Orange Line (MBTA)

The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the MBTA. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. It meets the Red Line at Downtown Crossing, the Blue Line at State Street, and the Green Line at Haymarket and North Station. It connects with Amtrak and Commuter Rail service at Back Bay and North Station.

Originally known as the Main Line of the Boston Elevated Railway and later the Forest Hills-Everett Elevated Line, the current name is derived from Orange Street, an old name for the section of Washington Street immediately south of downtown under which the Washington Street Tunnel, forming the center of the line, still runs. In April 1987, the Washington Street El south of the Essex (Chinatown) station was closed. The line was rerouted into a modern subway running along the Amtrak right-of-way (the Northeast Corridor) from Back Bay to Forest Hills.

The old Orange Line El was the train seen in the opening sequence of the television program St. Elsewhere.

Stations

• Oak Grove
• Malden Center
• Wellington
• Sullivan Square , Charlestown
• Community College , Charlestown
• North Station, with direct connections to MBTA commuter rail. North Station is located directly beneath the TD Banknorth Garden.
• Haymarket
• State Street, located directly beneath Boston's historic Old State House.
• Downtown Crossing, located next to the famous Filene's Basement .
• Chinatown
• New England Medical Center
• Back Bay station, connection to Amtrak Acela service.
• Massachusetts Avenue , within walking distance of Boston Symphony Hall .
• Ruggles
• Roxbury Crossing
• Jackson Square
• Stony Brook
• Green Street
• Forest Hills, near the Arnold Arboretum.

Rolling Stock

The Orange Line's current fleet is the 01200 series, built 1980-1981 by Hawker Siddeley of Canada in Ontario. They are 65' long, with three pairs of doors on each side. These cars are similar to the PATH cars in New Jersey. There are 120 cars, numbered 01200-01319.

Accessibility

The majority of the stations on the Orange Line are accessible. The only exceptions are Malden Center (although an ongoing reconstruction is slated to fix this) and Community College .