Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

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Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
MBTA.svgMBTA services sampling excluding MBTA Boat.jpg
Basic information
Company headquarters Boston
Web presence www.mbta.com
Board Janice Loux
Willie J. Davis
Joseph M. Trolla
Baron H. Martin
Richard C. Walker, III
Frank F. Chin
Mary Elizabeth Burke
Anthony M. Campo
Operations management Richard A. Davey
Lines
railroad 11
Subway 3
tram 5
trolleybus 6th
bus 150
Other lines 3 ferries
statistics
Catchment area Greater Bostondep1
Metro and tram network of the MBTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority , or MBTA for short , is the operator of the local public transport (PT) in Boston and the surrounding area. The MBTA operates in the region Massachusetts Bay eleven railway - three metro - four tram - six trolleybus - and 150 bus - lines . Colloquially, the transport company is usually called T. MBTA is also the largest public transport company in the entire Greater Boston metropolitan area .

history

US Census Bureau map of Boston steam trains from 1880
The planned West End Street rail network in 1885; the consolidation of these lines was completed in 1887.

Up until the creation of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in 1947, Boston public transport was organized by private corporations, often given special powers by the state, including expropriations to create limited monopolies as well as rights of way . The development of mass transport followed both economic and population-related criteria and at the same time helped to shape these criteria.

railroad

Shortly after the steam locomotive became practically usable for the mass transport of goods and people, the private railway company Boston and Lowell Railroad was founded in 1830 . In particular, it linked the cities of Boston and Lowell on one of the oldest railroad lines in North America. That date marks the beginning of the development of the US rail passenger transport , which in Massachusetts in the establishment of the commuter rail system's the MBTA and the establishment of the line Green Line D resulted.

tram

On March 26, 1856, the Cambridge Railroad, the first Boston streetcar line, began operating, and a number of other foundations followed. Later there were several phases of consolidation, and the vehicles initially designed as horse-drawn carts were replaced by electric trams.

Underground trains and elevated railways

Park Street MBTA station on the Green Line shortly after it opened, circa 1898

The steadily increasing traffic load and the large number of trams in downtown Boston led to the construction of subways from 1897 and from 1901 to the construction of elevated railways . The Tremont Street Subway in Boston was the first subway tunnel in the United States. On the one hand, the new railway lines offered additional transport capacities and, on the other hand, the trains running on them were regularly punctual because they could run without crossing .

The first elevated railway and the first rapid transit line in Boston were built three years before the New York City Subway , but 34 years after the first lines of the London Underground . In the course of time the first underground tunnel was extended and new junctions were made. The elevated railways were also continuously expanded. At the same time, tram lines were often shortened or discontinued.

buses

In 1922, the Boston Elevated Railway began replacing streetcar lines with buses . The Middlesex and Boston Street Railway tram last ran in 1930 , and trolleybuses were first used in 1936 .

Development of the MTA to the MBTA

The old elevated railways had become very unsightly over time and, due to the confused Boston streets, required very sharp curves in various places, which lowered the reputation of the elevated railways overall. In 1938, the Atlantic Avenue Elevated had to cease operations due to falling passenger numbers and was finally demolished in 1942. Over time, the railroad passenger transport became increasingly unprofitable, mainly due to the emergence of automobiles , and so local authorities took over the remaining routes to prevent further deterioration and demolition. The MTA took over all subways, elevated trains, streetcars and bus routes of the Boston Elevated Railway in 1947 . In the 1950s, the MTA expanded the subway routes and replaced the last two tram lines leading through the Pleasant Street Portal in the Tremont Street Subway in 1953 and 1962 with buses.

On August 3, 1964, the MBTA was founded as the official legal successor of the MTA and has since been responsible for a larger area - the original area of ​​responsibility of the MTA of 14 cities and municipalities was expanded to 78 as a result. The MBTA was partly founded to subsidize existing routes for local rail passenger transport . From 1973 to 1976 it acquired additional routes in several stages and saved them from permanent closure. By 1999, the responsibility of the MBTA was expanded to a total of 175 cities and municipalities.

