MBTA subway

MBTA subway
Red Line train entering Alewife station in April 2024
Overview
Locale	Greater Boston, Massachusetts
Number of lines	3 heavy rail (Red, Orange, Blue) 2 light rail (Green, Mattapan) 1 bus rapid transit (Silver)
Number of stations	153 (list of stations)
Annual ridership	84,251,600 (heavy rail, 2024) 30,631,700 (light rail, 2024)[1]
Website	mbta.com
Operation
Began operation	September 1, 1897 (Tremont Street subway)
Operator(s)	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Train length	6 cars (rapid transit) 1-3 cars (light rail)
Technical
System length	68.7 mi (110.6 km) – rail
System map Diagram does not include  Silver Line  Legend Oak Grove Malden Center  E  Medford/​Tufts Wellington Ball Square Assembly Magoun Square Sullivan Square Gilman Square Community College East Somerville Wonderland  D  Union Square Revere Beach Lechmere Beachmont Science Park Suffolk Downs North Station Orient Heights Haymarket Wood Island Alewife Airport Davis Maverick Porter Aquarium Harvard State Central Government Center  B   C  Kendall/MIT Bowdoin Charles/MGH Park Street Winter Street Concourse Boylston Downtown Crossing Arlington Chinatown Copley Tufts Medical Center Prudential Back Bay Symphony Massachusetts Avenue Northeastern University Ruggles Museum of Fine Arts Roxbury Crossing Longwood Medical Area Jackson Square Brigham Circle Stony Brook Fenwood Road Green Street Mission Park Forest Hills Riverway South Station Back of the Hill Broadway  E  Heath Street Andrew Hynes Convention Center Kenmore JFK/UMass Blandford Street Savin Hill Boston University East Fields Corner Boston University Central Shawmut Amory Street Ashmont Babcock Street Cedar Grove Packards Corner Butler Harvard Avenue Milton Griggs Street Central Avenue Allston Street Valley Road Warren Street Capen Street Washington Street Mattapan Sutherland Road North Quincy Chiswick Road Wollaston Chestnut Hill Avenue Quincy Center South Street Quincy Adams  B  Boston College Braintree Saint Mary's Street Fenway Hawes Street Longwood Kent Street Brookline Village Saint Paul Street Brookline Hills Coolidge Corner Beaconsfield Summit Avenue Reservoir Brandon Hall Chestnut Hill Fairbanks Street Newton Centre Washington Square Newton Highlands Tappan Street Eliot Dean Road Waban Englewood Avenue Woodland  C  Cleveland Circle Riverside  D  Key Blue Line Red Line Green Line Mattapan Line Orange Line Walking connection This diagram: view talk edit

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates rapid transit (heavy rail), light rail, and bus rapid transit services in the Boston metropolitan area, collectively referred to as the rapid transit, subway, the T system, or simply the T.^[2]

The color-branded lines consist of three heavy rail lines (Red, Orange, and Blue), one branched light rail system (Green), and a short light rail line (the Mattapan Line, colored as part of the Red Line). All except the Ashmont–Mattapan line operate in tunnels in the downtown area, but no route operates entirely underground, and only 31 out of the system's 153 stations are located underground. The five branches of the Silver Line bus network are also shown as part of the rapid transit system. Three branches operate underground and charge rapid transit fares; two branches operate entirely on the surface and charge lower bus fares.

In 2024, the heavy rail lines had 84,251,600 rides,^[1] or about 291,400 per weekday^[3] in the first quarter of 2025, and comprised the fourth-busiest heavy rail system in the United States. In the same period, the light rail lines had 30,631,700 rides, or about 95,300 per weekday, and comprised the third-busiest light rail system in the United States.

The section of the Tremont Street subway between Park Street and Boylston Street stations, now on the Green Line, opened in 1897, making it the oldest transit subway in North America still in use (only the short-lived Beach Pneumatic Transit demonstration line in New York City was built before).