The MBTA is a troubled system these days mostly because of decades of neglect coming due, but it's got a fantastic history and could be good again. It's just a matter of spending the time, money and effort. And it seems like some of that is finally happening. The Green Line is fascinating to me because it's a remnant of Boston's old streetcar system, which used to be vastly more extensive than our rail transit is today. So in some ways it's like a step back in time, even with updated equipment. When I first came to the Boston area, the Green Line was mostly running Boeing Vertol SLRV trams similar to the ones used on the San Francisco Muni in the same time period--they're all gone now. They had roll signs indicating the route instead of dot-matrix displays. The Kinki Sharyo ones were first introduced not too long after.

FWIW the main reason the green line is slow is because it doesn't have signal priority at street level. It's constantly getting stuck at traffic lights with cars. Luckily, they're working on fixing that.

The Green Line is probably my most used line on the entire system. My earliest memory of riding the T was taking the Green Line from Riverside to Fenway for a Red Sox game with my family. I've used it fairly often in my many visits to the city, especially compared to the other three lines.

Lives in Boston for several years -loved it. I miss public transit living in Houston

I was a daily commuter on the Green Line for many years. The service downtown is frequent but slow and often very crowded. Sometimes it was just easier to get out and walk in good weather anyway. Nice video with some good information.

That was good- a very enjoyable video. I had not used the subway on my previous visits to Boston (port), but when I took my wife there for her first trans-Atlantic vacation, we used it a lot, staying in a hotel very close to Copley station on the Green Line. We loved the city and the people- so friendly and helpful. The Green Line was and still is my favourite of the lines, although we did use others and the Commuter Rail. The Boston subway featured in the 1950 sci-fi story " A Subway Named Mobius" by A. J. Deutsch, the plot revolving around the complexity of the system.

Bostonians are the only people in the world who would be MAD at you for LIKING something in their city 🤣

I grew up in Boston and returned after college for 15 years, and I have fond memories of the MBTA, except for the train wheels' screeching when it went around sharp corners. The first time, I rode the Red and Green Lines with my family from Ashmont to Kenmore with a change at Park Street to watch a Red Sox game (Go Sox!). I've ridden all the lines since then except, sadly, the full length of the Riverside 'D' Branch, but only out to Newton Corner or Newton Center. If I ever were to return to Boston, even to visit, you bet I'll ride to Riverside!

North Station used to be even more interesting. Green line trains to Lechmere had an elevated platform on a viaduct that continued over the river, while trains terminating at North Station were on the street level. There were stairways between the two levels and the underground orange line, all within the fair paid area, enabling connections between the lines without paying another fare (even though you had to go outside).

6:45 love how full the train is. I’m glad that some people in the US prefer public over private transport :)

In my early days riding the Green Line, there was another station, Adams Square, between Government Center (Scollay Square) and Haymarket Square. I remember it as an unmanned station where the train stopped only if signaled or if there was someone on the platform to board. Back then I rode the Huntington Avenue line through Jamaica Plain to its terminal at Arborway, where I could get the trackless trolley that stopped at the Forest Hills elevated station and went on through Roslindale to West Roxbury (the Charles River line). As a kid I remember that trolley line as old-time streetcars with reversible seats.

Love the Green Line in Boston! Especially the C Branch out to Brookline. Some riders wanted to sue the MBTA because of the squealing wheels at Boylston. They claimed hearing damage. I think they were nuts!

Great video. I learned a few things Thank you.

The challenge with low floor trams is they have lower capacity than high floor trams given they have to have space taken up to accommodate machinery for the train. In a perfect world, the stations would be retrofit to make them accessible, like with commuter rail stations, raising the platform height. Converting trains to low floor sort of locks in a lower capacity in perpetuity. Anyways great video as always Thom!

Great vid! As a student in Boston, I've never seen a type 7 hooked up to a type 9, and I remember hearing somewhere that that's because the new type 9s don't couple with the type 8s or 7s, but will only be able to couple with the type 10s when they're out. Also was neat to see one of the old OL trains running.

