged on and the demand for transit options increased."