Green Line B branch

Green Line B branch
An outbound train between Amory Street and Babcock Street in 2024
Overview
LocaleBoston, Massachusetts, United States
Termini
Stations23
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemGreen Line
Daily ridership26,310 (weekday average boardings from surface stops only in 2010–2011)[1]
History
Opened1896 (Kenmore–Packards Corner, Lake StreetChestnut Hill Avenue)
1900 (Packards Corner–Chestnut Hill Avenue)
Technical
CharacterUnderground (Kenmore and eastward)
Center median running (west of Kenmore)
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification600 V DC overhead
Route map
Map
D and E branches
Government Center
Blue Line (MBTA)
Park Street
Red Line (MBTA)Orange Line (MBTA)Silver Line (MBTA)
Boylston
Silver Line (MBTA)
Arlington
Copley
Copley Junction
Hynes Convention Center
Kenmore
Blandford Street portal
Blandford Street
Boston University East
Boston University Central
Amory Street
Babcock Street
Packards Corner
Fordham Road (closed 2004)
Harvard Avenue
Griggs Street/Long Avenue
Allston Street
Warren Street
Summit Avenue (closed 2004)
Washington Street
Mount Hood Road (closed 2004)
Sutherland Road
Chiswick Road
Chestnut Hill Avenue
South Street
Greycliff Road (closed 2004)
Boston College
Commonwealth Avenue

The B branch, also called the Commonwealth Avenue branch or Boston College branch, is a branch of the MBTA Green Line light rail system which operates on Commonwealth Avenue west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. One of four branches of the Green Line, the B branch runs from Boston College station down the median of Commonwealth Avenue to Blandford Street. There, it enters Blandford Street portal into Kenmore station, where it merges with the C and D branches. The combined services run into the Boylston Street subway and Tremont Street subway to downtown Boston. B branch service has terminated at Government Center since October 2021. Unlike the other branches, B branch service runs solely through the city limits of Boston. The Green Line Rivalry between Boston College and Boston University is named in reference to the B branch, which runs to both universities.

As of February 2023, service operates on 8-minute headways at weekday peak hours and 8- to 12-minute headways at other times, using 9 to 15 trains (18 to 30 light rail vehicles).[2]

  1. ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. ^ Belcher, Jonathan (January–February 2023). "MBTA Vehicle Inventory as of February 28, 2023". Rollsign. Vol. 59, no. 1–2. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 10.