Thank you for your videos, Thom. I just discovered your channel. I watch a lot of train videos, have traveled US trains all of my life...even worked for the New York Central a summer in the '60's. I read that there have been negative comments about your videos. I lived in Chicago many years...road all of the trains there. I have learned something from every one of your videos. I was a history teacher for fifty years and appreciate all of the history lessons. I have been binge watching this weekend. Your brother and wife are lucky they get to tag along with you! Wish I could.

Loved the video. So much good information. I rode the Green Line several times when I was in Boston. Mostly the D branch to Riverside.

Without a doubt my favorite rail line(s) in Boston. They're unique -- barring their issues -- and have a classic theme to them. I always enjoy riding & recording and definitely have to get back up Boston ever since the GLX has been completed. Silver Lines is pretty interesting as well

Great job on research of the green line. I learned some new facts. I love riding the t. I used to just ride for fun during lunch breaks when I worked in the city.

I visited Boston twice in the '70s and loved the Green Line. I would love to see a 3-D map of it because I swear at one point we were going in circles while changing elevation. This was when they still had the old style street cars.

Excellent video, as always!!! Keep on keepin’ on!!!

Hi there!!! Your video was really helpful. I'll be in Boston in a few days and I'll need to use the green and blue lines. You helped me a lot. Tks and keep it up.

I also love the Green Line. Boston is a city which has so much historic charm. I am sure glad the green line remains part of that charm! It also sure beats driving and parking in Boston! Thom, Superb job as always covering all aspects of transit lines. Best report ever on Boston's Green lines.

First came to Boston for a year in 1980. It has been interesting to watch the growth of the City and it's transportation systems. I am starting to use it more now that I am retired. Thanks for your excellent videos. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the history and city info in the video. Back in the day when I came to Boston for college the fare was 25 cents, and you could put quarters in the turnstiles! The Green Line- and the T- gets a lot of grief, sometimes deserved. It's old, it's new, it's bureaucratic, it's underfunded, but Boston would grind to a halt without it. There's a lot to like about the T. Re. the closely-spaced trains: the lack of an automatic signal system wasn't a problem until operators started rear-ending each other (or overspeeding). A number of crashes caused injuries and major trolley damages. As a result the T is having one designed and installed. By the way: Chicago's “L” trains also ran line-of-sight for years- no signals! The rule was: don't hit the train in front of you.

I’m glad I discovered your channel. You are very honest and in-depth. Clearly you do your research. Boston has a lot of history and a strange transit network, when compared with other cities.

I love the Green Line, its so unique! My favorite oddities it has are the true street running section on the E branch between Brigham Circle and Heath Street, and also the underground pedestrian grade crossing on the tracks between platforms at Park Street Station. It’s too bad that you didn’t get to ride the Blue Line. Not only is it unique because it switches between third rail and overhead power, but because of the short platform at Bowdoin, entire trains can’t fit in the station and doors need to be open with buttons like on European trains.

Hi, just came across your video, and I have to say it's very well thought and fantastic! It brings back memories when I visited Boston in 2002, I overall like this transit system. Forget about the critics, this line is certainly worth the video.

I live in Brighton, MA on the Green line. I love the green line.

Hey Thom. Thanks for the video. I had a close look of your Boston videos for my visit to Boston which started yesterday. It's a long way from my home in Australia. Thanks for these videos ... they helped me get a better understanding before I arrived. Next stop New York, in a few days time, plenty of train travel there as well :)

The orange trolley is a Pullman product from 1951 and is the last new PCC type trolley for Boston, all others were War baby from the 1940s and pre war from 1938.

💚 The Green Line 👍👍 👍👍

You are very underrared. I learned something new and you deserve more viewers. Very good video

I rode all Green Line branches as a tourist in May 2022 and did enjoy same as you 😊. Thanks for explaining the loop at Government Center, i was wondering about this unused track.. 👍.

