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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — With extensions on the Green Line under construction north of Boston, west side changes were said to be coming to the B Branch on Monday. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced Friday in a video, that four stops by Boston University will be merged into two new stations.
A relocated station on Babcock Street was announced to replace the old Babcock Street and Pleasant Street stations, while a new station on Amory Street will merge the St. Paul Street and BU West stations.
According to the MBTA, the new stations were built to be longer with about 225-foot platforms and 150-foot canopies to provide service to a larger crowd. The aim of the consolidation, the MBTA said, was to cut down on travel time on Commonwealth Avenue, improve boarding and exiting accessibility, and add new benches and lighting to the stations. The stations were also built with safety barriers, separating people on platforms from street traffic.
The MBTA said that riders can expect the changes to shorten trips by "at least one minute."
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Construction on the $29 million project took eight months and was originally slated for opening in February 2022. The MBTA said in April, that to accelerate the work on the B Branch, they would need to close the majority of the line and replace trolley service with shuttles for seven weeks.
A new Chelsea commuter rail station was announced earlier this month to open on Monday as well, on the Newburyport/Rockport Line.
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