Bostons rapid-transit Blue Line covers a distance of 5.94 miles; a twenty-three-minute commute that begins at Bowdoin station in downtown Boston; travels under the harbor; passes Revere Beach; and stops at Wonderland. Todays commuters might be surprised to learn that the line they are riding was once operated by trolley cars and narrow-gauge steam-powered commuter trains; for it was not until 1904 that the East Boston Tunnel under the harbor was completed. By 1917; the number of people riding the Blue Line had climbed to twenty-five thousand a day. Although significant advances had been made to accommodate high-volume commuter traffic; rush-hour congestion at downtown stations remained a problem. In the 1920s; with ridership exceeding forty-two thousand people a day; the Boston Elevated Railway and the Boston Transit Commission agreed to convert the tunnel to a rapid-transit operation with a transfer station at Maverick Square. Further expansion occurred in the 1950s; when the Blue Line was extended to Orient Heights; Suffolk Downs; and Revere Beach.
#1545633 in eBooks 2001-06-06 2001-06-06File Name: B009A3ENDI
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