MBTA To Study Extending Silver Line To Somerville, Neighbors

SOMERVILLE, MA — Transit officials will study an extension of Silver Line service to a handful of greater Boston communities, including Somerville. The Silver Line Extension Alternatives Analysis, announced Monday by MassDOT and the MBTA, will assess the feasibility, utility and cost of different alignments and service frequencies in Somerville, Everett, Cambridge, Chelsea and Boston.

"In Somerville, we pride ourselves in aligning transportation policy with housing and economic development policy," Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a statement. "Our advocacy for one-seat mass transit service connecting Logan Airport with Kendall Square via East Somerville is rooted in a firm commitment to addressing current and historic inequities in our City and in our region."

The study follows recent recommendations by the Lower Mystic Regional Working Group and the Everett Transit Action Plan to extend Silver Line service to Everett and neighboring communities. The aim is to provide service at levels close to rapid transit for those living just beyond the reach of the Orange and Blue Lines.

Existing bus routes serving Chelsea and Everett have maintained some of the highest ridership levels in the system during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the week of Jan. 4, six of the top 10 bus routes in the MBTA system in terms of ridership recovery served Everett or Chelsea.

Recent recommendations by the Kendall Square Mobility Task Force have also called for improving transit services and connections within the area in order to accommodate new growth in housing and jobs in East Cambridge.

"We're excited to collaborate with MassDOT on this analysis of Silver Line service," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said in a statement. "Studying the extension of the Silver Line to Everett and beyond is a key objective of Focus40 and an important step in improving service to essential workers and transit-critical populations that live far from the Orange and Blue Lines and rely on bus service to get to work and other destinations."

In addition to convening a Stakeholder Working Group composed of municipal staff, community members, and elected officials, the project team will conduct an extensive public engagement process throughout the course of the study to gather input from residents, MBTA customers, and other stakeholders. The study is anticipated to be completed in spring 2022.

For more information please visit mbta.com/slx or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA, Facebook /TheMBTA, or Instagram @theMBTA.