SILVER LINE (MBTA)

The 'Silver Line' is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) sole Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, running in two, unconnected sections, from Dudley Square in Roxbury to downtown Boston, Massachusetts and from South Station to several points in South Boston and to Logan Airport in East Boston.
The Silver Line is planned to be built in three phases; only phase I and part of phase II have been completed. Phase III, a connection between the two sections, is planned for some time after 2013.
Silver Line buses are wheelchair ramp equipped using a kneeling bus and a flip-out ramp. Two of the three models used are pictured to the immediate right. ''See'' MBTA accessibility.
==Phase I - Silver Line Washington Street==
Phase I of the Silver Line runs between Dudley Square in Roxbury and downtown Boston along Washington Street. Patrons pay the bus fare of $1.25 on a CharlieCard or $1.50 on a CharlieTicket or with cash. At select stations, passengers can transfer from the Silver Line to the subway (Red, Green, and Orange Lines) for an additional 45 cents (CharlieCard) or 50 cents (CharlieTicket or cash). At these same stations, passengers may transfer from the subway to the silver line for free. The full line started running July 20, 2002, replacing the Washington Street Elevated, which closed in 1987. In the interim, the route was served by the '49' bus (which had existed as a feeder route before 1987).

Contents

Station listing

Phase II - Silver Line Waterfront

Fares

History

Station listing

Phase III

Future BRT Options

Silver Line Critiques

References

External links

Station listing

Station	Transit Time to Dudley station[1]	Opened	Transfers and notes
Dudley Square	0 minutes	July 20, 2002
Melnea Cass Boulevard		July 20, 2002
Lenox Street		July 20, 2002
Massachusetts Avenue		July 20, 2002	'Not' the same as Massachusetts Avenue station on Orange Line, 1/2 mile northwest
Worcester Square		Late 2002
Newton Street		July 20, 2002
Union Park Street		July 20, 2002
East Berkeley Street	10 to 12 minutes	July 20, 2002
Herald Street		July 20, 2002
New England Medical Center		July 20, 2002	Orange Line
Chinatown		July 20, 2002	Orange Line northbound buses only
Boylston		July 20, 2002	Green Line southbound buses only
Downtown Crossing at Temple Place	16 to 21 minutes	July 20, 2002	Orange Line and Red Line at Downtown Crossing; Green Line at Park Street

Phase II - Silver Line Waterfront

Phase II of the Silver Line utilizes overhead electric power in a new tunnel from South Station to Boston's World Trade Center and on surface reserved right of way 1/2 mile further east to ''Silver Line Way''. Dual-mode buses continue beyond Silver Line Way on diesel power over three routes:

★ 'SL1' Logan International Airport terminals

★ 'SL2' ('746-1') Boston Marine Industrial Park (BMIP)

★ 'SL3' ('746-2') City Point via Boston Marine Industrial Park, extended weekdays until 7 p.m. to Farragut Road on April 9, 2005
A Silver Line Waterfront service from South Station to Silver Line Way operates using trackless trolleys. One more service is planned:

★ 'SL4' Andrew Station via Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and D Street
The SL1 operates in a loop at Logan Airport and only serves the terminals, at the arrivals level. The Silver Line stops at the curb at the far end of each terminal in the direction of traffic flow. There are also free shuttle buses connecting the terminals and other airport destinations, including the Airport station on the Blue Line, hotels, rental cars and the water taxi. A system of moving walkways connects terminals A and E, the Hilton Hotel and central parking. See the Logan Airport article for lists of which airlines serve each terminal.

Fares

Unlike Silver Line Washington St., the Waterfront lines charge the MBTA rapid fare -- $1.70 for CharlieCard holders, $2.00 for riders holding CharlieTickets or paying cash. Ticket vending machines that accept cash and credit cards are installed in the Logan Airport terminals and the World Trade Center and Courthouse stations. There is free transfer to and from the Red Line at South Station.

History

The Phase II tunnel was constructed in conjunction with Boston's "Big Dig" and was originally referred to as the 'South Boston Piers Transitway.' Tunnel sections were fabricated in a nearby, World War II-era dry dock and floated into place. Phase II opened on Friday, December 17, 2004, with the first route ('Silver Line Waterfront', officially '746') running only to Silver Line Way, using electric trolley buses.
When dual-mode buses were placed in service on December 31, 2004, the SL2 and SL3 extensions opened. SL1, to Logan Airport, opened June 1, 2005.
As not enough dual-mode buses were available initially, some rush-hour service was provided by CNG buses, with transfers at Silver Line Way. Through service was suspended after January 5, 2005, and was not brought back until March 5, with all buses dual-mode starting on March 14. Beginning on March 26, late night and weekend trips ran combined, running both around the BMIP loop and to City Point.
On January 2, 2005, CNG buses started running on a Sunday-only (4 pm - 10 pm only) shuttle route ('746-5') between Silver Line Way and the airport terminals. The agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection called for airport service by January, but the MBTA did not have enough buses for full service.[1]

