Orange Line (MBTA)

Orange Line
A southbound Orange Line train at Haymarket station in 2024
Overview
Locale	Greater Boston
Termini	Oak Grove Forest Hills
Stations	20
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	MBTA subway
Operator(s)	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Rolling stock	CRRC #14 Orange Line cars
Daily ridership	105,000 (2023)[1]
History
Opened	June 10, 1901
Technical
Line length	11 mi (18 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Route map Show interactive map All stations are accessible Haymarket North Extension Oak Grove Malden Center Wellington Carhouse │ Wellington Mystic River Assembly Sullivan Square Community College Charles River Green Line to Lechmere North Station Washington Street Tunnel Haymarket Green Line outbound State Downtown Crossing Chinatown Tufts Medical Center Back Bay Southwest Corridor Massachusetts Avenue Ruggles Roxbury Crossing Jackson Square Stony Brook Green Street Forest Hills This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

The Orange Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south on the surface from Oak Grove station in Malden, Massachusetts through Malden and Medford, paralleling the Haverhill Line, then crosses the Mystic River on a bridge into Somerville, then into Charlestown. It passes under the Charles River and runs through Downtown Boston in the Washington Street Tunnel. The line returns to the surface in the South End, then follows the Southwest Corridor southwest in a cut through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain to Forest Hills station.

The Orange Line operates during normal MBTA service hours (all times except late nights) with six-car trains. It uses a 152-car CRRC fleet built in 2018–2024. The Orange Line is fully grade-separated and trains are driven by operators with automatic train control for safety. Wellington Carhouse in Medford is used for heavy maintenance and storage; a small yard at Forest Hills is also used for storage. All 20 Orange Line stations are fully accessible. Averaging 105,000 weekday passengers in 2023, the Orange Line has the second-highest ridership of the MBTA subway lines.

The Orange Line originated as the Main Line Elevated of the Boston Elevated Railway, which was built in 1901. It consisted of the Charlestown Elevated, Atlantic Avenue Elevated, Washington Street Elevated, and a portion of the previously-built Tremont Street subway. All of the original route has been replaced, beginning with the Washington Street Tunnel replacing the Tremont Street subway in 1908. The Washington Street Elevated was extended from Dudley Square to Forest Hills in 1909, with an infill station at Green Street in 1912; the Charlestown Elevated was extended from Sullivan Square to Everett in 1919. The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was closed in 1938.

The newly formed MBTA assigned colors to its subway lines in 1965, with the Main Line becoming the Orange Line. The Charlestown Elevated was closed in 1975; it was replaced by the Haymarket North Extension, which opened in phases from 1975 to 1977. The Southwest Corridor replaced the Washington Street Elevated in 1987, using an alignment originally intended for Interstate 95, completing the modern Orange Line alignment. The downtown stations were lengthened in the 1980s to allow six-car trains. Accessibility modifications began with some of those stations and were completed in 2005. Assembly opened as an infill station in 2014.

The Orange Line struggled with reliability issues, including aging infrastructure and trains, throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s. Several prominent incidents occurred in 2022 alone, despite the then-underway fleet replacement. Accelerated repairs took place across the entire Orange Line from August 19 to September 18, 2022, and again across different segments of the line throughout 2024.