"==MTA==
Technically, the MBTA replaced the MTA; it is legally not a descendant, but a new agency to which all of the assets of the old agency were transferred.  The MTA was financed under the authority of the Boston Metropolitan District (no relation to the Metropolitan District Commission), which persisted until all its bonds were retired in the late 1980s or early 1990s (check US Census Bureau's census of governments for details), long after the MBTA took over from the MTA.  (Many parts of what we now think of as the MBTA system were actually started under MTA jurisdiction.)

A good external reference is Scott Moore's NETransit site.

 Shorter disambuator? 
How about we move all the station and line pages from [[Name (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)]] to [[Name (MBTA)]], so the title line isn't dominated by the disambiguator?
 2051, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Having typed the long form seemingly ten zillion times in nearly as many articles, this sounds like a good idea to me! As far as I'm concerned, have at it! (But know now that there will be a lot of links to edit!)

 21:26, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 Excellent Resource 

This site

MBTA Resources

is a fantastic collection of Boston transit information, down to station by station histories and photos.  I suggest it be added to the ""external links"" section of the article.  12:24, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)
If you think so, you're welcome to add the link (no need to ask for consensus on an uncontroversial edit  this is Wikipedia, after all!)  12:52, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Did it. 00:07, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Track connections between subway lines
As far as I know, there are no connections, direct OR indirect between the lines. The Red Line MAY have a connection to the Commuter Rail at the Cabot Yard or at a track near Neponset (just north of the Neponset River), but I doubt it. The Blue Line has no connections to any other rail lines. I think the Orange Line has a connection at Wellington, and the Green Line has only Riverside. So there MAY very indirect connections between the Red, Orange and Green, but they are never used except in emergencies (like when the Green Line flooded and Commuter Rail trains served Riverside).   

Just checked a few sources. A June 2000 track map shows no connection at Wellington or anywhere else on the Orange Line. Same for the Red Line. Of course it also shows no Green Line connection at Riverside, and I know that exists (but is usually fenced off). The track I remember at Neponset is a dead end (Java). At Cabot Yard (Red Line) and South Bay Yard (Commuter Rail) the two systems are totally separated, lookign at aerials on that same site. So the only one remaining to check is Wellington.   

Now the Orange Line USED to connect via Everett Shops, as did the Green Line (via surface tracks under the El). And the Blue and Red connected over the Longfellow Bridge, and there may have been a connection at Eliot Street Yard in Harvard connecting the Red Line to the streetcar line to Watertown and thus the Green Line, but I'm not sure about that. But at one point the Longfellow Bridge track did connect to other streetcar tracks. And I think I found a connection north of Wellington on aerials at http://www.globexplorer.com/ , but I'm not sure - shouldn't be too hard to spot from the Commuter Rail (harder from the Orange Line because of the unused east track) if it exists. But even if there is an Orange-Green connection via Commuter Rail (and fairly direct at that, using the Grand Junction Line), I would very much doubt it gets any use.   

So how do you figure all those nice new Red Line cars were delivered from Barre, Vermont?

 

Ah, here we go. Blue has none. Red has one at JFK/UMass, Orange has one at Wellington (last used ca. 1981), and Green has one at Riverside. None appear to be used at the present time. It would be rather misleading to suggest that there are in fact connections. How's this?
""Except between the Red Line and Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, there are no track c