Green Line T Reliability (E branch) (Huntington, Heath: college, closing, legal)

[movinup777]

How reliable is the E-branch of the green line T? People have told me it sometimes doesn't come for hours. Is this true??

[goyguy]

It can seem like that at times, but no. The reason it does run less often than the other three lines is that it's redundant: the B, C, and D trolleys share the main subway from Lechmere to Copley, and then the heavily-used 39 bus route parallels it the rest of the way.

This was not how it was supposed to be. E-line trolleys once were housed at the Arborway car barn, along the street of the same name adjacent to Forest Hills, and followed what's now the route of the 39 bus. It was always the "poor stepchild" of the Green Line: Last to get a dedicated right-of-way above ground, most shut down for whatever repair work, last to use the 1930's PCC cars, etc. One time when the latest in a long string of closures kept the trolleys out of Jamaica Plain past Heath St, legal action was taken. The ruling which came down stated in no uncertain terms that the entire Arborway line HAD to be refurbished and reopened. But the MBTA flouted this court order and killed the JP end of the route anyway.

And now there's even less of a reason to use it when you're riding outbound from Northeastern or beyond. One of the most-loved features of the Green Line - no outbound fare when boarding above ground - was abolished a couple of years ago. (Not that thousands of people aren't still simply jumping in through back doors without paying every day anyway...) Why shell out 45 cents more when you can get on the 39 at the curb and go farther?

[Tombstoner]

The E line is my primary T line--I use it at least 4 times a day. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I have had to wait more than 15 minutes. The official schedule indicates that it runs once every 8 minutes from 5AM to 6:30PM, then it slows to 10 minutes until 8PM and 14 minutes until closing at 12:30AM. The schedule suggests that, it runs more frequently than any other Green line apart from the rush hour. And even during rush hour E runs every 8 minutes vs. 6 minutes for B and D, and 7 minutes for C. In short, the E is pretty reliable in my experience.

[evergrn]

E line is fine up to Brigham Circle but, beyond that, it loses its dedicated track space (that's separated from the street) and then has to share its remaining way with cars as the rail goes onto a regular street lane. Car traffic is pretty heavy there and often comes to a standstill, so the E-train service can be tremendously slow between Brigham Circle and Heath St.

[MassVt]

I do believe that the E line runs a little less frequently than the B or D lines, if my perceptions out of the Park Street station are correct, but you won't have to wait that long anyway. The E line is too important for Northeastern students, as well as thousands of Longwood ( esp BWH) hospital and Prudential Center employees to be ignored.....

[xS☺B☺s]

Like others have said, it's pretty reliable. ONly issue I'll add is my experience is that the green line, like the whole MBTA system, tends to fail just when you need it most. Deep snow intense cold, heavy rain seems to be just the time the T doesn't work. Standing out on Brigham Circle in a heavy downpour with a wicked wind in March really sucks.

You should keep in mind though that a number 39 bus runs on Huntington ave as do cabs and free buses from Longwood. Despite all that, I guarantee you you will have a few miserable days such as I have described above.

[chaxey]

From my experience of 5 years on the Green Line, I'd say the E-Branch is one of the worst.

I'd rank them in this order:

Not Horrible:
C - Frequently run, decently spaced out stops not always overcrowded. Sox fans are annoying in the summer causing overcrowding.
D - Almost as frequent as the C, but runs a much longer route. Sox fans are annoying in the summer causing overcrowding.

Not Great:
E - Not as traveled as the other routes (generally), so is typically less crowded. Past Brigham Circle it can be a PITA due to the traffic slowing things up. In my experience, the outbound trains leaving from downtown are much less frequent than the other lines.

Horrendous!:
B - I'd rather drown in a vat of mayonaise than ever ride the B again. It runs infrequently, has hundreds of unnecessary stops (yes I'm exaggerating) and is overcrowded by in considerate red sox fans, and worse, COLLEGE STUDENTS.