Man this makes me want to return to Boston/ the green line. While it is confusing to navigate sometimes, it sure is a cool train. I much preferred type 7 over type eight though. I would’ve liked to try type 9 though. Anyways, great video once again.

I have so many memories of the Green Line. My brother used to live in Boston from 2010 until 2017 when he moved to NYC. I used to visit him twice a year (January and July), and he lived very close to the Hynes Convention Center station. I used to go meet him for lunch every day near the South Station, so I would take the green line and transfer at Park st. Really fun time. Sometimes if I was feeling too lazy I would even get the line E just to hop 1 station to go to Prudential Mall. Also, my hearing was never the same after taking the green line every day for 2 weeks. Every turn the ear burns!

I work in the Back Bay and from time to time have to go “in town” (Park Street, Government Center). The Green Line is frequent enough that I will use it even though it’s a walkable distance. Beyond Kenmore is a different issue, hence the griping from commuters. Good video.

I also really enjoy your videos. Greetings from a Dutch fan!

I love your Boston train / subway videos, Thom. I miss Boston and the T system. They are slow as molasses, but I don’t care. It’s all charming…

Great tour. I didn't know that about the colors of the lines!I lived in Boston from 81-88 and I loved the green line because it went everywhere I lived; Lechmere and Brigham Circle on the E, Babcock St and BC on the B. Govt Center for work and Copley for nights out. I endured the original Boeing Vertol LRVs, I remember the pshhhh, pshhhh, pshhhh of the faulty air doors and the engineer having to get out and push them closed! And those old PCC's than ran on the E with their clattery fans and leaky doors, had to have a nip of JD just to keep warm lol Wow, how Beantown has changed...but seeing the weird loop again at Govt Ctr and that familiar squeal brings all the memories back, thank you!

Green line means the nicest places in Boston where I lived for 13 years I miss it so much

I enjoyed watching this because, looking through my back window behind the screen, I was able to watch the green line trains passing. I live just outside Newton Highlands, so the trains tracks are essentially in my backyard. And the Highlands station is just at the corner. Yes, it's slow but downtown traffic can be slower.

Thank you Thom for the video! Very knowledgeable! I enjoyed learning some new facts/history about the Green Line. I didn't realise it's the oldest rapid transit line in the US! London has the oldest system in the world - 1863! :-) Looking forward to the next video!

Mega interesting! Firstly I'm surprised the AnsaldoBreda ones are still working... And it looks like a great system, frequent and very well used! The whole thing, especially the trams have a very central/eastern European feel to them 👍🏻

Thanks for another great video and more memories. As I mentioned in previous comments, I spent much time on the various Green Line routes in my youth. Your description of Boston's areas and stations are fantastic. I loved the info on Government Center (which was named "Scollay Under" when I was there.) I never knew the exact layout. In thinking about it, one of the reasons I enjoyed riding the trains and trolleys back then was that I was aware of their history. I guess my railfanning started early. Here's a funny tidbit you might appreciate: When I was a kid, I was kind of a loner and would just ride around the city for the fun of it. I knew the subway system quite well and which stations had cross platforms so I could easily change directions and take other routes. (You're probably the only person with whom I've ever communicated who understands what I'm talking about.) By the way, it looks like "CharlieCard" is the T's daily pass. If so, it must be a reference to the Kingston Trio's song, Charlie on the MTA. Are you familiar with it? (There's a great video of them on KZfaq.) Thanks again and keep up the great work.

Nice video, very informative

Green line has one of the most confusing stations. When I was there, it was a nightmare to navigate as a tourist. I forgot the name of the station, but it basically has 4 platforms and 4 trains coming at same time, its cramped, and intimidating.

Great job

I for one love the Green line. It's very liberating and scenic. Very comfortable ride

Bring back all the streetcars as a supplement for the subway lines

Thanks!

