Some thought it might never happen, but at 4:50 a.m., after decades in the making, the first trolley to take passengers rolled out of Union Square in Somerville.
At 4:50 AM on March 21, 2022, the first train departed the new Union Square station in Somerville, marking the start of passenger service on the #GreenLineExtension. This historic #BuildingABetterT moment has been years in the making, so stay tuned as the celebrations continue. pic.twitter.com/iE5I7Vipin
— MBTA (@MBTA) March 21, 2022
This morning we welcomed the #GLX to Union Square #Somerville style! pic.twitter.com/v0UPDWKKg3
— City of Somerville (@SomervilleCity) March 21, 2022
I could not be more excited to be going to work via the @MBTA Green Line this morning, thanks to the just-opened Union Square extension #GLX pic.twitter.com/ktRaST4Bis
— Dunbar Carpenter (@DunbarCarpenter) March 21, 2022
It’s real!!! pic.twitter.com/Kj74XsHjoc
— Somerville Infrastructure (@SomervilleInfr1) March 21, 2022
The main part of the extension, of more than just one stop past Lechmere, is scheduled to open this summer.
The new stations come with a new way to pay - Charlie could finally be forced offa that train because he doesn't have a paper receipt to prove he paid:
We're excited to welcome riders to #GreenLineExtension's Lechmere & Union Square stations on 3/21. Before you board at these stations, you must validate your CharlieCard/CharlieTicket at a fare vending machine.
Watch a quick tutorial on how to validate your fare at GLX stations. pic.twitter.com/Wrrfyovfmf
— MBTA (@MBTA) March 18, 2022
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Comments
A step in the right direction
By anon
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 9:27am
A step in the right direction!
We should be fighting for better train infrastructure - it shouldn't take 30-40 years for new stops/stations!
Or to rebuild the stations
By R Hookup
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 3:38pm
Or to rebuild the stations that were here in the past.
Some of the Somerville stations were in similar locations in the past and discontinued when we became more reliant on autos.
First civilians to ride the new portion
By eeka
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 9:45am
This story is worth a listen:
https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2022/03/20/family...
Thank you for posting the link, eeka!
By mplo
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 4:46am
Hi, eeka!
Thank you for posting the link to such a great story! As a Somerville resident, I'm glad that the GLX finally opened.
I honestly thought
By erik g
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:10am
I'd never see the day. In 2008, when my wife and I were looking at houses near Boston, the premium for living in that part of Somerville was already cost-prohibitive. After all, in just a few short years there would be a T station practically in our back yard. 14 years later, it's finally open.
Yeah
By BostonDog
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:22am
Housing (sale) has been priced as if the T was already open for a decade now. The big question is if Somerville and Medford approve zoning changes and allow big developments nearby.
Right or wrong, that's the thing the opponents to GLX have always been opposed to.
It's interesting how Somerville has gotten considerably less dense since since GLX was first proposed. (More condos with couples, fewer rentals with 4 housemates or families.)
There’s a 25 story building going up in Union square
By robo
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:48am
Only the elevator shaft is at full height, but it is significantly (like not even close) bigger than everything around.
https://www.archpaper.com/2021/12/somerville-massi...
But what about the other stops?
By BostonDog
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 12:18pm
There are people advocating that once GLX is complete, there should be several buildings that large next to every new stop. There's has been considerable opposition to that as well as some support.
Imagine
By Will LaTulippe
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:30am
Seeing how mediocre the MBTA is, then wildly outbidding everyone else for shelter near it.
The people taking the T aren
By Kinopio
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 8:13pm
The people taking the T aren’t the ones blowing thousands per year on gas.
I may take that way home tonight
By Michael
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:21am
if it's still working
Update
By Michael
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 6:14pm
Made it!
What are We Celebrating Again?
By thetrainmon
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:33am
A project that's less than half finished (considering the Medford Branch is longer), 16 years behind schedule?
