Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Silver Line

Silver Line
Number of branches	4
Distance	2.3 m (Nubian-Downtown) 3.3 m (Logan Airport) 3.5 m (Boston Marine Park) 4.6 m (City Point)
Daily Weekday Ridership	25,715
Types of buses used	Neoplan AN460LF ETB Dual Mode, New Flyer DE60LFR, New Flyer XDE60, and New Flyer XE60

The Silver Line is a bus rapid transit line in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and has 33 stations. The line commenced operations in 2003 from Nubian to Downtown Crossing.

When the Silver Line was introduced, 17 of the MBTA's existing C40LFs were used to provide service. When the Neoplan AN460LF CNGs were delivered, they replaced the C40LFs. Since then, more varieties of vehicles have been introduced to the lines. Once the Neoplan Dual Modes were delivered, they were placed on the northern Silver Line routes. To replace/supplement the Neoplan AN460LF CNG buses, New Flyer DE60LFR and New Flyer XDE60 Xcelsior buses were assigned to the southern Silver Line routes (SL4, SL5). For a brief period, two Neoplan AN440LF ETB buses were given the Silver Line scheme because of fears that there would be a shortage of dual modes with the launch of the SL3 to Chelsea, but because a shortage never happened, said buses were returned. In anticipation of the retirement of the dual mode Neoplans, an extended range XDE60 and 5 XE60 all-electric buses are being used/tested to see which model would be most suitable.

On December 17, 2004, branch 2 was created, from South Station to the waterfront. On December 31, 2004, this route was extended and branched, one leading to Boston Marine Industrial Park, and the other to City Point. On June 1, 2005, branch 4 was created to Logan International Airport via Ted Williams Tunnel. These branches are not connected to branch 1.

All buses that operate on Silver Line are equipped with GPS and automated announcements.

Routes

Route	Internal Route Number	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	Launch Date	Notes
SL1	741	South Station	Boston Logan International Airport Terminal A	June 1st, 2005
SL2	742	South Station	Design Center	December 31st, 2004
SL3	743	South Station	Chelsea	April 21st, 2018
SL4	751	South Station	Nubian Square	October 13th, 2009
SL5	749	Downtown Crossing	Nubian Square	July 29th, 2002	Originally called the SL4 Renumbered to the SL5 with the launch of the current SL4
SL Waterfront (SLW)	746	South Station	Silver Line Way		Operate only in the rush hour to supplement existing SL1-3 service
SL3		South Station	City Point	December 31st, 2004	Original SL3 line The route was done away with and all non-shared stations were closed on March 20th, 2009

Stations

SL4/SL5 Branches

Station Name	Date Opened	Notes
Boylston Street Station	September 3, 1897 July 30, 2002 (Silver Line)	Terminus.
Downtown Crossing	November 30, 1908 July 24, 2002 (Silver Line)	Connections to Orange Line, Red Line.
Chinatown	November 30, 1908 July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	Connections to Orange Line.
New England Medical Center Station	May 4, 1987 July 30, 2002 (Silver Line)	Connections to Orange Line.
Herald Street Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)
East Berkeley Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	2 bike spaces.
Union Park Street Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	2 bike spaces.
Newton Street Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	2 bike spaces.
Worcester Square Station	Late 2002 (Silver Line)	2 bike spaces.
Massachusetts Avenue Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	2 bike spaces.
Lenox Street Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	2 bike spaces.
Melnea Cass Boulevard Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	2 bike spaces
Nubian Square Station	July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)	Terminus

SL1/SL2/SL3 Branches

Station Name	Date Opened	Notes
South Station	December 3, 1916 December 17, 2004 (Silver Line)	Terminus. 226 parking spaces. Connections to Red Line and rail lines.
Courthouse Station	December 17, 2004 (Silver Line)
World Trade Center Station	December 17, 2004 (Silver Line)
Silver Line Way Station	December 17, 2004 (Silver Line)	Divert to SL2, SL3 and SL4.
88 Black Falcon Avenue	December 31, 2004 (Silver Line)	Terminus of SL2
City Point	December 17, 2004 (Silver Line)	Terminus of SL3
Logan Airport Terminal E	June 1, 2005 (Silver Line)
Logan Airport Terminal C & D	June 1, 2005 (Silver Line)
Logan Airport Terminal B Stop 2	June 1, 2005 (Silver Line)
Logan Airport Terminal B Stop 1	June 1, 2005 (Silver Line)
Logan Airport Terminal A	June 1, 2005 (Silver Line)	Terminus of SL1.