Green Line B branch

File:Passengers waiting at Braemore Road, circa 1910.jpg

The first sections of what is now the B branch to open were built for what became the Watertown Line and Beacon Street Line. In 1889, the West End Street Railway opened the Beacon Street Line, including a branch that ran from Coolidge Corner to Oak Square along Harvard Avenue, Brighton Avenue, Cambridge Street, and Washington Street.{{cite book |title=Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service |last1=Clarke |first1=Bradley H. |last2=Cummings |first2=O.R. |year=1997 |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |isbn=0938315048}}{{rp|58}} While this route provided service to the fast-growing suburbs of Allston and Brighton, a more direct route was desirable. When Commonwealth Avenue was improved between Governors Square and the junction with Brighton Avenue in the mid-1890s, a {{convert|33|feet|adj=on}}-wide median was included for use by a streetcar line to support real estate development.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxZbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA131 |title=Annual Report of City Engineer |pages=131–137 |edition=28 |year=1895}} Service began from Governors Square to Brighton Avenue, and along Brighton Avenue to connect with the older trackage at {{bts|Union Square|Green|A}}, on May 18, 1896.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/annualreporto18831921west#page/n225/mode/2up |title=Ninth Annual Report of the West End Street Railway Company for the Year Ending September 30, 1896 |page=5 |year=1896 |publisher=Walker, Young & Co |via=Internet Archive}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59417143/the-boston-globe/ |title=New Electric Line |newspaper=Boston Globe |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{rp|48}} (That line was extended to near Nonantum Square on June 13, 1896.){{rp|48}}

Further west, between {{bts|Chestnut Hill Avenue}} and the Boston–Newton boundary at Lake Street, a {{convert|25|feet|adj=on}}-wide streetcar median was built. Service between Lake Street and downtown Boston began on August 15, 1896.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53147423/the-boston-globe/ |title=Newton |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 15, 1896 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} Streetcars ran on Chestnut Hill Avenue, the existing Beacon Street line, Washington Street, and Huntington Avenue.{{rp|58}} At Lake Street, the line connected with the Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway, which had opened to Auburndale on March 26, 1896.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52816026/the-boston-globe/ |title=Commonwealth Av. Street Railway Company |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 27, 1896 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{rp|38}}

East of Governors Square, the Beacon Street line originally ran on Beacon Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Boylston Street to Park Square.{{rp|54}} By the time the Commonwealth Avenue segments opened, streetcars continued along heavily congested tracks on Tremont Street (electrified in 1891) to reach the northern railroad terminals.{{rp|61}} Both the Nonantum Square and Lake Street lines were rerouted into the Tremont Street subway to terminate at Park Street station soon after the tunnel's September 1, 1897 opening.{{rp|21}}

The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) leased the West End Street Railway on October 1, 1897, and continued its system expansion.{{rp|35}} The BERy opened new tracks on Commonwealth Avenue from Chestnut Hill Avenue to Brighton Avenue on May 26, 1900, allowing direct service from Lake Street to downtown via Commonwealth Avenue. Even though much of the land surrounding Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton was not yet developed, the new line was heavily patronized.{{rp|58}} For most of its length, the 1900-built trackage was not in a center median, but in a reservation between the southbound travel lane and southbound carriage lane. Between {{bts|Warren Street}} and Wallingford Road, the reservation was significantly wider than the tracks.{{cite web |url=https://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=8481 |title=Atlas of the City of Boston: Ward 25, Brighton |year=1909 |publisher=G.W. Bromley and Co. |via=Ward Maps}}

File:Passenger waiting at Leamington Road, circa 1915-1930.jpg

The Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway opened the popular Norumbega Park on June 17, 1897. (That line merged into the Newton and Boston Street Railway (N&B) in 1904 and the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B) in 1909.) Through service between Norumbega Park and Park Street station, operated by BERy east of Lake Street, begun on January 17, 1903.{{rp|39}} The Newton Street Railway (also merged into the N&B in 1904) began through service between Park Street and {{bts|Waltham}} via the Watertown Line on February 23, 1903. When the Cambridge Tunnel opened in April 1912, the Waltham service was rerouted to Central Square station in Cambridge instead.{{rp|39}} On May 1, 1912, the M&B began a second through service over the Commonwealth Avenue route – this one running to Newton Highlands.{{rp|39}} The next month, two men were charged with a planned "conspiracy to blow up the tracks of the Elevated Company in Commonwealth av" using ten sticks of stolen dynamite.{{cite thesis |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/66801 |title=Subway Spaces as Public Places: Politics and Perceptions of Boston's T |last=Durso |first=Holly Bellocchio |date=June 2011 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |type=MCP |page=136|hdl=1721.1/66801 }}