Station listing

Station	Routes	Opened	Transfers and notes
South Station	all	December 17, 2004	Red Line, MBTA Commuter Rail, Amtrak, intercity buses
Courthouse	all	December 17, 2004	John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse
World Trade Center	all	December 17, 2004	Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, seasonal ferry to Provincetown, Lenticular art on the lobby level of the station
Silver Line Way	all	December 17, 2004	Changeover between diesel and overhead electric power takes place here
Logan Airport Terminal A	SL1	June 1, 2005	Massport and rental car shuttle buses; walkway to central parking and Hilton Hotel
Logan Airport Terminal B south	SL1	June 1, 2005
Logan Airport Terminal B north	SL1	June 1, 2005
Logan Airport Terminal C	SL1	June 1, 2005
Logan Airport Terminal E	SL1	June 1, 2005	International arrivals, Hilton Hotel; next stop is Silver Line Way
Northern Avenue at Harbor Street	SL2, SL3	December 31, 2004
Northern Avenue at Tide Street	SL2, SL3	December 31, 2004
25 Dry Dock Avenue	SL2 (outbound)	December 31, 2004
88 Black Falcon Avenue	SL2 (terminal)	December 31, 2004	Cruise ship terminal
Black Falcon Avenue at Design Center Place	SL2 (inbound)	December 31, 2004
Dry Dock Avenue at Design Center Place	SL2 (inbound), SL3	December 31, 2004
Summer Street at Power House Street	SL3	December 31, 2004
East First Street at M Street	SL3	December 31, 2004
City Point	SL3 (terminal)	December 31, 2004

Phase III

Phase III comprises the connection of the two halves of the Silver Line via an underground busway from Boylston station on the Green Line to South Station. Three possible routings were being debated, but many area residents were pushing the MBTA to more-seriously consider its "No build" routing option and, as of 17 August, 2005, the MBTA has put the Phase III project "on hold" [2], casting its future into doubt. Phase III was expected to cost $780 million, but this price tag depended upon the route selected. Phase III was originally expected to be completed by 2013.
In February 2006, Massachusetts State Transportation Secretary John Cogliano proposed a much less expensive plan that would eliminate most of the tunneling, running the Silver Line on the surface via Kneeland Street to a new tunnel portal on Essex Street, near South Station. The estimated cost of this proposal is $94 million and it includes expansion of Silver Line service to Copley Square, Grove Hall, Mattapan, and Ashmont, connecting at the Fairmount commuter rail line. [3]
In March, yet another plan was put forward, with support from most transportation leaders, including Cogliano, calling for a mile long tunnel with a portal at Charles Street and Tremont Street. No cost estimate was given and federal approval is still needed. Construction could start in 2009, and would be completed in 2014. [4]

Future BRT Options

In addition to the Silver Line, BRT is being considered as a means of implementing the Urban Ring Project and providing improved crosstown service.

Silver Line Critiques

Detractors of Silver Line service insist that BRT is still a bus, not a high-speed transit line, and provides equivalent quality and speed to other buses. Community groups in the Roxbury and South End neighborhoods, along with the Sierra Club, have presented findings that support this argument, and maintain that a light-rail line would be both cheaper and more effective than BRT. These groups sometimes refer to the Silver Line Phase I as the "#49 bus" (this being the bus line with an identical routing that the Silver Line replaced) and the "Silver Lie" (used because of allegations from advocacy groups that the MBTA reneged on a promise of real rapid transit.)
However, in MBTA nomenclature, BRT lines, as with all rapid-transit lines, are named by colors, not by number. The Silver Line originated from community demands for restoration of local service after the Washington Street Elevated portion of the Orange Line was demolished in the 1980s. Proposals to build a new subway line under Washington Street or a new trolley line along Washington Street were deemed impractical, so the Orange Line was re-routed about 1/2 mile west onto the Southwest Corridor right-of-way, leaving many local residents without a rapid-transit option. Eventually, BRT was chosen to provide this service, and the MBTA feels it meets the needs of the communities affected by the Orange Line relocation.
Some have argued that BRT was the only way that the Silver Line could provide service to Logan Airport, because the Ted Williams Tunnel that runs to Logan is an Interstate Highway (I-90), and Interstate Highway standards do not allow rail tracks in the road surface. However, opponents of this viewpoint note that Interstate Highway standards make no mention of rail tracks (other than a prohibition of non-grade separated crossings), and insist that the Silver Line's separate right-of-way within the tunnel would preclude it from having to meet highway regulations.

References

1. Association for Public Transportation, ''Car-Free in Boston, A Guide for Locals and Visitors'', 10th ed. (2003), p.117.

External links

★ MBTA - Silver Line

★ MBTA's allaboutsilverline.com

★ nycsubway.org - Boston Transit: The Silver Line

★ BadTransit - The Silver Line Fall 2003 Update

★ Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district (PDF)

★ A High-tech Keep Out - A wayward SUV no match for security at MBTA tunnel

★
★ The Video of an SUV trying to enter South Station - The MBTA's rising security floor barricade in action.