In 1965, the MBTA assigned colors to its four street and metro lines and added letters in ascending order from north to south on the branches of the Green Line . A lack of vehicles, among other factors, meant that cuts were required on the Green Line . The Green Line A put into operation in 1969 and was replaced by bus number 57, while the former section of the Green Line E from the station Heath Street to the Arborway since 1985 by a replacement bus service is operated.

The MBTA also bought Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway bus routes in the northern and southern suburbs in 1968 , but most of the routes on the outer edges of the network were discontinued shortly before or shortly after the takeover due to low passenger numbers and high operating costs had to be.

In the 1970s, the MBTA received major support from the Boston Transportation Planning Review program , which re-evaluated the role of bulk transportation versus highways across the catchment area . Based on the results of the program, a moratorium was put in place on the construction of new highway sections on Massachusetts Route 128 and the expansion of several public transport lines was planned. At the same time, the demolition of the elevated railway lines continued, whereby the closure of Washington Street Elevated also meant the end of the public transport connection to the Roxbury district . From 1971 to 1985 the Red Line was expanded both in the north and in the south, which, in addition to an expansion of the underground network, also resulted in the construction of large parking garages at the larger stops and train stations. At the same time, the precarious parking situation was eased somewhat.

Bribe affair

On April 30, 1981, the then general manager of the MBTA James O'Leary found an envelope on his desk that read "To Jim O'Leary For BML". Since he only had a quick look at the addressee, he thought it said "To Jim O'Leary From BML" and opened the envelope, which was actually intended for the Secretary of State for Transport Barry Myles Locke , who was also chairman the MBTA was. Inside the envelope were four more and smaller envelopes. The smallest of them contained ten one hundred dollar bills and an anonymous message to Locke instructing him to use a lower than usual value when determining the price a Belmont resident would pay for a former MBTA property. That same evening, O'Leary went to the home of the Massachusetts Attorney General Francis Bellotti and handed him the envelopes and money.

The following day, Locke was immediately suspended from his post without pay after the then Governor Edward J. King learned that Bellotti was investigating suspicions of corruption in connection with rentals in the Boston South Station and the drafting of contracts for Carried out advertising space on MBTA vehicles. The investigation led to the indictment of a total of 17 people - including Locke - and one company for their involvement in the systematic bribery payments.

On February 2, 1982, Locke was found guilty of five counts of conspiracy to conduct bribery and theft. This made him the first since the cabinet system was introduced in 1970 and is still the only state secretary in Massachusetts to be convicted of a crime during his tenure. Judge Rudolph Pierce described Locke as someone with an "insatiable appetite" for monetary profit and sentenced him to 7 to 10 years in prison at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Cedar Junction maximum security .

Development in the 21st Century

Interior view of Boston South Station , a major transportation hub with
links to the MBTA, Amtrak and Greyhound Lines
The Wickford Junction station in Rhode Island opened in April 2012.

In 2000 there was a turning point in MBTA funding. Through July 1, 2000, any loss the MBTA incurred after all income was deducted was fully and automatically settled by the State of Massachusetts. From this date, however, the MBTA was granted a certain financial framework in advance, which was based in particular on the achievable income in the cities and municipalities served. Added to this was 20% of the state sales tax of 5%. Since then, the MBTA has had to use this budget.

In the course of the Big Dig , the State of Massachusetts ordered the MBTA to increase its transport capacity to compensate for the increased pollution caused by increased road traffic. The MBTA then used the construction work to lay part of the Green Line underground and to rebuild the Haymarket and Boston North Station . However, they had to finance this from their own resources, as the Big Dig did not provide any funds for this, and thus came to the limit of their financial resilience. The MBTA has been the fastest growing mass transit system since 1988 , and it was on the verge of ruin when the Greater Boston metropolitan area was one of the slowest growing metropolitan areas in the United States. When the MBTA's budget was limited in 2000, the company had to take out debt to finance planned projects and the mandatory stakes in Big Dig . This meant that the MBTA with an amount estimated at 9 billion US dollars today, the public transport companies with the highest debt in the US.