The Boylston Street subway opened on October 3, 1914, acting as an extension of the Tremont Street subway to just east of Governors Square, with intermediate stops at Copley Square and Massachusetts Avenue.{{rp|40}} (A third station, {{bts|Arlington}}, was not built until 1921.) Lake Street service via Washington Street was cut back to {{bts|Washington Square}} except at rush hours.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54438602/the-boston-globe/ |title=Changes Made by New Subway |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=October 1, 1914 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} The Newton Highlands through service was cut back to Lake Street, where it connected with BERy streetcar service.{{rp|39}} Norumbega Park through service continued to use the surface route, as the older M&B streetcars could not match the speed of the newer BERy streetcars in the subway. It took was split at Lake Street on November 1, with a connecting BERy line using the surface route; that was cut to a Kenmore–Park Street route on November 21.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54438663/the-boston-globe/ |title=Newton |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=October 28, 1914 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{rp|58}}

On November 21, rush hour Washington Street service was cut back to Reservoir, leaving only Beacon Street cars using the Chestnut Hill Avenue tracks.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54438561/the-boston-globe/ |title=Some of Old Lines are Discontinued |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 20, 1914 |page=11 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} Beacon Street service was cut to Reservoir on November 6, 1915, with Washington Street service extended back to Lake Street.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54438577/the-boston-globe/ |title=Lake St and Reservoir Car Changes |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 6, 1915 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} Beginning on February 6, 1922, all Washington Street service was operated as a Brookline Village–Lake Street shuttle as part of service changes on the Huntington Avenue line.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52878704/the-boston-globe/ |title=New 2-Car Trains on Huntington Av Feb 6 |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=January 24, 1922 |page=18 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} The Washington Street shuttle was converted to bus on April 24, 1926.{{Humphrey Bus Report|page=}}{{rp|197}} It was redirected to Brighton Center on June 23, 1928, and eventually became route 65.{{rp|52}}

File:Crowds at Braves Field Loop, opening day, 1915.jpg

The Commonwealth Avenue line served two major baseball stadiums: Fenway Park (opened 1912) near Governors Square, and Braves Field (opened 1915) in Allston. The BERy opened a prepayment surface station (where riders paid their fares at the stop, rather than on board the streetcar) at Kenmore Street in Governors Square in 1915.{{rp|58}} The new Braves Field opened on August 18, 1915; it included a loop track between Gaffney Street and Babcock Street with a prepayment station to allow streetcars to directly serve the ballpark.{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/electricrailway461915newy#page/620/mode/2up |title=Handling Traffic at Largest Baseball Park |magazine=Electric Railway Journal|date=September 25, 1915 |page=621 |volume=46 |issue=13 |via=Internet Archive}} The loop was also used to turn trains for Red Sox games at Fenway Park, and for rush-hour short turns; after November 1945, these short turns also operated during midday and on Saturdays.{{cite book |title=Streetcar Lines of the Hub – The 1940s |last=Clarke |first=Bradley H. |year=2003 |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |isbn=0938315056}}{{rp|108}} The loop was heavily used during games; for the 1948 World Series, streetcars ran between Park Street and Braves Field on 45-second headways.{{rp|109}}

Around 1916, the BERy built a storage yard for streetcars north of Commonwealth Avenue at Lake Street.{{cite web |url=http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=15926 |title=Sheet 10 |work=Track Lengths of Surface Lines and Subway |year=1921 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |via=Ward Maps}}{{cite web |url=http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=1783 |title=Part of Ward 6, City of Newton |work=Atlas of the City of Newton, Massachusetts |year=1917 |publisher=G.W. Bromley and Company |via=Ward Maps}}{{cite web |url=http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=1051 |title=Part of Brighton, Ward 25, City of Boston |work= Atlas of the City of Boston, Wards 25 & 26, Brighton |year=1916 |publisher=G.W. Bromley and Company |via=Ward Maps}} Remaining M&B service to Lake Street was replaced by buses in 1930; the BERy replaced the old transfer station in the median with a new platform and waiting room in the yard on September 12, 1930.{{rp|59}} An expansion of Reservoir Yard (south of Beacon Street near Chestnut Hill Avenue), completed in May 1940, supplemented Lake Street Yard and eliminated the need to base some Commonwealth Avenue streetcars at Bennett Street Carhouse in Cambridge.{{rp|102}}

