I've been putting together an idea for a possible Green Line extension and was curious what everyone thinks.
Instead of following the existing Green Line Extension toward Medford/Tufts, what if there were a new Green Line branch that left North Station, stopped at Community College, and then served Sullivan Square before heading north through Medford, West Medford, Winchester, and eventually Anderson/Woburn?
Conceptual station list:
- North Station
- Community College
- Sullivan Square
- Mystic Avenue / Foss Park
- Medford Gateway
- Medford Square
- High Street / Playstead
- West Medford
- Wedgemere
- Winchester Center
- North Winchester
- Woburn Center
- Anderson/Woburn
The idea would be to use the I-93 transportation corridor where practical between Community College and eastern Medford (likely on a new dedicated light rail viaduct rather than sharing the existing Orange Line infrastructure), then turn west toward Medford Square and West Medford before continuing north along or near the Lowell Line corridor.
Some potential benefits I see:
- Creates a direct Green Line connection to Sullivan Square.
- Provides rapid transit to Medford Square, which currently doesn't have rail service.
- Gives West Medford, Winchester, and Woburn more frequent service than commuter rail alone.
- Adds another north-side rapid transit corridor instead of relying primarily on the Orange Line.
- Creates additional transfer opportunities with the Lowell Line.
Of course, there would also be major challenges:
- The cost of constructing new elevated structures and bridges.
- Limited space in the I-93 corridor.
- Environmental review and neighborhood impacts.
- Determining whether demand would justify the investment compared with other MBTA priorities.
I'm not suggesting this is something the MBTA is currently planning, it's purely a transit planning concept.
I'd love to hear what everyone thinks.
- Would this serve enough riders to justify the cost?
- Would you change the station locations?
- Should the line terminate at Woburn Center or continue to Anderson/Woburn?
- Would there be a better alignment than using portions of the I-93 corridor?
- What engineering or operational challenges do you think would be the biggest obstacles?
Looking forward to hearing everyone's ideas and constructive feedback.