Since Causeway Street Elevated was replaced by a subway line in 2004, some sections of the Red Line and a short section of the Green Line have been the last remaining elevated railway lines in Boston.

On October 31, 2007, the MBTA resumed traffic to Scituate with the third branch of the Old Colony Lines .

In 2008, the then General Director of MBTA Daniel Grabauskas announced that the practice, which had been common for years, of not carrying out trips that had already been published in the timetables for cost reasons, would be ended with immediate effect.

Accidents

On May 28, 2008, shortly after 6 p.m., a tram of the Green Line D traveling westwards between the Waban and Woddland stations hit a stationary vehicle. At least seven people were injured and the 24-year-old driver was killed. On May 8, 2009, two Green Line cars collided between Park Street and Government Center stations . The cause turned out to be that one of the two drivers typed a text message to his girlfriend into his mobile phone at the time of the accident . As a consequence, a few days later, the use of cell phones while driving was banned for drivers of buses, trains and trams.

Inclusion in the MassDOT

On June 26, 2009, then Governor Deval Patrick signed a law that placed the MBTA, along with other public transport organizations, under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Since then, the MBTA has been part of the Mass Transit department (MassTrans) there. The law continued the corporate structure of the MBTA, but changed the management level so that it now consists of the five governor-appointed members of the MassDOT board of directors.

Extensions

The state of Rhode Island has financed the public transport connection to Providence since 1988 . Additional funding was provided in 2010 and 2012 to fund upgraded lines to TF Green Airport and Wickford Junction . Modernization and improvement work has been underway on the Boston – Fairmount railway line since 2002 , with the first new station Talbot Ave opening in November 2012.

Means of transport operated by the MBTA

Subway

The Boston subway is the oldest in the United States. It opened as the Tremont Street Subway just before the Chicago one on September 1, 1897 . The section of the route at that time is now part of the Green Line tram . The subway today comprises a total of three lines, the Red, Orange and Blue Line. The three lines have no track connection to each other.

Red Line

The Red Line runs between "Alewife" and "Ashmont" or "Braintree" and consists of a trunk line with two branches (total length 37.7 km). The branches are 28.3 and 18.8 kilometers long and can be traversed in 48 and 37 minutes, respectively. The first section of this line was opened on March 23, 1912 between "Harvard Square" and "Park Street". The overpass of the Charles River in the middle of the "Longfellow Bridge", which was built at the same time, is remarkable. Until 1918 there was an extension to "Andrew" in several sections. The further expansion was carried out in the 1920s:

  • on November 5, 1927 by "Andrew" to "Fields Corner"
  • on November 1, 1928 further to "Ashmont", where there is a connection to an express tram to Mattapan (opened on August 26, 1929).

This line was expanded further between the 1960s and 1980s. In the south, a branch line was created with the line to "Braintree":

  • on September 1, 1970 opening of the JFK / UMass - Quincy Center line (3 stations)
  • on March 22, 1980 opening of the Quincy Center - Braintree line (the "Quincy Adams" stopover was added in 1983)

In the north there was a completely underground extension from "Harvard Square" to "Alewife".

  • on December 8, 1984 from "Harvard Square" to "Porter"
  • on March 30, 1985 from "Porter" to "Alewife"

290 cars built between 1969 and 1993 are available for this line. Starting in 2019, the oldest vehicles in the fleet are to be replaced by 132 new vehicles from the Chinese manufacturer CNR .

Orange line

The Orange Line (opened in 1901) from "Oak Grove" to Forest Hills is 18.0 kilometers long and takes 33 minutes. It is the oldest "real" subway line in the USA.

The first section was opened on June 10, 1901 in a three kilometer long city tunnel parallel to the existing Tremont Street Subway (today part of the Green Line). On September 1, 1908, the route was then relocated to a new tunnel in Washington Street . The rest of the route was built as an elevated railway and led from "Everett" to "Forest Hills". There was also another elevated railway line in downtown Boston that ran on Atlantic Avenue (hence the name Atlantic Avenue Elevated ) and closed in 1938. Part of the route was later used for the Hochautobahn ( Central Artery ).

