Green Line (MBTA)

Green Line (MBTA)

The Green Line is a premetro system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area. It is the oldest line of Boston's subway, which is known locally as the 'T'. The Green Line runs underground downtown and on the surface in outlying areas. With a daily weekday ridership of 232,000, it is also the most heavily-used light rail line in the country. The line was given the green color because it goes primarily though an area called the Emerald Necklace of Boston. The four branches are the remnants of a once large system of streetcar lines, begun in 1856 with the Cambridge Horse Railroad. The Tremont Street Subway – the oldest subway tunnel in North America – and several connecting tunnels carry cars of all branches under downtown. The Tremont Street Subway opened in stages between September 1, 1897, and September 3, 1898, to take streetcars off surface streets.