How can the 441/442 buses be better post Better Bus Project?

I have been taking these buses for a while now, both before and after the Better Bus changes, and while these buses are relatively good and had some changes for the better, there are some things that could still be improved. Now, these are the things that were improved under Better Bus:

-Eliminate 448/449 variants and Vinnin Square/Central Square short turns and simplify service by merging resources to provide more short turn service to a new location: Ocean St (near Lynn/Swampscott line), where the bulk of the boardings in Lynn start, and adding more full length trips to Marblehead from the former 448/449 trips.

-Increasing stop spacing between Ocean St and Silsbee St. (some stops before were very close to each other)

-Skipping the Point of Pines deviation during rush hour in the peak direction for full length trips to Marblehead (the Ocean St. short turns still deviate). If someone wants to get on/off at the Point of Pines on a bus that skips the stop they are asked to walk to the nearby stop on North Shore Road (1A) at John St.

These changes helped in making these routes better, but these bus routes still have some issues that could be improved on. Here are what I think some of the issues that hold these routes back from reaching their full potential:

1. The inbound Central Square "loop".

Currently, on the inbound runs of these routes, they deviate to provide direct access to the Lynn Busway. The only problem is that the loop that is made to provide direct access to the busway puts an extra 5 minutes onto the run times of these routes, as they have to pull into the busway, unload/take passengers, and have to go through 2 lights again (the one at Broad and Union across from North Shore and the Broad and Market intersections). To solve this issue and still provide close access to Lynn Station, I have come up with this idea:

Put a new inbound stop just for the 441/442 on Broad Street next to the All Care Hospice Services building. Sure, a bus shelter would be nice, but it doesn't even need that, just a sign and a small area so the bus can pull up. This would require some coordination with the city of Lynn, as those short term street parking spaces that are currently there would be lost, but people who used to park there can park in the nearby garage instead. People who need to transfer at Central Square to other bus routes in the busway or bus drivers coming from the busway to start their shift on these buses that are en route (driver swaps) are only steps away from this new stop location. Once the bus is ready to leave, it can proceed straight onto the Lynnway. This would allow for run times to go down as much as 5 minutes.This stop would look similar to the nearby Market Street at Commuter Rail stop, which 455 buses use when going inbound so they can still provide access to Central Square while staying on the route.

The inbound route is in pink, it currently loops to access the Central Square busway. The outbound route is in blue, and the red box is where a potential inbound stop could be located so the buses don't have to loop.

Further improvements could be making this stop like any other bus stop, a "stop and go" bus stop, instead of holding until the posted time to leave Central Square if the bus happens to get here early, but buses could hold at the new stop if they wanted to keep the holding routine at Lynn the way it is. The outbound route can remain the same by still serving the busway, as the route is already going in the right direction.

2. Point of Pines Deviation

This has always been an issue in improving performance that has been brought up many times before. They solved some of the problems for Better Bus, but the Point of Pines issues somewhat remain. Currently, all off peak trips and short turn rush hour trips serve this stop. However, to serve this stop, buses have to deviate off of North Shore Road onto a residential street to reach the stop, which is in its own loop, and then get back on North Shore Road again.This adds about 3-5 minutes onto the run time. Most of the times I have been on this route, there is almost nobody getting on or off here. Maybe during rush hour it gets used. I would go as far to say that they should eliminate this stop, as people who live in this neighborhood are close enough to the North Shore Road at John Ave stop, but political pressure in Revere will probably make sure that there is always some sort of direct service at the Point of Pines. Considering this, I have come up with two ideas:

Whenever the short turns run (5am-9am and 3pm-end of service), ALL full length runs to/from Marblehead in BOTH directions during this period of time should be skipping this stop. The short turns are already providing service to Point of Pines in 20 minute or less intervals, there is no need for full length trips to further add time to their run, especially if a short turn trip was just there a few minutes ago or is coming soon. I don't think most people are going from Point of Pines to Swampscott or Marblehead, and if they are, they can walk to nearby North Shore Road for service. Most of the people who use Point of Pines are going to stops provided by the short turn services (either somewhere in Lynn or Wonderland).

During off peak (midday/night/weekend) service, have only ONE of the two routes stop here, preferably the 441. (Night service runs to Marblehead all run as 442, all other nighttime trips are short turns to and from Ocean St., Lynn, which run in 20 minute intervals). To make things consistent, since the 442 would be skipping this stop the most, at nighttime and at rush hour, have the 441 off peak always stop here in addition to the 441/442 short turns when they are running. The 442, however, would never stop here (similar to the 439). This would provide lifeline service to the Point of Pines off peak (once an hour) while giving them 20 minute service when the short turns run.