I used to tend bar near Fenway-At shift end Id take the Green to the old North Station which still looked like throwback to the 40s with antique wood benches and ornate ticket windows. From there the commuter line up to Lowell. They were still running F units on commuter train. Once at end of line in Lowell I had to walk up the tracks to my plebe apartment on the north side of Lowell. F I was lucky a slow moving g North bound freight would roll by and I could go hobo up the tracks…. Was an unusual way to ‘ride the rails’ back in the day (early 80s)…

As someone who lives on the green line and takes it multiple times a week, the downtown core is cool but I do think they need to either widen the tunnels downtown and run skip stop service. Or even build a second tunnel underground for some routes. There is a ton of traffic between Kenmore and Govt Center and the trains frequently get stuck just outside stations waiting for the previous one to leave.

Don't worry about it. I'm stuck in NYC and miss the Boston trains.

The Green Line loves you too!

Thank you very much for the great diagram of the loops in Government Center. I believe there are also loops in Park Street and Kenmore. Hopefully another person commenting will expand on those. As similar aside, a diagram of the Boylston Station would also be interesting , as that was where a now disused line to the theater district branched off (as another commenter noted). The very screeching curve is where the currently used tracks pass over the disused line passing under. Between Bolyston and Kenmore there is a wide area in the tunnel where a ramp used to take the line up to street level. Remnants of other route changes / abandoned sections are covered in other KZfaq videos, but I mention them just for your own interest. Your videos are great as is, but for your future study....

I remember taking a Green line to Fenway Park home to the Boston Red Sox

What an insightful and informative video Thom! I was born in Boston, and my first home was on Beacon St. I have lots of memories on this line, because my first local rail station was Hawes St. on the C line. I can only find one issue in this video, I think the Type 7s only run with Type 8s and not Type 9s. At least, that's how it was the last time I visited! I also agree with you on the 8s being ugly.

1981 (ish). My Dad and I took a fan trip. We transferred 5734 and 3295 from Watertown to Boylston via a fan trip across the network. I got to operate 5734 into Park St. I have my Dad’s photos packed away.

Took the green line extension yesterday from Riverside. Wow.. long trip. But good for sightseeing.

Awesome Video

Trains are awesome is the best channel on KZfaq .

They actually used the extra platform at Government Center earlier this year when there was construction work downtown on the Green Line.

GRRRRR! every time I've ridden the Green Line,and now seen your awesome video, I get jealous of what could have been done with Philly's subway-surface lines, especially post 1950s extension in West Philly. Other than "green" there is just no comparison between the two, but Septa had the potential and just lost it.

Imo I think the new trains aren't ugly but sleek they look so futuristic. The green silver and black make me think of mint girl scout cookies lol

I just rode them all , the blue line goes to Revere Beach which is very beautiful

It is silly to get so angry about something so trivial as a train line. As a train enthusiast that recently found your channel I go a lot of watching to do!

Us New Yorkers call the Green lines underground trolley tunnel. For us a subway runs trains not light rail or trolleys. Same is true for Philadelphia.

More American Revolution history please!

I didn't think I as a Chicagoan would be confused by a transit systems layout but here I am

Green like heath street is normally a terrible time for me… so busy, yet so slow and so many delays

Here's something of note when you leave Haymarket station, in the tunnel you'll see a series of switching tracks and if you look real carefully, you can see the original Haymarket station after the current Haymarket stations location

0:40 When I rode the whole L system, there were many people on the train talking to us about our trip. Many of those people thought the same as those people who you were talking about. I just want you to feel like you're not alone.