File:Map of 1926 proposal for Boston rapid transit lines.png

In June 1922, the BERy proposed to operate the inner part of the Commonwealth Avenue line as a rapid transit service. Three-car trains of recently acquired center-entrance cars, which had higher capacity and shorter dwell times than older streetcars, would run on headways as low as two minutes at rush hour and four minutes at other times.{{rp|59}} A terminal stations would be built at Linden Street (near {{bts|Harvard Avenue}}) in Allston, where passengers would transfer between the subway trains and surface streetcar lines.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF8_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA951 |magazine=Electric Railway Journal |page=951 |title=New Prepayment Station in Boston |date=June 10, 1922 |volume=59 |issue=23}} The Lechmere Square in East Cambridge (already under construction) opened that July, but local opposition to the forced transfer caused the Linden Street terminal plan to be scrapped.{{rp|59}}

The congestion at busy Governors Square caused numerous delays to the streetcar lines. In May 1924, the state legislature directed the Metropolitan District Commission to plan an expanded rapid transit system in Boston, including an extension of the Boylston street Subway under Governors Square.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/actsresolvespass1924mass |title=Acts and resolves passed by the General Court of Massachusetts in the year 1924 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/actsresolvespass1924mass/page/602 602]–603 |chapter=Chapter 45: Resolve providing for an investigation by the Division of Metropolitan Planning relative to the extension and development of rapid transit service in Boston, Somerville and surrounding cities and towns |date=May 24, 1924 |via=Internet Archive}} The report, released in December 1926, called for the existing streetcar tunnels in Boston to be reorganized into two rapid transit lines with high-floor rolling stock.{{cite book |title=Report on Improved Transportation Facilities in Boston |date=December 1926 |publisher=Division of Metropolitan Planning |hdl = 2027/mdp.39015049422689}} One line was to run from East Boston to Brighton, with the East Boston Tunnel (which had been converted from streetcars to rapid transit in 1924) realigned to connect with the Tremont Street subway near Park Street station. The Boylston Street subway would have been extended to Commonwealth Avenue, with a new station under Governors Square. A transfer station between the rapid transit line and the truncated Watertown and Lake Street surface lines was to be located at Warren Street between Commonwealth Avenue and Cambridge Street, near Brighton Center.{{rp|5}} Intermediate surface stops were to be located at Saint Mary's Street, Gaffney Street, {{bts|Packards Corner}}, {{bts|Harvard Avenue}}, and {{bts|Allston Street}}.{{rp|VI}} Several busy grade crossings also were to be eliminated, and the report noted that the then-rapid growth along Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton might later justify extension of rapid transit to Lake Street.{{rp|32}}

File:Interior view of Commonwealth Avenne subway, 1932.jpg

The subway under Governors Square was projected to cost $5 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|5|1926|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). The BERy and the city objected to this cost and proposed a $1.4 million plan where flyover ramps would separate Beacon Street auto and streetcar traffic from other traffic in the square.{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/electricrailwayj68mcgrrich#page/898/mode/2up |title=Planning Board Agrees with Boston Elevated |page=899 |magazine=Electric Railway Journal |date=November 13, 1926 |volume=68 |issue=20}} The tunnel was eventually chosen but construction did not begin until 1930, after the legislature lowered the cost that the BERy would pay to rent the subway from the city.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreport1930trans |title=Annual Report of the Transit Department of the City of Boston |year=1930 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/annualreport1930trans/page/n8 1]–4 |publisher=Boston Transit Department |via=Internet Archive}} Kenmore station and the new subway, which split to separate portals at {{bts|Saint Mary's Street}} on Beacon Street and {{bts|Blandford Street}} on Commonwealth Avenue, opened on October 23, 1932.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportofpu32bost |title=Annual report of the public trustees of the Boston Elevated Railway |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |page=[https://archive.org/details/annualreportofpu32bost/page/14 14] |edition=14 |via=Internet Archive}}{{rp|59}} The extension was built to support future rapid transit conversion of the Commonwealth Avenue line, including extension of the underground section further west.{{rp|44}}