3. 441 routing to approach Vinnin Square

Currently, the 441 and 442 run together on Humphrey St. until getting to Salem St. in Swampscott before these routes split up into their own segments and rejoin again in Lynn. The separation point however, should not be there, but at Humphrey St./Tedesco St. and Maple St. (next to the Glover School). The 441 having to go all the way down just to come back up again to reach Vinnin Square instead of running straight down Tedesco St. puts an extra 3 minute run time onto the route. I have made a map of where the 441 should go and the new stops it would serve.

The red stops would be the ones that would completely lose service, and the yellow stops are existing stops that serve both routes but under this idea would change to 442 service only. The pink stops are the new 441 stops on the new route. In practice, though, only the area near the current split would now only have a choice of 442 only when they could pick both routes before. The Tedesco St. region would in fact gain service. Most people would just have to walk to the other end of the streets at the stops listed for service. The before and after approximation of the comparison of service options at stops include:

Salem St. at Sunbeam Ln. (back of Vinnin Sq.) > Moved to Vinnin St. across from Staples
212 Salem St  > No replacement
Tedesco Golf Course (rear) > Direct access to golf course entrance on Tedesco St.
Salem St. at Stanley Rd. > No replacement
Salem St. at Humphrey St. (441 location) > Go to 442 stop for service
Humphrey St. at Stanley Rd. > 442 only service
Humphrey St. at Crossman Ave. > 442 only service
Humphrey St. at Winthrop Ave. > 442 only service
Humphrey St. at West St. and Humphrey St. at Ruby Ave. > 442 only service at those locations, for 441 service walk up the street to a new stop at Tedesco St. at West St.
Humphrey St. at Tufts St. > 442 service only, for 441 service walk up the street to a new stop at Tedesco St. at Tufts St.
Humphrey St. at Palmer Rd. and Humphrey St. at Charlotte Rd. > 442 only service at those locations, for 441 service walk up the street to a new stop at Tedesco St. at Charlotte Rd.
Humphrey St. at Glendale Rd. > 442 only service at this location, for 441 service go to the intersection near the Glover School and walk across the street for service at Tedesco St.

To sum it up, 2 stops would lose service completely, and 4 stops would only see 442 service afterwards. Most people would still have their choice of routes in the area but relocated a little bit. This idea is the least likely to happen, however, as people and the T don't like route alignment changes, even if it is for short distances and most service staying the same.

If these ideas were implemented, they would provide faster service to people getting from Marblehead to Wonderland. These small fixes would potentially shave off up to 10 minutes of bus run times, making a 50 minute run time into 40 minutes. Hopefully, some of these changes can be implemented in the future.

Hey Salem State! Did you know there's more than just the 455 bus to get around?

I have been attending Salem State University for 3 years now and am very familiar with the MBTA bus 455, which goes to Wonderland and to the north end at the Salem train station. I am very familiar with how packed this bus route gets because they go through dense neighborhoods in Salem and Lynn, picking up passengers, as well as the numerous SSU students boarding and it is always very slow to get to where they are going as a result. (This is primarily an issue on trips going to/from Wonderland). It usually takes on average an hour to get to Wonderland from SSU. I have searched for alternatives and luckily, there are some, and I've tested them all, as I either am sick of waiting for the bus to show up at SSU or I just miss the 455 at Wonderland and don't feel like waiting for the next one to come. So if you're sick and tired of waiting forever for the bus and being in packed buses for a while (and you're up for some walking), here are some alternatives! These directions assume you are at Central Campus and the times are approximate, if one "fast walks".

Alternative 1: Route 450/450W

Path to the 450 from Central Campus in pink.

Route Profile: The 450 goes from Salem Depot to Haymarket, with some trips going only to West Lynn, and all weekend trips running as the 450W to Wonderland. All trips run along Highland Ave. in Salem and Western Ave. in Lynn before running to Haymarket or Wonderland. Alternative midday trips run as Route 456 to Central Square, Lynn, but honestly, if you're going there, it's just faster to get on the 455 at SSU. The stop you want to board on, assuming you're going inbound, is Highland Ave at Valley St. and the stop you want to get off at if you're coming from Boston/Lynn and going to SSU is Highland Ave. at Willson St.

