Metropolitan Transit Authority

The Boston Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) was the pre-War rapid transit system for the City of Boston, operating underground and elevated suspended monorail lines throughout the region. Once the primary form of public transportation for the Boston Metropolitan Area, it has since fallen into disrepair, with monorail trains dangling from elevated highways and stations blocked up with wrecked trains and rubble.

History
Boston's subway network was the first in the United States when it was created, when the first tunnels were constructed underneath Tremont Street in 1897 to relieve streetcar congestion on the surface. This was followed by rapid growth, with the creation of multiple elevated and subway lines in and out of the city. These railway lines were consolidated into the Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1947, and the name stayed well until 2077. At an unknown date before 2077, the subway began full conversion into a suspended monorail network, with streamlined tube-body trains suspended from overhead tracks taking the place of conventional subway cars.

Prior to the Great War, the MTA operated an extensive network of subway and elevated lines throughout Boston, consisting of the Blue, Red, Green, and Orange Lines. Like the DCTA in Washington D.C., the network made use of Protectrons to enforce security measures throughout the system. However, due to sudden shortages of resources and the need to establish rationing, portions of the subway/elevated network began to close, with Park Street station under Boston Common shutting down permanently for conversion into Vault 114 by February of 2077, which would use the existing station infrastructure to save costs. This problem was to be addressed shortly before the Great War, when Sebastian Mullins drew up a map of underground Boston, as the city planned to expand the subway system. Unfortunately, the Great War cut the project short.

Following the Great War, the Boston MTA soon became infested with a variety of creatures, ranging from Feral Ghouls to Super Mutants, as well as raider groups. Many of the underground stations remained intact, as well as the trains inside them. Power in these stations still remained as well, with announcements for commuters still being broadcast 200 years later. The elevated lines, given the collapse of the Boston Highway Network, suffered even worse damage, with trains dangling at precarious heights above ground.

Despite this, some stations have seen levels of retrofitting post-war, with new additions being made by wastelanders to the tunnels. Scollay Square Station in Goodneighbor has since been transformed into a bar/club, the Third Rail, while portions of Andrew Station serve as a bunker for the notorious ghoul and former crime boss Eddie Winter.

Infrastructure
The Boston MTA consisted of the Red, Green, Blue, and Orange lines, and primarily used tunnels underneath Boston and monorail tracks running underneath the towering elevated highways that criss-crossed the city. Most stations were situated in Boston city proper, with some going outside to neighboring cities, such as Quincy and Cambridge. Most underground stations were relatively small and antiquated compared to their counterparts in DC, sporting small concourses, narrow tunnels, and tile designs in the color of the line they served. Elevated stations, on the other hand, varied throughout the city, from the Mass Bay Medical Center station (which stopped directly underneath the arch-shaped building) to the station in Quincy, which used a small canopy and a single platform.

Unlike the DCTA system, most tunnels throughout the subway are not interconnected, and most underground stations function as isolated spaces. Most tunnels have either been blocked by barriers, wrecked trains, or rubble.

Technology
The MTA was unique in that it used suspended monorails rather than conventional trains, even within its underground tunnels. These trains had a streamlined, tube-body shape, and were controlled by a human operator from a cockpit up front. Above ground, the trains used the Boston Highway System to move, travelling underneath the highway's lower deck. Information was provided to passengers in the form of announcements, and human operators supplanted by Metro Protectrons provided security.

Locations

 * Revere Beach station
 * West Roxbury station

Red line

 * Andrew station
 * College Square station
 * Park Street station

Blue line

 * Post office station (inaccessible)

Green line

 * Copley station
 * Park Street station

Orange line

 * Malden Center station
 * Medical center station (Medical Center South)

Trivia

 * The MTA is a reference to Boston's real-life transit provider, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA.
 * In reality, the MBTA was originally called the MTA, from its formation in 1947 up until the name change in 1964. The divergence in the Fallout world could explain why the "MTA" name was retained.
 * The Red, Blue, Green, and Orange lines are all actual lines of the MBTA system. In addition, most stations share the names of actual MBTA stations (such as Malden Center, Quincy, Park Street, Roxbury, and Andrew).
 * No maps of the subway network can be found.

Appearances
The Metropolitan Transit Authority appears only in Fallout 4.