Interest in converting the Commonwealth Avenue line to rapid transit declined as focus shifted to expanding the subway to further suburbs. The 1945 and 1947 Coolidge Commission reports (the next major planning effort after the 1926 report) instead recommended a parallel rapid transit line along the Boston and Albany Railroad corridor, with local streetcar service retained on Commonwealth Avenue.{{citation |title=Air View: Present Rapid Transit System – Boston Elevated Railway and Proposed Extensions of Rapid Transit into Suburban Boston |date=April 1945 |author1=Boston Elevated Railway |author2=Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities |title-link=:commons:File:1945 BERy extensions map.jpg |via=Wikimedia Commons}}{{rp|16}} However, several smaller improvements were made to the line. A siding was opened at {{bts|Washington Street}} on October 27, 1926, allowing trains to be short turned when necessary.{{rp|59}} On February 7, 1931, the Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue lines were extended to Lechmere, replacing shuttle services between Lechmere and various points in the subway.{{cite journal |title=Boston's Main Line El: The Formative Years 1879-1908 |first=George Jr. |last=Chasson |journal=Headlights |publisher=Electric Railroader's Association |volume=49 |year=1987 |editor=Lonto, Arthur J. |pages=25–26}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38891556/the_boston_globe/ |title=Lake St, Reservoir, to Lechmere trains |date=February 5, 1931 |newspaper=Boston Globe |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} On June 30, 1931, the existing crossover west of Blandford Street was replaced by a pocket track, allowing temporary storage of streetcars there. It replaced the former surface cutback at Kenmore for subway short turns, which began on September 24, 1934.{{rp|59}} Around 1940, the Lake Street line was assigned route number 62 as part of a systemwide renumbering.{{rp|27}} On May 6, 1940, the line was reassigned from Bennett Street Carhouse (near Harvard Square) to Reservoir Carhouse, eliminating the need for deadhead moves on Cambridge Street.{{rp|115}}

File:Braves Field-bound streetcar exiting the Blandford Street portal, 1943.jpg

In the early 1940s, the BERy began replacing its older streetcars with the PCC streetcar. PCCs were first used on the Lake Street line in May 1944, and they fully replaced center-entrance cars on the line in regular service on December 10, 1945.{{rp|100}} The short length of trackage on Chestnut Hill Avenue – which had not been used in revenue service since 1926 – was modified as part of trackwork related to the introduction of the PCCs. A connecting track from Commonwealth Avenue westbound to Chestnut Hill Avenue southbound was opened on May 31, 1947, completing the wye between the two avenues.{{rp|102}} On May 21, 1947, in recognition of the expansion of Boston College, the BERy changed the "Lake Street" designation to "Boston College".{{rp|99}} On August 29, 1947, the privately owned BERy was succeeded by the publicly owned Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).{{rp|17}}

The little-used siding at Washington Street was removed in January 1953, leaving only a crossover.{{cite book |title=Streetcar Lines of the Hub: Boston's MTA Through Riverside and Beyond |first=Bradley H. |last=Clarke |year=2015 |isbn=9780938315070 |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association}}{{rp|202}} In April 1959, all Boston and Albany Railroad Worcester Line stops between {{bts|Back Bay}} and {{bts|Newtonville}} were closed for the construction of the Turnpike Extension, leaving the Watertown and Boston College lines as the only rail transit serving Allston and Brighton.{{cite book |title=Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years |last1=Humphrey |first1=Thomas J.|last2=Clark |first2=Norton D. |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |year=1985 |isbn=9780685412947 |page=24}} Boston University purchased Braves Field in 1953 when the Braves moved to Milwaukee, and soon wished to use the loop area for other purposes. After several years of requests, the MTA abandoned the loop on January 15, 1962.{{rp|214}}

In 1960, the wide streetcar reservation between Warren Street and Wallingford Road was narrowed to add additional travel lanes to Commonwealth Avenue, leaving the streetcar tracks in a relocated median between the travel lanes.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52690609/the-boston-globe/ |title=Commonwealth Avenue Gets a Face-Lifting Job |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=September 1, 1960 |page=9 |first=Joseph A. |last=Keblinsky |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{cite thesis |title=Strategies for meeting future capacity needs on the light rail MBTA Green Line |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |date=June 2017 |first=David A. |last=Sindel|hdl = 1721.1/111263|type=Thesis }}{{rp|45}} On November 25, 1961, the Boston College was cut back to Park Street station, while the 1959-opened Riverside Line was extended to Lechmere in its stead.{{rp|203}} In 1963–65, the Commonwealth Avenue bridge over the Boston and Albany Railroad was rebuilt to accommodate the Turnpike Extension. Streetcar service was maintained using a temporary parallel bridge.{{cite magazine |title=Commonwealth Avenue Bridge Replacement |magazine=Rollsign |date=July–August 2017 |page=11 |volume=54 |issue=7/8 |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association}}{{rp|203}}

