Medford Branch Of Green Line Extension To Open Dec. 12

MEDFORD, MA — The Medford branch of the $2.3 billion Green Line Extension will open on Dec. 12 at 4:45 a.m., The Boston Globe reported.

The line was originally supposed to open in December 2021, but the MBTA announced in August that it would open in late November 2022. Once completed, the new line will accommodate more than 50,000 riders every day.

“We had some additional work we wanted to get done. We also wanted to be sure that we were doing everything we needed to do, not only on the Medford branch, but across our system,” MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said at a board meeting Thursday. “So we’re taking a few extra days.”

According to Poftak, the MBTA has been using empty trains to run a demonstration of service for several weeks. In addition, he highlighted two new traction power substations at Pearl St. and Ball Sq. that will feed the Medford line.

At that same meeting, the MBTA Board of Directors unanimously approved a revised bus map as part of the Better Bus Project, which will increase the scope and frequency of buses around Boston.