Green Line Extension’s Medford branch opens to fanfare

Drawing a crowd to rival this month’s royal visit, the Green Line Extension’s new branch debuted Monday, with transit enthusiasts out in force as the first trolley rumbled into Medford shortly before 5 a.m.

Decades and billions of dollars in the making, the second GLX branch arrived to much fanfare — freezing temperatures and icy conditions notwithstanding. 

Riders packed onto the T for the Medford branch’s maiden voyage, prompting MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak to quip, “We’re going to need more trains,” according to The Boston Globe. 

The Green Line’s E trains now run from Mission Hill to Medford. The Union Square GLX arm, on the Green Line’s D branch, opened in March. 

“It’s truly an honor to have the T right outside our door,” Tufts University President Anthony Monaco said during an event marking the opening. He said more than 2,000 Tufts employees live in Green Line communities and will now have mass transit access to the college’s campus. 

“This is a great day for the MBTA, and it’s a great day for our riders in this community,” Poftak said in his remarks. 

“I think many of you who know the arc of history on this project know that this project came very close to not happening,” he said, recalling “headwinds” that included COVID-related challenges and supply chain issues.  

“We as a team were able to get it done, and it gives me great pride to stand here on behalf of the 6,400 employees of the MBTA and bring you this new service,” Poftak added. 

Gov. Charlie Baker said that earlier on Monday, the new $250 million vehicle maintenance facility at the end of the line was dedicated to former Rep. Mike Capuano, who secured $1 billion in federal funding to cover about half the GLX cost. 

“You can’t build a project like this on good intentions and words,” he said. “You need dollars.” 

Baker also said he remembers people talking about the Green Line Extension as far back as the 1980s.

Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne recalled bringing her then-8-year-old daughter to testify at a Green Line meeting at Somerville High School in 2005.

“She asked me that night when she’d get to ride the train,” Ballantyne said. “We know the answer now: ‘When you’re 26.’” 

Safe to say @SomervilleCity Mayor @katjballantyne is excited about the Green Line Extension — and so is former Mayor Curtatone!

The band calls this rendition “When the Green Line come rolling in” pic.twitter.com/IIjcain7et

— Jeremy Siegel (@jersiegel) December 12, 2022

“I’ve just got one word: Finally,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.

Warren and others who spoke at the event agreed that the Medford branch opening is a milestone for the MBTA, but not a stopping point. 

“We need a transportation system that works, and that means planning for the future,” she continued. “We need a T that is cleaned up and runs on time — and yes, Orange Line, I’m looking at you. We need a T that moves people around to more parts of the region.”