In August 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) replaced the MTA. As part of systemwide rebranding efforts, the remaining streetcar routes feeding the Tremont Street subway became the Green Line on August 26, 1965.{{NETransit}} In 1967, the five branches were given letters to distinguish them; the Boston College line became the B branch. (The Watertown line became the A branch, while the Beacon Street line became the C branch.) The MBTA experimented with changing the downtown terminals of the Green Line branches (unlike its predecessors, which had changed the downtown terminal of the Boston College line just twice.) The B branch was extended to the new loop at {{bts|Government Center}} opened on November 18, 1964 – the first service to regularly use the loop. Over the next two decades, the downtown termini were frequently changed; the B branch variously terminated at Park Street, Government Center, {{bts|Haymarket}}, North Station, and Lechmere. On July 30, 1983, the terminus was finally changed to Government Center station, where it would stay until 2004.

On June 21, 1969, the A branch was replaced with Watertown–Kenmore buses, halving streetcar service on Commonwealth Avenue east of Packard's Corner.{{rp|48}} In 1970, the median was moved slightly south between Chestnut Hill Avenue and Lake Street.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52690767/the-boston-globe/ |title=Ask the Globe |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=February 18, 1970 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52690803/the-boston-globe/ |title=Korea's Kim looms challenge in Marathon |first=Francis |last=Rosa |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 17, 1970 |page=29 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}} The westbound roadway was lowered several feet below the median between South Street and Greycliff Road, with the Foster Street stop moved {{convert|500|feet}} west to the {{bts|Greycliff Road}} grade crossing. Around 1975, the stop at University Road was discontinued, while the stop at Alcorn Street was moved 500 feet east to {{bts|Babcock Street}}.

The downtown terminus was extended to North Station on June 25, 2004, but cut back to Government Center on January 1, 2005. It was cut back further to Park Street on March 22, 2014, when Government Center closed for reconstruction. When the station reopened in 2016, Park Street remained the B branch terminus. The B branch was re-extended to Government Center on October 24, 2021, as part of changes in preparation for the opening of the Green Line Extension the next year.{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014192326/https://www.mbta.com/alerts/subway |archivedate=October 14, 2021 |title=Alerts: Subway |url=https://www.mbta.com/alerts/subway |date=October 14, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} The B branch extension was intended to improve access to the Blue Line and better distribute downtown service.{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2021/10/22/green-line-terminal-station-changes-glx-testing/ |title=A 'subtle' but permanent change is coming to the Green Line this weekend |first=Nik |last=DeCosta-Klipa |date=October 22, 2021 |newspaper=Boston Globe |accessdate=October 24, 2021}} B branch service was replaced by buses from June 20 to July 1, 2022, to allow for trackwork and installation of train protection system equipment.{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2022-06-16/work-accelerate-green-line-safety-improvements-begins-monday |title=Work to Accelerate Green Line Safety Improvements Begins Monday |date=June 16, 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}

File:Inbound train passing former Mount Hood Road station, August 2016.JPG

The introduction of low-floor LRVs in 2000 allowed for accessible service on the Green Line. In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms as part of the Light Rail Accessibility Program. Portable lifts were installed at {{bts|Boston College}} and {{bts|Boston University Central}} around 2000.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220063458/http://www.bostonmpo.org/bostonmpo/pmt-old/PMT-1.pdf |archive-date=February 20, 2012 |url=http://www.bostonmpo.org/bostonmpo/pmt-old/PMT-1.pdf |title=Executive Summary |work=Program of Mass Transportation |date=January 2004 |publisher=Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization |page=2-9}}{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010701041753/http://www.mbta.com/text-only/schedmaps/map/map.pdf |archive-date=July 1, 2001 |url=http://www.mbta.com/text-only/schedmaps/map/map.pdf |title=Subway Map |date=2001 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Four surface stops – {{bts|Boston University East}}, Boston University Central, {{bts|Harvard Avenue}}, and {{bts|Washington Street}} – were modified with raised platforms in 2002–03; Boston College was similarly modified in 2009.{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/allston_brighton/2012/09/mbta_to_hold_meeting_on_20m_pr.html |title=MBTA to hold meeting on $20m project to rebuild Boston College Station |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=28 September 2012 |author=Rocheleau, Matt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001202632/http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/allston_brighton/2012/09/mbta_to_hold_meeting_on_20m_pr.html |archive-date=October 1, 2012}}

