The Reasons Behind Boston’s Color-Coded MBTA Subway Lines

BOSTON (WBSM) — Anyone who has taken a ride on the Boston subway quickly learns the color-coding system that helps riders navigate from one line to another.

Going to Fenway? Green Line. John F. Kennedy Library? That’s the Red Line. How about a trip to the New England Aquarium? Take the Blue Line.

The color designation system came about in 1965; prior to that, the lines each used geographic names with numbers assigned to train cars on the heavy rail lines.

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The color system was designed to make it easier to understand the routes, choosing primary colors to make them stand out.

However, the MBTA’s own website offers differing opinions as to whether or not some of the colors mean anything.

One page offers up explanations for all the lines’ colors, while another page says that “although there's a longstanding myth that all transit lines were branded because of their specific geography, according to the original consulting team, the branding of the Orange and Green lines was random.”

We like to believe the page that ascribes to them some meaning. Life is more fun that way.

The Red Line

The Red Line first began service in 1912, and the MBTA says the Red Line sees more riders than any of the other subway lines: an average of 122,000 customers per day. It’s the line most people south of Boston will ride to avoid driving into the city (at least the ones that don’t take the commuter rail).

The Red Line received its color designation because it travels through Harvard University, whose sports teams are known as the Crimson.

The Orange Line

First opening in 1901, the Orange Line is Boston’s second-oldest subway line and it serves an average of 96,000 customers each day. It gets its color distinction because it runs under Washington Street, which was formerly named Orange Street.

The Green Line

The Green Line is the oldest subway in America, having started way back in 1897. It sees about 93,000 customers each weekday, and connects eight different cities and towns to Boston’s downtown area.

The Green Line is so named because it travels through Boston’s “Emerald Necklace” park system, a 1,100-acre chain of parks and waterways that runs through Boston and Brookline and looks similar to a necklace hanging around Boston Neck.

The Blue Line

The Blue Line, which first opened in 1904, serves an average of 39,000 customers each weekday. It is the North Shore line that brings folks into the city from Revere.

So why is it called the Blue Line? It’s because it travels underneath Boston Harbor, and alongside the Atlantic Ocean.

The Silver Line and the Purple Line

Really, nobody uses these names to describe the bus routes (silver) or the commuter rail lines (purple), and there doesn’t seem to be any particular significance to the color distinctions.