RLX - Extend the Red Line

IT SHOULDN'T BE ILLEGAL TO PLAN GOOD TRANSIT!
The public hearing for Article 30 - Repeal MBTA Prohibition is scheduled for next Monday, March 23 at 7:15 p.m. Check the town website if you want to watch or participate online.

It shouldn’t be illegal to plan good transit!
When the Massachusetts Legislature granted a series of easements to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (July 14, 1980) to construct the Red Line extension from Alewife to Thorndike Field, it was packaged with another one of former Rep. Jack Cusack’s poison pills. Tacked onto the end of a long piece of legislation, Section 16 of Chapter 504 of the Acts of 1980 prohibits the MBTA from planning or constructing the Red Line northwest of its present terminus at Thorndike Field.
Paul Selker discovered this obscure prohibition while researching past efforts to kill the Red Line. Obviously, this law needs to be repealed before we can make any progress toward a feasibility study involving a Red Line extension into Arlington.
Arlington’s 2023 home rule request, to repeal the 1976 ban on a transportation facility in Arlington Center, established Town Meeting’s intent to clear legal obstacles to a Red Line extension. We don’t need to start from scratch with another home rule petition and a separate bill. We just need to attach repeal language to any transportation or budget bill to repeal this roadblock.
So, this is a call to action. Please write to your state representative, state senator, and Governor Healey, requesting the repeal of Section 16 of Chapter 504 of the Acts of 1980. Tell them it shouldn’t be illegal to plan good transit!

We are in the comment period for the MBTA's FY 2026 – 2030 Capital Investment Plan (CIP). Look over the plan. The public comment period extends to April 17, 2025.

Capital Investment Plan | MBTA Budgets and Financials | MBTA Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.

MBTA announces increased service on the 77 bus.

Let's build some trains!

Lawmakers Repeal Arlington MBTA Station Ban | WBZ NewsRadio 1030 In 1976, state lawmakers passed a law banning the T from constructing a station within 75 yards of Arlington Catholic High School, scuttling plans for a Red Line extension. That ban is now repealed.

The bill repealing the ban on extending the Red Line has been signed into law by Governor Maura Healey! While this bill does not mean the Red Line will expand, I'm glad to see that this law from the 1970s will no longer serve as a potential barrier to providing rapid transit to Arlington residents and beyond.

Excellent news! Chapter 439 of the Acts of 1976, which prohibited the construction of an MBTA facility within 75 yards of Arlington Catholic High School, was repealed when Governor Maura Healey signed H.4236 into law (December 23, 11:53 a.m.).

Arlington's bill to repeal the ban on the MBTA constructing a transit facility in Arlington Center has cleared the legislature, Enacted and laid before the Governor.

Bill to repeal MBTA prohibition OK'd by Legislature Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill that stopped the Red Line expansion in 1976.

Good news from the Massachusetts House of Representatives! Today, the House concurred with the Senate amendment to H-4236, which attached an emergency preamble to the bill. The Senate enacted the bill and laid it before the Governor.

Here's something you can do RIGHT NOW to extend the red line! See the below post for details on how to email or call your State Senator about advancing a critical piece of legislation to repeal a dated, 70s law that keeps the red line ending at Alewife.

And: there's a deadline. The clock is ticking on this legislative session. So check it out and act today!

Action alert: Critical state senate bill – Extend the Red Line Extend the Red Line is a community group working to extend the MBTA's Red Line and bring better transit to Arlington, Massachusetts – and beyond.