{{anchor|Former stops|former stops}}

The B branch is frequently criticized by riders for its slow service, with a high number of stops and level crossings. Until 2004, the line had 22 stops on the surface section, while the C and D branches had 13 each and the E branch just 9. In late 2003, the MBTA proposed eliminating five surface stops (Greycliff Road, {{bts|Chiswick Road}}, Mount Hood Road, Summit Avenue, and {{bts|Fordham Road}}) as part of a project to improve the line. The five stops were chosen because they had low ridership and were located very close to other stations. After a public comment period, Chiswick Road was removed from the proposal, as it served a nearby elderly housing community. On April 20, 2004, the other four stops were closed as a 6-to-8-month pilot program.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126012518/http://ctps.org/bostonmpo/4_resources/2_transreport/archive/trpt0504.pdf |url=http://ctps.org/bostonmpo/4_resources/2_transreport/archive/trpt0504.pdf |archive-date=November 26, 2010 |title=Green Line B Branch Service Enhancements |work=TRANSreport |publisher=Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization |date=May 2004}} On March 15, 2005, after a survey showed that 73% of 1,142 riders surveyed approved of the closures, the MBTA board voted to make the closures permanent.{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/16/t_drops_4_green_line_stops_after_results_of_rider_survey?mode=PF |title=T drops 4 Green Line stops after results of rider survey |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 16, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050318030644/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/16/t_drops_4_green_line_stops_after_results_of_rider_survey/ |archive-date=March 18, 2005 |author=Daniel, Mac}}

In 2014, the MBTA began planning to consolidate four stops – {{bts|Boston University West}}, {{bts|Saint Paul Street|Green|B}}, {{bts|Pleasant Street}}, and {{bts|Babcock Street}} – located near Boston University's West Campus.{{cite press release |title=Comm. Ave. Green Line Improvements Public Meeting |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2014-10-16/comm-ave-green-line-improvements-public-meeting |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |date=October 16, 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2014/t-may-eliminate-two-green-line-b-stops/ |title=T May Eliminate Two Green Line B Stops |newspaper=BU Today |date=October 23, 2014 |last=O'Rourke |first=John |access-date=October 31, 2014}} The four stops, which were not accessible, were replaced by two fully accessible stops as part of a reconstruction of Commonwealth Avenue between the BU Bridge and Packard's Corner. The MBTA awarded a $17.8 million construction contract on March 23, 2020.{{cite press release |url=https://mbta.com/news/2020-03-23/fmcb-awards-178-million-b-branch-station-consolidation-work |title=FMCB Awards $17.8 Million for B Branch Station Consolidation Work |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |date=March 23, 2020}} Construction was to last from February 2021 to early 2022, with night and weekend bustitution for much of 2021.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-01/2021-01-28-glt-b-branch-station-consolidation-meeting-presentation.pdf |title=B Branch Station Consolidation Project: Virtual Public Meeting |date=January 28, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Stop names of "Babcock Street" and "Amory Street" were announced in February 2021.{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2021-02-11/mbta-announces-names-new-stations-part-green-line-b-branch-station-consolidation |title=MBTA Announces Names of New Stations as Part of Green Line B Branch Station Consolidation Project |date=February 11, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Buses replaced rail service between Washington Street and Kenmore from April 17–May 9 and May 17–June 13, 2021, for construction of the platforms and canopy steelwork.{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2021-03-31/building-better-t-green-line-b-branch-station-consolidation-project-work-taking |title=Building a Better T: Green Line B Branch Station Consolidation Project Work Taking Place for Seven Weeks, Washington Street – Kenmore Work Begins April 17 |date=March 31, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/projects/green-line-b-branch-station-consolidation/update/b-branch-accelerated-work-100-complete |title=B Branch Accelerated Work 100% Complete |date=June 14, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Track replacement was also conducted between Blandford Street and BU Central during the closure.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-04/2021-04-26-fmcb-2-report-from-general-manager.pdf |title=Report from the General Manager |date=April 26, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |page=11}} The two new stations, Babcock Street and {{bts|Amory Street}}, opened on November 15, 2021.{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/projects/green-line-b-branch-station-consolidation/update/new-babcock-street-and-amory-street |title=New Babcock Street and Amory Street Stations Open November 15 |date=November 12, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}