Schedule (follow directions on website): https://mbta.com/schedules/450/schedule?direction_id=1

Fares: Express bus fare if going to/coming from Haymarket, Local bus fare if bus is going to West Lynn or Wonderland or you tell driver when you board that you are getting off before Haymarket. See https://mbta.com/fares/bus-fares for more details.

Time to/from Haymarket on bus (weekdays): approx. 50 min.
Time to/from Wonderland on bus (weekends only): approx. 35-40 min.

How to get to the 450: Cross the street at the crosswalk in front of Viking Hall and go up Jefferson Ave, passing the convenience store. Go over the railroad bridge and keep following Jefferson St. until you approach Willson St. Take a left onto Willson St. Follow Willson St. until the end at Highland Ave. Cross the street at Highland Ave and take a left and go up the street until you get to the stop at the bridge (Valley St.). Do the reverse of this to get to SSU from the 450.

Distance: 1.3 miles/approx. 20-25 minutes "fast walking".

Alternative 2: Route 441 at Vinnin Square

Path to Vinnin Sq. from Central Campus in blue.

Route Profile: The 441 runs from Marblehead to Wonderland, via Paradise Rd and the Lynnway. The stop you want to board on if you're going inbound is 1000 Paradise Rd. and the stop you want to get off at if you're coming from Wonderland is Paradise Rd at Vinnin St.

Schedule: https://mbta.com/schedules/441/schedule?direction_id=1#direction-filter

Fare: Regular (local) bus fare.

Time to/from Wonderland on bus: approx. 35 min.

How to get to the 441 at Vinnin Square: Follow Loring Ave, going past South Campus, all the way to the light at Fantasy Island, taking a left at the fork, onto Paradise Rd. At the next light, cross the street. Continue down Paradise Rd. until you get to the stop at 1000 Paradise Rd. (across from the Walgreens). Do the reverse of this to get to SSU from Vinnin Sq.

Distance: 1.4 miles/20 min "fast walking" (15 min. from South Campus).

Path to the 441/442 at Humphrey and Glendale from Central Campus in orange.

Alternative 3: Routes 441 and 442 in Marblehead (Humphrey St at Glendale Rd.)

Route Profile: The 441 which stops at Vinnin Sq. in the previous stop profile also stops further up the route in Marblehead at Humphrey St and Glendale Rd. A second route, the 442, also stops here, but continues down Humphrey St. on its way to Wonderland instead of going to Vinnin Square and Paradise Rd like the 441 does. The stop you want to board on is Humphrey St. opposite Glendale Rd. and the stop you want to get off at when coming from Wonderland is Humphrey St. at Glendale Rd.

Schedule (Route 441): https://mbta.com/schedules/441/schedule
Schedule (Route 442): https://mbta.com/schedules/442/schedule

Fare for both routes: Regular (local) bus fare.

Time to/from Wonderland on 441: approx. 40 min.
Time to/from Wonderland on 442: approx. 35-40 min.

How to get to the 441/442 at Glendale Rd: Go on the bike path behind Bertolon and follow it until you get to Lafayette St. Take a right on Lafayette St, going into Marblehead until you reach the light at the fork after the top of the hill. At the light, take a right, going down the hill until you reach another light. Cross the street and take a right on Humphrey St (not Tedesco St.) where the stop is. Do the reverse of this to get to SSU from Marblehead.

Distance: 1.2 miles/20 min "fast walking". This stop is also accessible enough and takes the same time if one is going/coming from North Campus. Instead of using the bike path, start/stay on Lafayette St. further up (on the Dunkin's side of Meier) and go down the hill until you meet up with the bike path, then follow the rest of the original directions listed above.

Pro tip: I consider these routes (441/442) the "hidden expresses" to Salem State, as most of the time, they, along with walking the last mile to SSU, are considerably faster than the regular buses that pick up on Loring Ave in front of SSU, as these routes run in a mostly straight direction and aren't as curvy or deviation-prone as the 455 is going through Salem and Lynn, and almost always you will get a seat on these buses. I would especially stick to these routes around October, as they don't go to downtown Salem, meaning you won't be waiting forever for the bus to come pick you up because it's still stuck in Downtown Salem!

Alternative 4: The Commuter Rail

Path to the Commuter Rail in purple.

Route Profile: The Newburyport/Rockport Commuter Rail line runs from North Station in Boston to those two destinations, stopping at Salem along the way. You can take either train to Salem. The train station is located at the northern end of downtown Salem.

