Green Line (MBTA) - Accessibility

Accessibility

The Red Line, Blue Line, and Orange Line, all run rapid transit cars and use stations with elevated platforms level with the car floor providing easy access for the disabled. Meanwhile the Green Line is a trolley/streetcar line and has used a variety of light rail cars (streetcars) throughout its history.

Originally, all of the Green Line stations had platforms at track level, and passengers had to ascend several steps up into the vehicles. This limited accessibility for persons with disabilities. To address this issue and comply with changing federal and state laws, additional facilites have been added:

• Wheelchair lifts were provided at some stops. The models used were rolled up the car door and the lift mechanism was operated using a hand crank. These lifts have turned out to be quite time-consuming to operate, causing significant delays on the entire Green Line when used during peak periods.
• Short platforms level with car floors, accessed by ramps, were installed just before or after selected stations. Because the car door arrangement required a large gap between the platform and the car, a bridge plate attached to the raised platform had to be positioned after the train was stopped with a door at that platform.
• The MBTA has followed the worldwide trend of operating low-floor streetcars. As an ongoing project not complete as of 2012, platforms are being raised slightly (to about the height of a street curb). The low floor cars have remotely controlled bridge plates at the center doors to allow wheelchairs and strollers to reach the car floor a few inches higher.

One hundred low-floor cars were purchased from the Italian vendor AnsaldoBreda (Breda), with styling by Pininfarina. These cars initially proved to be problematic and difficult to maintain. The first cars delivered failed every 400 miles (640 km), far less than the 9,000 miles (14,500 km) specified by the MBTA, and were prone to derailments. The MBTA has been forced to spend an additional US$9.5 million to modify tracks to prevent the derailment problems, echoing early problems with the Boeing stock. The MBTA has been criticized for their failure to assess Breda's reliability before entering into the deal, and during the delivery of the vehicles.

In December 2004, the MBTA canceled orders for the remaining cars still to be delivered as part of the authority's nine-year, US$225 million-dollar deal with Breda. One year later, in December 2005 the MBTA announced that it had entered into a restructuring of the deal with the Italian vendor, reducing the order to 85 cars (with spare parts to be provided in lieu of the 15 remaining cars), and providing for the remaining payment under the original 1995 deal only if the cars meet performance requirements. Construction of the last car under the order was completed on December 14, 2006; though in late 2007 the MBTA announced it had contracted with Breda to deliver another 10 cars, bringing the total order to 95 production cars and 5 car shells for parts.

After several years of modifications to the Green Line "D" Branch tracks, the Breda cars finally returned to service on that line, and now provide service on every branch of the Green Line.

The MBTA runs single cars and two or three car trains regularly on the Green Line. An occasional four car trains has been seen on special occasions such as after a basebal game at Fenway Park. As of December 2011, single car trips are rare on weekdays. Two-car trains now run from the start to end of service Monday through Friday, with three-car trains running on select rush-hour trips on the B, D, and E branches. The MBTA has promised that each two- and three-car train on the system will contain at least one Type 8 low-floor car to facilitate access for disabled persons.