Track work in 2018–19, which included replacement of platform edges at several stops, triggered requirements for accessibility modifications at those stops.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-05/2021-05-28-swa-initiatives-accessible.pdf |title=System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—May 2021 |date=May 24, 2021 |first=Laura |last=Brelsford |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility |pages=4–5}} Design work for {{bts|Packards Corner}}, {{bts|Sutherland Road}}, Chiswick Road, {{bts|Chestnut Hill Avenue}}, and {{bts|South Street}} was 30% complete by December 2022.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2022-12/2022-12-7-swa-initiatives-report-december-accessible.pdf |title=System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022 |date=December 6, 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility |pages=4–5}} Designs shown in March 2024 called for Chestnut Hill Avenue station and South Street station to be consolidated into a single station as part of the project. In May 2024, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the MBTA $67 million to construct accessible platforms at the 14 B and C branch stops.{{multiref2|{{cite web |url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/grant-programs/all-stations-accessibility-program-fy24-projects |title=All Stations Accessibility Program FY24 Projects |date=May 28, 2024 |publisher=Federal Transit Administration}}|{{cite press release |url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/news/biden-harris-administration-announces-343-million-modernize-transit-stations-improve |title=Biden-Harris Administration Announces $343 Million to Modernize Transit Stations, Improve Accessibility Across the Country |date=May 28, 2024 |publisher=Federal Transit Administration}}|{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2024-05-30/mbta-wins-67-million-federal-grant-improve-green-line-accessibility-people |date=May 30, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |title=MBTA Wins $67 Million Federal Grant to Improve Green Line Accessibility for People with Disabilities}}}} Five stations not originally included in the project were added in 2024: Blandford Street will be closed, Griggs Street rebuilt, Allston Street and Warren Street consolidated into a single station, and Boston College relocated.{{cite web |url=https://bc.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/pdf/DB%20Outreach%20Meeting%20A26CN05%20%20DB%20Green%20Line%20B%20Branch%20Short%20Term%20Accessibility%20Improvements.pdf |title=Outreach Meeting for A26CN05 – Design Build Green Line B Branch Short Term Accessibility Improvements |date=November 12, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} {{As of|February 2025}}, the MBTA plans to advertise the $74 million design-build contract for bidding in May 2025.{{cite web |url=https://bc.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/future_db_and_cmar_solicitations/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221000332/https://bc.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/future_db_and_cmar_solicitations/ |archive-date=February 21, 2025 |title=Upcoming Design Build and Construction Manager At Risk Solicitations |date=February 2025 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Construction is expected to take place from fall 2025 to mid-2027.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/2024-12-06-accessibility-initiatives.pdf |title=Accessibility Initiatives—December 2024 |date=December 6, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |pages=4–5}}

In 2021, the MBTA indicated that a longer-term project may replace side platforms with wider island platforms at some or all surface stops.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-06/2021-06-21-fmcb-15-green-line-transformation-update.pdf |title=Green Line Transformation (GLT) Update |date=June 21, 2021 |first=Angel |last=Peña |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |page=7}} That full project of station consolidation and renovations, as well as track realignment and traction power improvements, is expected to cost $221 million.{{rp|47}} A reconstruction and expansion of Lake Street Yard to support new Type 10 LRVs is planned for the late 2020s.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2022-03/2022-03-24-proposed-fy23-27-mbta-cip-2.pdf |title=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority FY23-27 Capital Investment Plan (CIP): Proposed |date=March 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |pages=47, 66, 78}}{{rp|66}}{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-04/03-22-2024-green-line-b-branch-accessibility-upgrades.pdf |title=Green Line B Branch Improvements and Accessibility Upgrades |date=March 22, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}

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File:BU Central from median.JPG

File:Chestnut Hill Avenue station facing outbound, August 2016.JPG

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Attached KML}}

• [https://www.mbta.com/schedules/Green-B/line MBTA – Green Line B]
• [https://www.mbta.com/projects/b-branch-station-accessibility-improvements MBTA – B Branch Station Accessibility Improvements]

{{MBTA}}

Category:Green Line (MBTA)

Category:Railway lines opened in 1932