Take a Ride on the Indigo Line

February 05, 2014

By 2024, Boston workers may have new and quicker transit options for commutes within the greater Boston area. In his Capital Investment Plan for 2014-2018, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey outlined a plan to add Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) vehicles along the existing Fairmount Line tracks. These DMUs will be called the Indigo Line.

Davey allocated $252 million of the five-year $12.4 billion budget to fund these transportation improvements along the Fairmount Line and to extend the Silver Line to Chelsea. A map provided in the Capital Investment Plan shows a “Vision for the MBTA in 2024,” which shows the Indigo Line extending service between North Station and the Lynn and Anderson/Woburn commuter rail stops, and between South Station and Readville. Connections would be established between South Station and Riverside Station, the terminus for the Green Line D branch, and between North Station, Cambridge, and the upcoming Boston Landing Station in Brighton.  All new operations would occur along existing rail lines, so no new infrastructure would need to be built.

In September 2013, the Boston Globe reported a DMU connection between Back Bay Station and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, near the South Boston Waterfront, is being fast-tracked. The rail connection would provide a rapid transit option to an ever-growing area of Boston that is only currently served by the Silver Line and bus service. According to the Globe, DMU trains are about 60% less expensive than locomotive trains, making them an appealing option to bolster existing service without an enormous financial commitment.

Would you use the Indigo Line if it were active today? What areas in and around Boston do you think would benefit from expanded rapid transit options?

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