MBTA Opens Green Line Extension Union Square Branch, Ending Decades of Delays

BOSTON — July 19, 2026 — MBTA cuts the ribbon on the Green Line Extension's Union Square branch, giving Somerville its first fixed-rail transit access after three decades of delays. MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak hosted a ceremony at the new Lechmere Station attended by Governor Charlie Baker, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and Federal Transit Administration Administrator Nuria Fernandez, who noted the FTA's $1 billion contribution to the $2.3 billion project. Revenue service on the two new accessible stations — Lechmere and Union Square — began at 4:50 a.m. the day of the event. MassDOT Secretary Jamey Tesler cited record MBTA capital spending of $1.92 billion in the prior fiscal year, rising toward $2 billion this year, as part of an $8 billion five-year program. Former Congressman Mike Capuano, credited across nearly every speech with securing federal funding, told the crowd that displaced residents — including 10,000 people removed for McGrath Highway in the 1950s — are the real reason the day mattered; State Senator Pat Jehlen warned that the project "is not enough" without displacement protections and further extension to Route 16. Five additional stations on the Medford branch are expected to open later this year, with projections of 50,000 daily riders across the full system by 2030.