Schedule: https://mbta.com/stops/Salem?tab=departures

Fare: Zone 3 commuter rail fare for a trip into Boston or Chelsea, interzone fare for travel to all other destinations on the line from Salem. The Commuter Rail is going to be more expensive than the bus to go to Boston, so if you're on a budget, it may not be a good idea.

Time to North Station: approx. 30-35 min.

How to get to the Salem train station: Follow Canal St., going by O'Keefe, all the way to Downtown Salem. Keep going straight all the way through downtown Salem until you get to the station.

Distance: 1.8 miles/approx. half an hour "fast walking".

Pro tip: I know it looks like a straight, easy route to walk, and it looks closer than what it really is, but it isn't. I've walked it before and trust me, it takes a while, even "fast walking" before you get to SSU. The train is also very expensive and by the time I get one of the shorter length bus routes (aka 441/442) and the subway together to Boston, I'm almost there and the walking/commuter rail combo only saves me about 10 minutes as I have to get on the subway anyways when I get to North Station, and I save myself a good amount of money by taking the bus to the subway at Wonderland instead. If you absolutely have to take the commuter rail, take the bus that picks up in front of SSU to the end at Salem Depot and get the train there, although around October, I can't guarantee that will be much faster either.

So, I have presented all the alternative routes that are near SSU. If you walk, there's actually quite a few to choose from. I hope this helps SSU students in getting to their destinations a little better, and good luck in your travels!

Oak Grove: The End of the Haymarket North Extension?

The next and last stop on the northern Orange Line is Oak Grove, which happens to be my home station! So, let's get into detail about all that Oak Grove has to offer!

This station opened over a year after the rest of the extension was already built. So, what took so long? According to the 1976 MBTA Annual Report, the station itself was complete in the fall of 1976, but the opening was delayed until the spring of 1977 "pending completion of a study of the impact the station will have on land use and traffic in the area" (pg. 13). Oak Grove officially opened on March 19, 1977.

The design of Oak Grove is kind of different than some of the HNE stations. But, it may not be as different as other MBTA stations built around that time. According to the 1973 MBTA Annual Report, "a contract was awarded for architectural and engineering services to adapt the award-winning North Quincy station design to the Oak Grove Station-Winter Street Bridge Complex on the Haymarket North Extension" (pg. 22). Way to be original, MBTA! I always thought these stations kind of looked alike based on the architecture, but this quote confirms that they sort of copied North Quincy to make Oak Grove. Alright, but at least Oak Grove's a little different though. Oak Grove has a second platform, its entrances are in different places, and still looks original whereas North Quincy has been renovated, so one can't tell the similarities as much anymore.


North Quincy before opening and renovations, 1970.
Source: https://archive.org/stream/annualreportmas1970mass_1#page/n13/mode/2up

Oak Grove station today. Notice any similarities to North Quincy?



Oak Grove is located in northern Malden and is right on the line with Melrose. It is located in a quiet, sort of suburban neighborhood (compared to Boston and the rest of the OL stops), and often times this station is dead outside of rush hour. This is one of the lesser used stations on the northern Orange Line, getting in around 6000 people daily, compared to Malden and Sullivan, which is twice that number.

When the Haymarket North Extension stations were constructed, the T wanted all of them to have parking lots and drop-off/pick-up areas to encourage increased use of rapid transit. They opted for lots instead of garages to save money. North Station and Community College (and later Assembly) were the only stations on the HNE to not have a MBTA owned parking lot or drop-off/pick-up area. MBTA-owned parking for the Orange Line can be found at Forest Hills (small lot, only station on the southern Orange Line to have parking), Sullivan (small lot), Wellington (medium size), Malden Center (small lot), and Oak Grove. This station has a large parking lot that gets full by 7am during the week but has plenty of spaces on weekends. It is clear Oak Grove is primarily a park and ride station, with all those parking spaces, two drop off/pick up areas, and only 4 bus routes serving the station, with all of them continuing on to Malden, using Oak Grove as a supplementary stop. The other primarily park and ride oriented station on the Orange Line is Wellington, with its own parking lot and the Station Landing (privately owned) garage to serve riders.

There are two entrances to Oak Grove's one fare lobby: one from the parking lot and a smaller one off of Washington Street, with escalators (up only) going to the fare lobby. This station has a lot more windows and in the open than most HNE stations. The elevators, which were actually the first elevators ever installed on the T when Oak Grove first opened, serve the parking lot to the lobby (with a locked rear door exiting to the second platform) and the lobby to the platform. They are starting to show their age and need to be rehabbed. The ADA compliance already present since Oak Grove opened is probably the main reason Oak Grove still looks completely original compared to its HNE and North Quincy counterparts, which didn't have elevators when they first opened and were remodeled somewhat when the elevators were put in.