The green line is Americas first subway and one of Americas oldest running streetcar lines at the same time

Would you mind if I talk about Government Center? In order to explain Government Center green line platform, you need to go back in time, to a time before Boston City Hall was built, to a time where the station was called Scolley Square. The green line platform was Scolley Square Upper while the blue line platform was Scolley Square Lower. Anyway, at the time, trolleys had three tracks at Scolley Square Upper but two of the tracks went to a station that no longer exist, Adam sSquare. Southbound trolley would go from Haymarket to Scolley Square to Park Street while northbound trolleys would go from Park Street to Scolley Square to Adams Square to Haymarket. The other track was a loop from Haymarket southbound to Scolley Square to Adams Square back to Haymarket northbound. Adam Square also seem to be a terminus station so add that to the confusion. With that said, the third track at Government Center follows the original track that leads to Adams Square. Of course, the new layout takes a sharp turn to connect to the northbound track. It is said that the original tunnels to Adams Square (underneath Cornhill) is still there and is covered by the wall that is present at the platform. Fun Fact: Adams Square may no longer exist as a standalone station but it is still there. Adams Square was absorbed into modern day State Street station. If you go all the way to the end of the orange line northbound platform, there is a set of stairs that leads into Boston City Hall (only open when city hall is open). That small portion of the platform and stairs is what is left of Adams Square station.

When I was working on the MBTA from 1978 to 1988 the Green Line was PCC Boeing LRV and the Type - 7 cars when the Boeing LRV’s were causing problems the MBTA rebuild the best of the PCC ‘s the first PCC was car # 3072 the loop at Government Center was the old Adam Square loop that was used until the early 1950’s now it’s used the turn cars around from Union Square Somerville

Who made the propulsion systems for Type 9?

I used to be scared of the green line because our train broke down, Which is normal on that line, And we were stuck four 3 hours.

The Green Line has the same problems any other light rail/subway hybrid has, but I’d say it’s no worse than most in that category. It might even be above average for what it is. In fact it’s not even any worse than Boston’s other lines, which all suffer from long headways and too many stations packed too close together. If you’re only traveling a short distance it’s easy to have the dreaded “I should have just walked” realization upon reaching the platform and seeing the next train is far away.

Do they just use some old text-to-speech program for the announcements on the trains? Also, it's interesting that doors on the trains fold outwards...

The Green Line is great and fun to ride, as long as you aren't using it to get to somewhere at a specific time. Ha ha.

The green line was my favorite. An awesome variety of landscapes and modes. I see theyre still using those crappy Boeing cars, though.

Out of curiosity, why do the branches go B-E, instead of A-D like you'd typically expect?

Why do their modern trains look so old when interors are up to date?

5:37 why does that propulsion sound like R160s from the NYC subway??

I was in Boston last year and what confused me was the downtown destinations frequently changed and didn't match up with what they were supposed to be sometimes. Pethaps due to track congestion? Also found maps that were different, perhaps not updated? Did you find this?

I feel like different routes on the same line defeats the purpose of having multiple lines. Sometimes in places like London there are lines with multiple routes but they are still nearly the same, but in Boston, this can get really confusing. One thing that adds to this confusion is that some routes don't terminate at union square. I really feel like each of the four routes should be their own lines.

It would be great if the MBTA could get some $$ to either bury or elevate the B Line at least as far as Packard's Corner in an effort to speed up service a little.

I practically ride the Green Line daily, especially since the Orange Line sandbagging, and yes, while it can be slow in the Central Subway (namely between Government Center and Boylston), it makes up for it in frequency. I think many of the complaints are just because my fellow Bostonians like to to complain 🙂

Boylston used to be only slightly brighter than a black hole

Just updating you, green line extension is now open!

Tom where's the new green line extension that opened yesterday

Type 8s are the worst rail cars ever built in the United States. They’re very ugly, and were horrendously unreliable (they took 10 years to fully enter service). The seating layout is also very uncomfortable.

19:17 many people don't know that the bruins play here I had to remind them every single time ugh If you don't know what the bruins are I will tell you The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference they also play at the TD garden.

The Green Line "*IS*" Boston. You cannot love it or hate it. You accept it s an integral part of the city.

Then came the big deg

18:17 - It the singular "Garden" not the plural "Gardens." NIce job overall, though :)

13:04 I met my wife while she worked at this store

my fav train twink

The whole fleet should be replaced with type 8 cars and the upcoming type 9 cars