Maybe the fact that people who actually wanted to take public transit to the Museum of Science don't have to rely anymore on the godawful shuttle bus service where they managed to put the stop even farther away from the Museum itself than the Green Line station, and 3/4 of the bus operators didn't even announce the stop, so if you actually wanted to get off there, you wouldn't realize it until you're already turned onto McGrath Highway and driving by the Museum and then it 's like "hey, where's the stop?! Oh, it was back there. Great--gotta walk back from Lechmere!"
The Inbound stop was even bigger joke: by the time you walked to it, especially with kiddo(s) in tow, you'd have two buses pass you and you'd practically be at North Station so, rather than wait ten minutes for the next bus, you might as well just keep walking. Yeah, why didn't they put up a temporary crosswalk, signal and stops on McGrath Highway directly outside the Museum entrance? The whole point of temporary busing (bustitution) is to make it easier to use the service of lieu of train service--not harder!
And don't get me started on the nonexistent enforcement of the bus lanes! Not really a surprise since they weren't part of the plan to begin with--they were a suggestion by transit advocacy group and the suits were like "Yeah, sure, whatever."
The one-stop extension to Union Square will certainly serve as a boon to the burgeoning development in the area. The Medford Branch will not only bring badly needed light rail connectivity, but also finally connect the Somerville Community Path and Minuteman Trail to the Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Paths via the series of parallel paths and elevated (and too narrow) elevated mixed-use path. I guess when you've waited 16 years, what's another few months, right?!
Does it actually hurt
By erik g
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:37am
when you smile?
Difficult to say.
By uhub-fan
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 1:57pm
Has it ever happened?
I don't think people who
By Elise Roddy
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:44am
I don't think people who visit a museum ~once a year with their kids were the main constituency considered for this or any other transportation project. At least I hope they weren't.
I bet you're real fun at
By dd808
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 6:09pm
I bet you're real fun at parties.
I see what you're saying.
By mplo
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 4:55am
Buses are not any more efficient than cars in getting around this city, because, unlike the MBTA trains, buses, too, sit in traffic.
Free the T
By Elise
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:32am
I wonder how many people bothered to take the four steps to "validate their fare" and how many just rode for free.
Between this and the E line at rush hour what is the point of fare collection?
Validation was easy
By HenryAlan 2.0
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 5:11pm
Took all of one second.
The validating your ticket
By Anon
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 1:53pm
The validating your ticket thing isn't new in Boston. When the Romney administration debuted the new automated fare collection system (Charliecard/ticket) some of the green line stations like Fenway had validator machines so you could board at any door. Didn't last long and the T gave up. Since Baker stripped down the original station designs on the new stations (paying as you get on instead of a closed station) I guess they are going to try again?
The T is on a role
By anon
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 1:56pm
Yesterday over one million passengers were safely transported and arrived on time to the Parade. There were no security issues. Today the T opens a few new stations and everything is going smoothly and the trains are running on time.
I hope to ride the GLX to and from Union Square some day.
By mplo
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 4:54am
I hope to ride the GLX to and from Somerville's Union Square some day, but right now, I still don't feel safe taking the MBTA, especially since the mask mandate has been removed.
I'm fully vaccinated, but still.....
I do miss riding the T, however. I still take the Lyft when I have to go downtown for appointments or whatever, or even to my TKD classes, in bad weather.
Time to re-enter the real world
By Ron Newman
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 10:31am
There is still a mask mandate (by Federal law), until at least mid-April, on the MBTA and all other public transportation. If you are fully vaccinated and boosted, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Walk over to Union Square and enjoy the new service.
To be fair
By Michael
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 10:32am
That mask mandate is currently being enforced as it has all along, that being "not at all"
Just stop
By lbb
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 11:48am
I wonder if you, and people who use phrasings like this, ever stop to think about what a shitty thing it is to say to people who are vulnerable in ways that you are not.
Emphasis mine. This is bullshit. Stop giving bad advice.
Spring Training
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 03/22/2022 - 8:24pm
This is so awesome.
I can't wait for the additional branch to open up! An easy 2-mile bike ride to a one seat ride to into the city.
Hopefully it will be extended to Rt. 16, less than a mile from my house. Then I can walk. Meet my son in Magoon Square on the way home, meet up in other areas where we like to go out without dealing with the car.
Not to mention the extension of the community path!
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