Oak Grove has two platforms, the main one and the secondary side platform. The Haverhill Line passes through the second platform but does not stop. The last recorded use of the second platform being used was during the 2004 DNC when North Station was closed and Haverhill Line service terminated at Oak Grove and passengers switched here for continuing Orange Line service to Boston. I am not sure Oak Grove was considered Zone 1A or Zone 1 for the commuter rail when it was used, but the zone boundary is very close to here. The platform is now chained off, but one can go up to the fence dividing it from the parking lot.

A route map at Mass. Ave saying that the Commuter Rail still stops at Oak Grove and not Malden Center. Guys, the commuter rail stopped coming here a long time ago...

View down the unused second platform.

The second platform looks somewhat similar to the main platform.

Gated off escalator to the second platform.



Entrance to top of gated off escalator.

Bottom of gated off escalator to second track.

Oak Grove's route maps really need to be updated, especially since Assembly now exists, and it's on the way to Boston. On the second platform, this route map hasn't been updated since 2000.


State/Aquarium? I believe Aquarium's been long reopened by now.

Overall, Oak Grove is a pretty good station, except for the restroom, which is not so great. It's gross like every other MBTA bathroom, which is to be expected, but I've seen worse when it comes to MBTA bathrooms (like Alewife). It is a single stall handicapped bathroom, with the usual toilet paper being chained to the railing and a space heater in the wall. This bathroom was installed in 2014 (Oak Grove originally didn't even have a bathroom, they made space for one), and it did not take long for it to become gross.

However, is Oak Grove really the end of the line? According to these pictures, it's not, as the Orange Line supposedly keeps going after Oak Grove...

The current track 2 says Inbound/Outbound, as this was supposed to be the bidirectional express track.

Map of the Oak Grove area. Notice the Orange Line is drawn showing it continuing to go north into Melrose.

This sign now says "Do Not Enter", but for the longest time it said "Orange Line Outbound" because the second platform was to serve the third track going north to Reading.
Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oak_Grove_outbound_platform_entrance.JPG
User: Pi. 1415926535

Truth is, Oak Grove is the real end of the Orange Line, for now. Those signs are there for the one day it may get extended to Reading, but it seems like that extension idea has been sort of forgotten and there are other more important extension projects/proposals on the T's list right now, such as the Green Line extension and the Red-Blue Connector. Oak Grove is a good place to end the Orange Line, and the Haymarket North Extension.

Reading, maybe someday...

Update (2019): Oak Grove's parking rate is $9 Monday-Friday and $3 on weekends. Also, Oak Grove is getting some upgrades in the near future. The upgrades include new elevators (an increase from 1 to 2 from platform to lobby, one new one from lobby to Washington St. and new busway/parking lot elevator in addition to the existing one on the commuter rail platform), new signs, and overall maintenance upgrades to the place. The full details on the project can be found here: https://mbta.com/projects/oak-grove-station-accessibility-improvements. Updates of Oak Grove's upgrades before, during, and after the upgrades have been completed will be posted on this site, so stay tuned! 

Malden Center

In December of 1975, the Orange Line was extended north to Malden Center. This station is a little different in its setup, as it is elevated, so the lobby is set up differently. The third track here is used by the Haverhill Line, which stops here, using the second platform that was set up for the Orange Line. Because of this, not all doors can be used to board commuter rail trains at Malden Center, as the platform length is set up for 6-car Orange Line trains, not longer commuter rail trains. However, this was the first station in the commuter rail system to have full high level platforms, because the platform height was built to support Orange Line trains, which are the same height as commuter rail cars. The Reading (later Haverhill) line used this platform beginning in 1977 through 1979 and from 1985 to today. This station allows for easy transfers between the Haverhill and Orange Lines, although the transfer is redundant, as one can transfer between Haverhill and Orange again at North Station, and from my experience being on the Haverhill Line, most people usually ride the train to North Station and switch there instead, as both stations are in Zone 1A.

