Boston Overground
Boston Overground | |||
---|---|---|---|
Owner | Transport for Boston | ||
Locale | Boston | ||
Stations | 12 served | ||
Service | |||
Type | Commuter rail | ||
Operator(s) | Boston National Rail | ||
Technical | |||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
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The Boston Overground, or simply the Overground, is a suburban rail network around the city of Boston. It has 12 stations with 5 routes running mostly along the Boston Railway Corridor, a circular railway route around the city.
The Overground is part of Boston's National Rail Network, although it's mostly operated under Transport for Boston via contract. The Overground uses an orange color scheme in branding and on the Tube map.
History
The Boston Railway Corridor was built as two railway loops around Boston in order to funnel third party warp rail lines into one system, owned and operated by National Rail. Four original stations, Paddington, Liverpool Street, Stratford International (Originally just Stratford), and Waterloo station were built to serve various different companies.
Phase I
Due to the distances between the stations, as well as a lack of service from the Boston Underground or the MBTA, infill stations were built at key areas. Because infrastructure was already crowded, smaller platforms were deemed more feasible. To connect these stations, National Rail hired Transport for Boston to create lines and services. The system was organized into phases based on opening lines.
The first line, Phase I, was the Paddington - Stratford line, with a branch to Liverpool Street station. Boston Underground D78 stock was first used, but was soon replaced with Class 378 stock, refurbished and extended D78 stock. As the railway uses the same fare system was the subway, fare gates were installed on Overground platforms, but removed when the Overground switched to checking tickets during the trip.
Phase II
The first additions to the Overground were the South Boston and Wapping lines, parts of Phase II. Although mostly consisting of existing rail infrastructure, three new sections were built.
The South Boston line was ran between Stratford International and Paddington via Denmark Hill and Acton Town. A new spur of track was built splitting off after South Acton, using newly built tunnels beneath Acton. The line connected once again to the rail corridor just south of Chesham, with a junction to either go north towards Chesham station or towards Euston.
In addition to the South Boston line, a second line opened, using abandoned Boston Underground infrastructure. Although the Wapping line was the length of an underground line, it only had two stations which were close by. When built, the Boston Underground had ran out of money to finish the line and later deemed it economically unfeasible, with the only connection to the rest of the service being to the District line at Kennsington (Olympia) station.
When the Overground took over the Wapping line, two connections were to be made to connect it to the Boston Railway Corridor. These were directly west of Denmark Hill and Euston. The Wapping line eventually connected to Stratford International, with its other terminus at Denmark Hill station. Due to tight curves and shared infrastructure with the Boston Underground, the Wapping line has to use original D78 stock on this line.
Phase III
Phase III is the most recent phase of the Overground, with two small lines opening. The Waterloo to Chesham line connected Waterloo to Chesham via a new connection to the Acton Town spur. The North Boston line connected Paddington to Chesham via Euston, being the last major line to open.
Network
The majority of the system uses shared infrastructure, with only a few areas using its own. Most of the system is overground, as the name implies, with Acton Town being the only underground station in the network. The line acts as way to travel around Boston, with a few connections directly into the city. This creates a separation between the suburbs and the rest of Boston, although recent development has been taking place near Greenwich.
Services
There are 5 current lines on the Boston Underground.
South Boston line | |||
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Route | tph | Calling at | Stock |
Stratford to Paddington | 4 | Clapham Junction, Denmark Hill, South Acton, Acton Town, Euston | 378 |
Wapping line | |||
Route | tph | Calling at | Stock |
Denmark Hill to Stratford | 4 | Wapping, Kensington (Olympia), Euston, Moorgate | D78 |
Paddington - Stratford | |||
Route | tph | Calling at | Stock |
Paddington to Stratford | 4 | Moorgate | 378 |
Moorgate to Liverpool Street | 1 | Moorgate | |
Waterloo to Whiteley | |||
Route | tph | Calling at | Stock |
Waterloo to Southwold University | 4 | Acton Town, Chesham, Zerez, Maple Street | 313 |
North Boston line | |||
Route | tph | Calling at | Stock |
Chesham to Paddington | 2 | Euston | 378 |
Operations
Ticketing
The Boston Overground uses a mix of New England Travelcards and free service. All hub stations served by the Overground (Other than Zerez) have free service. As Travelcards require passengers to tap off at stations with fare gates, all stations have Travelcard ticket machines.
Waterloo - Stratford Connector
The Waterloo - Stratford Connector is a joint development between the Boston Overground and MBTA owned and operated by Fred Rail. It acts as as shuttle service between Waterloo and Stratford International via Boston South Station. It uses 3-car class 313 EMUs and connects to Stratford by using the southern end of Fred Rail's City Widened Lines through Downtown Boston.