Northeastern University (MBTA station)

NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern University station as seen from Forsyth Street.
Location	Huntington Avenue at Opera Place, Boston
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Green Line "E" branch
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	February 16, 1941
Rebuilt	2002–2003
Previous names	Opera Place (1941-1947)
Traffic
Passengers (2009 daily)	3,007
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Museum of Fine Arts toward Heath Street Green Line "E" Branch Symphony toward Lechmere

Northeastern University (signed as Northeastern) is a surface-level trolley stop on the MBTA Green Line. It is located in a dedicated median along Huntington Avenue in Boston, between Opera Place and Forsyth Street, and is adjacent to the Krentzman Quad on the campus of Northeastern University. It is the first surface-level stop going outbound along the Green Line "E" Branch; trolleys rise from a portal located between Opera Place and Gainsborough Street and continue along the surface down Huntington Avenue towards Mission Hill.

The modern Green Line "E" Branch opened on February 16, 1941 with the completion of the Huntington Avenue subway from Copley to the Northeastern Incline. (Before then, trams had run on the surface from the Boylston Street portal). On May 21, 1947, the Boston Elevated Railway board voted to change the name from Opera Place to Northeastern University. The stop was named on maps as early as the 1951 M.T.A. route map, while most other surface stops (save for Brigham Circle and Heath Street) did not appear separately until around 1990.

Until bare asphalt platforms were installed in the 1970s, there were no real stations on much of the surface portion of the line; passengers merely waited on street corners and boarded from the street. However, Northeastern University received platforms much earlier due to its high traffic. In a renovation that took place in 2002 and 2003, a new handicapped-accessible station was built between Opera Place and Forsyth Street. Boston's original electric street lamps were manufactured by Lundin Electric & Machine Company of South Boston; during the rebuild, the lamps at Northeastern station were replaced with cheaper replica cast iron lamps which mimic the style of street lamps in Washington, DC. Wiring slots for an automatic fare collection system were also installed during this upgrade. A signal prioritization system for Northeastern University and all stops further outbound is also in place. Temporary platforms were built northeast of Opera Place during the renovations; a station sign is still in place.