The Orange Line platform is a center platform serving both Orange Line tracks, which is separate from the Haverhill Line platform, which is a side platform. Malden Center, located in bustling downtown Malden, is the busiest northern Orange Line station and the largest bus hub of any of the northern Orange Line stations. When Malden Center first opened in December of 1975, a double entry and single exit fare was charged here, since Malden was 5 miles away from Boston. This was also the fare system at Oak Grove when it opened as well. In 1980, after a fare restructure, these stations now only had a single entry fare and no exit fare like the rest of the Orange Line stations. As of 2018, all subway stations have one entrance fare and no exit fare. Although with the new CharlieCard II (aka AFC 2.0) system coming in a few years, there have been talks of bringing exit fares back and calculating fares based on distance, which means one day Malden Center and Oak Grove may have exit fares again, as the distance from Boston to these stations is between 5-6 miles and are the northernmost rapid transit stations on the T.

Malden Center's center and side platforms.

Malden Center was renovated between 2003 and 2005 and was the last Orange Line station to be made accessible. Elevators were added for both the Orange and Haverhill Line platforms. Today, the Orange Line is 100% accessible and the Haverhill Line is accessible except for these stops: North Wilmington, Wakefield, Greenwood, Melrose Cedar Park, and Wyoming Hill.

Next stop: Oak Grove

Wellington

Wellington station was the fourth station to be opened on the HNE, and it opened in September of 1975. At the same time, the Wellington maintenance yard for Orange Line trains opened, replacing the Sullivan Square and Forest Hills yards. This new maintenance facility had the modern tools available to maintain the old 01100 series and the current Orange Line cars in service. Currently, the yard is being expanded and renovated to serve the newest cars on the Orange Line fleet coming this year.

Wellington station nearing completion in 1975.
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/The_T_Arrives_In_Medford.pdf (pg. 3)

Wellington Station and Yard today, viewed from the Station Landing garage.

Wellington is located on the east side of Medford and is Medford's only rapid transit station. Other parts of Medford are served by buses and the Lowell Line at West Medford station.Wellington is another bus hub of the northern Orange Line, but not as large as Sullivan or Malden Center. The station is connected by a skybridge to the Station Landing garage and shopping center, which was built next to the station around 1997. The skybridge used to be a people mover which looked like a horizontal elevator, but was ripped out and replaced with the skybridge around 2006 because the people movers always broke down. The current skybridge sits on the track where the people mover used to be. A video of the former people mover in action can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT3jQkOvBXE.

The station itself has three tracks and two platforms, like most of the original HNE stations. The test track for the Orange Line ends at this station and the Haverhill Line track takes over where the third track would be after Wellington. Surprisingly, the sign for the second platform entrance from the lobby says it's closed, even though it's not.

The "closed" second platform, even though it's open. Oak Grove had the same sign for its second closed platform before it got replaced with "Do Not Enter" a few years back.

Wellington, when it first opened, was the last station on the Orange Line going north to charge the normal subway fare. Malden Center and Oak Grove, and the other stations, if the extension went to Reading, had a different fare setup, which I'll get into in the next station, Malden Center!

Assembly

Since Assembly wasn't part of the original Haymarket North Extension, I will be brief in my writing about this station.

Assembly station opened on September 2, 2014 to serve the Assembly Row Marketplace in Somerville. This station only has one platform instead of two. If there were a need to serve the third track later on, the Haverhill Line tracks that run next to Assembly would need to be realigned.

Assembly station from outside.

The architecture of Assembly can best be described as the 2014 version of the Haymarket North Extension station style, with lots of glass instead of a mass of brutalist concrete.

Next stop: Wellington

Sullivan

The last of the trio of stops opened on April 4, 1975 is Sullivan Square. This station opened to replace the old elevated station of the same name and roughly the same location.

The current Sullivan station sits under I-93 and the Newburyport/Rockport and Haverhill Line tracks run next to the station but do not stop, as there currently is no platform at Sullivan for the commuter rail. A temporary commuter rail platform, however, was constructed in 1984 at Sullivan for then Ipswich/Rockport line passengers to transfer to the Orange Line, as North Station was closed because trains could not enter due to the approach trestles needing to be rebuilt after catching on fire. This temporary platform no longer exists.

Sullivan Square is a major bus hub for the Charlestown/Somerville area, and it seems like people coming from buses account for the bulk of the station entries at Sullivan.

Sullivan has two platforms, both are which in use. The left track is for southbound trains, the center track for northbound trains, and the right track is a test track used for testing the new Orange Line cars coming this year. The test trains currently run between here and Wellington. At the time of this writing, crews are working on reconstructing the test track all the way to Community College. If the extension to Reading ever happened, the current center (northbound) track would have been the bi-directional express track and the right (test track) would have been the northbound track.

Primary platform at Sullivan. Notice how the supports for I-93 run through the station's structure.