The northern elevated railway line between Boston North Station and "Everett" was shut down and demolished in 1975 and replaced by a new line to "Oak Grove", which runs partially in the tunnel. A new workshop was also built in Wellington.

The southern elevated railway line in Washington Street was replaced in 1987 by a level track along the northeast corridor, which leads from the "New England Medical Center" to "Forest Hills" (8 stations). The new terminus is only a few meters away from the old one, which, like the entire elevated railway, was demolished.

A total of 120 cars, which were built by Hawker Siddeley in 1981, are used on the Orange Line . Starting in 2018, the existing fleet is to be replaced by 152 new vehicles from the Chinese manufacturer CNR .

Blue line

Blue Line train at Logan Airport train station

The Blue Line has a route length of 9.6 kilometers and can be crossed in 23 minutes. It is the shortest subway line in Boston.

The first section of this route, also known as the "East Boston Line", between Government Center and "Maverick" was opened for streetcar operations on December 30, 1905. The approximately half a mile underpass of the port was one of the first underwater tunnels in the United States. On March 16, 1916, the extension to "Bowdoin" was opened to traffic. The adaptation to the full subway took place in 1924. After the Second World War, the line was extended on the route of a former narrow-gauge railway (the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad ) in 1952 (to Orient Heights) and 1954 (to Wonderland) and the current route was established. A company workshop was also created in Orient Heights.

For historical reasons, the Blue Line today has some special features:

  • the "Bowdoin" station forms a turning loop, the platform is between the two tracks and widens towards the loop
  • The route is operated with two power supply systems: between "Bowdoin" and "Airport" the trains run with a lateral conductor rail , between "Airport" and "Wonderland" they take the current from an overhead line .
  • the narrow radius within the loop in "Bowdoin" only allows vehicles with a maximum length of 14.63 meters (48 ft) to be used, while the vehicles of the Orange and Red Line are 21.34 meters (70 ft) long .

The vehicle fleet was completely renewed from 2007 to 2009 and consists of 96 cars (units each consisting of two firmly coupled cars) from Siemens .

tram

A Green Line tram

The first streetcar line in Boston opened on March 26, 1856. Today there is only one tram line in the city center, the Green Line . Due to branches in the western suburbs into the four branches B , C , D and E , the Green Line is in fact a tram network with four lines. It has been running underground in the city center since 1901. This made it the world's first underground tram.

Another tram line runs as a feeder to the Red Line in the Mattapan district .

railroad

F 40PH EMD locomotives pull most of the MBTA trains
An MBTA suburban train in Lynn Central Square

Eleven railroad lines connect the suburbs of Boston with the two downtown train stations. The extensive railroad network around Boston was previously served by three rail companies with suburban traffic: New York Central Railroad and New Haven operated from the South Station, both companies merged in 1969 to Penn Central . The Boston and Maine Railroad ran from the North Station .

In 1964, the MBTA not only financed the underground, tram, trolleybus and omnibus lines, but also partly financed the privately operated suburban rail transport. In the 1970s, some lines of Penn Central and B&M were bought by MBTA. In 1977 the B&M also took over the suburban traffic of the now bankrupt Penn Central, which has since been merged with other bankrupt railway companies in the northeastern United States to form the Conrail . Except in the Boston area, Conrail operated suburban traffic in the north-east corridor until 1982 . In 1987, the B&M handed over the suburban traffic to the MBTA, which commissioned the American long-distance transport company Amtrak to operate the suburban traffic.

Following a tender now issued by MBTA, suburban traffic has been carried out by Veolia Transportation's American subsidiary Veolia since 2003 . Nowadays, diesel trains with single-story and double-decker cars are also used on the electrified corridor route to New York, which runs from MBTA to Providence . The train crew is provided by the freight company CSX Transportation .

trolleybus

After a trolleybus network already existed in Boston between September 17, 1933 and March 31, 1963, the MBTA introduced a new - partially underground - system on September 17, 2004. It consists of the lines SL1 and SL2 (until 2009 also SL3) which are operated exclusively with duo buses and marketed as the Silver Line . The Bus Rapid Transit lines SL4 and SL5 also belong to the Silver Line network .

