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From four to two: Fancier Green Line stations open on Comm. Ave.
By adamg on Mon, 11/15/2021 - 9:09am
WBZ reports the end of weekend bus diversions on the B Line as the T this morning opened its new Babcock Street and Amory Street stops, which replace four smaller stops along Commonwealth Avenue. The work finished several months ahead of schedule.
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New Chelsea Commuter Rail Station Also Opened
Also, a new Chelsea commuter rail station opened today: https://www.mbta.com/projects/chelsea-commuter-rail-station/update/new-c...
Chelsea Commuter Rail
The new Chelsea Commuter Rail stop also opened today.
For those not in the know.. the third phase of the Silver Line Gateway (SL3) project was to move the commuter rail station from its current location below the Washington Ave bridge (near the intersection of Arlington @ Sixth) to a new station behind Market Basket.
This was done because
1.To Bring full high level platforms to Chelsea Station
2. Bring a modern commuter rail station to Chelsea
3. Remove the traffic blocking nature of the old station, where a stopped train would stop over 2 intersections and block traffic. Now an entire train set can wait at the new station without stopping traffic nearby.
4. Return an outbound platform to the station (the old station had its outbound platform removed for the inbound SL3 stop)
5. Sync all traffic lights, bus and rail crossings together. Thus activating the traffic lights at each SL6 road crossing. In theory, the SL3 should no longer need to stop at each intersection and can continue (and continue to do so even if a train has stopped).
6.
Allow one to take the train to the Chelsea Market Basket and back.
The new station is a much
The new station is a much longer walk from downtown Chelsea than the old one
It is
But a couple of things to remember
1) most people in downtown chelsea are bus and SL3 riders.
I live downtown myself and I only use the CR station when I have business at North Station or I am going outbound (usually to Salem). Its faster / more convenient due to frequency to take the 111 or the SL3 into town.
And for me.. its a 9 minute walk to the SL3 / Old CR station or a 12 minute walk to Market Basket. So the time between the two at least on this side of downtown is not much.
2) The new features of the station (high level, non-street crossing) really are a trade off for the location. The old station just could not be reconfigured (as it comes in from a curve) to accommodate the upgrades that the new station has. Plus its ADA compliant.
3) There's a lot of development planned for that area. There's a huge complex being built behind Stop & Shop off Everett Ave across from the high school. That highrise just over the line in Everett on 2nd, and I hear Demoulas wants to redevelop the mall (again) to be a mixed use plaza with residential towers. Those junkyards wont be there forever, its inevitable. So the new station here is for anticipated growth.
4) There's a strong movement to extend the silver line into Everett, and this would provide a connection to the commuter rail. This station (with the 112 and 114 buses nearby) make this a connection point to other services / lines now.
5) it's just nice.. the old station was short, virtually no seating, one digital sign, no outbound platform. poorly lit, no drop off area. And good luck with luggage. ugh.
That’s a major drawback and will affect me.
But I have to agree with cybah that the new location is better in many other ways.
Someone I know once saw a young girl scoot under the stopped train so as not to miss the last outbound trip. The conductor refused to let her on the train and left her stranded alone late at night in the old station. Harsh!
I wouldn’t be surprised if others have done that. With the new station being raised you can’t scoot under the train so the new station is safer that way. But also being so long, a passover bridge would have been a good idea. Though not helpful to the disabled unless it included ramps.
I’m looking forward to using this station and not needing to lug my bike up onto the train.
Oh boy, diesel powered commuter rail
I really wish everyone would stop acting like commuter rail stops inside 95 are useful without electrification and rapid transit like service. Screw this station, screw Boston Landing, screw West station. Build rapid transit or electrify the CR system with a north south rail link.
Station Pics
Ok time for some shameless promotion. I was craving a chicken sandwich from Market Basket. They didn't have any chicken sandwiches today, but I took pictures of the new station anyways.
This is the old station:
This is the new station.
Its VERY long. Very long. It will accommodate a full train set very nicely.
More pics can be seen here: https://bit.ly/3HrP7ko
And 2 trains (IB & OB) can be seen here: https://bit.ly/3clexlj
Great. Now you can fix the
Great. Now you can fix the crumbling stations and install toilets for the homeless Downtown Crossing and State Street corridors.
And run trains through North and South …
… stations to points beyond, we’ll be looking good!
B line to Govt Center?
The new countdown signs at the Amory St stop, as well as the MBTA green line schedule, are now showing B line trains going to Government Center. Does anyone know if this is actually happening? When Govt Center reopened a few years ago B line service continued terminating at Park St, as shown on this map.
Did somebody mention Chelsea?
Here are some pictures, courtesy Broadway Jay:
So clearly planned and implemented...
...by people who have never depended on the B line. The thing is: at peak times, each of those old stops was often complely full. If the same number of people try to board at fewer stops, that doesn't actually save time. The only way this "works" is if it reduces service quality enough that fewer people decide to ride the T.
Fewer stops is def faster
Fewer stops will absolutely be faster. It takes time when you have to decelerate and accelerate a train. Also, long-term, you will be able to board at all doors on the Green Line. Also also, not all times are peak times.