Boston Overground

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Boston Overground
Overground roundel.svg
Liverpool Street Overground.png
OwnerTransport for Boston
LocaleBoston
Stations12 served
Service
TypeCommuter rail
Operator(s)Boston National Rail
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Route map
File:Boston Overground route map.svg

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 official Boston Overground map

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
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.