The Cambridge trolleybus opened on April 11, 1936 and today consists of four lines 71, 72, 73 and 77A. The former also serves the neighboring town of Watertown .

A ferry from Quincy heads for Long Wharf in Boston.

ferry

The MBTA maintains various ferry routes with a central dock in Boston Harbor . In addition to regular services within the harbor basin (for example to connect the city center to the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown ), the company offers connections to Hingham , Hull , Salem and Quincy . And the Logan International Airport is connected.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Famous Firsts in Massachusetts . Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved November 13, 2006.
  2. ^ A b c d Jonathan Belcher: Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district 1964-2012. (PDF; 911 kB) TransitHistory, 2012, accessed on November 30, 2012 (English).
  3. James Simon: O'Leary testifies about envelopes in Locke trial; prosecution to rest . In: Nashua Telegraph . Vol. 113, No. 277 . Nashua, NH Jan 27, 1982, p. 2 ( online at Google News [accessed December 2, 2012]).
  4. ^ T head suspended . In: Nashua Telegraph . Vol. 113, No. 54 . Nashua, NH May 4, 1981, pp. 15 ( online at Google News [accessed December 2, 2012]).
  5. James Simon: Suspended T official's trial starts . In: Nashua Telegraph . Vol. 113, No. 269 . Nashua, NH Jan 18, 1982, p. 2 ( online at Google News [accessed December 2, 2012]).
  6. Ex-Massachusetts official convicted in bribery case . In: The Bulletin . No. 51 . Bend, OR February 2, 1982, p. C-11 ( online at Google News [accessed December 2, 2012]).
  7. ^ Barry Locke sentenced to 7-10 years in Walpole . In: Nashua Telegraph . Vol. 113, No. 294 . Nashua, NH February 17, 1982, p. 12 ( online at Google News [accessed December 2, 2012]).
  8. ^ RS Kindleberger: Locke Free, Vows to Aid Prison Reform in Mass. In: The Boston Globe . March 20, 1984, accessed December 2, 2012 (English, paid article).
  9. Charles D. Chieppo: T expansion on wrong track. In: The Boston Globe . May 24, 2006, accessed December 3, 2012 (English, paid article).
  10. ^ Noah Bierman: High hopes ride Greenbush rails. But some seats empty on controversial line's first day. In: The Boston Globe . November 1, 2007, accessed December 3, 2012 .
  11. Casey Ross: Bus-ted: T song to cut costs. Routes dropped as riders left waiting. In: Boston Herald . February 16, 2008, accessed December 3, 2012 .
  12. Noah Bierman; Ralph Ranalli: Fatal crash on Green Line. In: The Boston Globe . May 29, 2008, accessed December 4, 2012 (English, paid article).
  13. Trolley Driver Was Texting Girlfriend At Time Of Crash. 46 Injured In Green Line Crash. (No longer available online.) TheBostonChannel, July 7, 2009, formerly in the original ; accessed on December 4, 2012 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.wcvb.com  
  14. ^ Governor Patrick Signs Bill to Dramatically Reform Transportation System. Massachusetts Governor's Office, June 26, 2009, accessed December 4, 2012 .
  15. ^ Will Brownsberger: Transportation Reform Enacted. June 18, 2009, accessed December 4, 2012 .
  16. ^ Matt Rocheleau: MBTA opens new commuter rail station at Talbot Avenue in Dorchester on Fairmount Line. In: The Boston Globe . November 12, 2012, accessed December 4, 2012 .
  17. a b Gov. Patrick Announces MBTA's Recommended Company To Build New Subway Cars In Mass. MBTA, October 21, 2014, accessed October 27, 2014 .

Web links

Commons : Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files