Late evening at Forest Hills, I had dinner at a restaurant across the street where I could see the…read morevery long queues for people waiting on buses. Big crowds, lots of bunching about, it looked uncomfortable. In addition to the buses, Forest Hills is the southern terminus for the Orange Line. It does get some service from the commuter rail and while Amtrak passes through, it does not stop. The next inbound station is Green Street. For the Orange Line, it is an island platform. Signage indicates which is the next track to depart (if there's more than one train) and when. There is also some shelter on the platform if there isn't a train to board. The station is fully handicapped accessible with stairs, elevators and escalators (though in the evening, they were all "up only.") There is parking here for daytime commuters. The ticketing concourse has the usual turnstiles and automated ticketing machines to purchase a Charlie Ticket or add value to your Charlie Card.

If you gave a child in 1980 grey and orange crayons and ordered him to draw a station, he'd draw…read moreForest Hills Station. Made of steel, glass, cement, and bad taste, it stands like a wart on the otherwise relatively attractive face of JP's Forest Hills section. The outside of the station features bus pick-ups and poor signage on three sides, a green line trolley stop that is marked despite it not being operational for over a decade, and crowds of people that are virtually impossible to penetrate. Once inside, things aren't so bad anymore. There's a little donut place called Mike's Donuts. Mike's Donuts has terrible coffee and pretty bad donuts. But if you need a donut and coffee, Mike's can sell you them. The news stand isn't bad, but they run out of the Globe by 8am most days. There are ample CharlieCard machines, and a big train platform. There is also fruit and flowers for sale. Security there is almost always a presence, so you don't have to worry about crime. Beware the bell system. The way it works is a bell rings, and then you have 30 seconds before the train leaves. In practice, the train's doors are often closed when this happens, or you might be sitting there for 5 minutes.

The terminus for the M Line, Mattapan station is a full service station with audible and visual…read moreannouncements of the next train, a small shelter from the elements, some parking and is fully handicapped accessible. The station is at surface level. It is an A-OK stop. Trains from here run to Ashmont and take about 10 minutes. The next inbound station is Capen Street. There are some small restaurants and shops near the station but nothing terribly fancy. It services a mostly residential area. The fare is the same as it is for the rest of the MBTA. If you're not transferring at Ashmont, you will need to board the train at the driver's door where there is a machine for swiping your Charlie Card or Charlie Ticket.

Continuing our exploration of the M Line, we stopped this evening at Butler station. Residential…read moreneighborhood like many of the stations on this line, there is a little shelter from the elements. The station is handicapped accessible and features both audible and visual announcements of the next train in both directions. The station is reasonably lit in the evening. There is some parking available here. No machine for adding value to or purchasing your Charlie Ticket. You will need to board the train at the driver's door so that you can swipe your form of payment. Butler is on the M line between Milton (outbound) and Cedar Grove (inbound). You can also pick up the Naponset Trail from here if you're interested in walking.

This is a nice M Line station that services "downtown" Milton. It has the usual covered waiting…read morearea, a ramp at either end for handicapped access, audible and visual announcements of the next train and there is some parking available. The station is surprisingly well lit at night. There are no machines here for adding value to your Charlie Ticket or Charlie Card. You will need to board at the front of the train so that you can swipe your appropriate method of payment. Milton is on the M line between Central Avenue (outbound) and Butler (inbound). The Naponset Path is nearby, which may be useful.

Shawmut is an underground station on the Red Line and is right in the middle of a completely…read moreresidential neighborhood. Surrounded by homes and absolutely no commercial buildings, this is all about the commuters. There is handicapped access with an elevator from the street level and the ticketing area down to the platform level. The usual turnstiles and automated ticket machines are present. Helpfully, there is a visual display upstairs that indicates the next train in either direction so you know if you need to rush your way to the platform or if you can take a more leisurely stroll. Side platforms and not an island, so the doors will open on the right side. As the station is completely underground, you're protected from the elements here. There are audible and visual announcements of the next train. The station is surprisingly clean and quite modern thanks to renovations. It is definitely one of the nicer stations on the Red Line. Shawmut is between Ashmont (outbound, the terminus of this branch) and Fields Corner (inbound). [Review 9859 overall, 1437 of 2018.]

As far as T stations go, this is probably my favorite…read more First & foremost - it's indoors - protection from the elements while awaiting the train to arrive... yes please! The surrounding neighborhood is both safe and also, visually a nice one to walk through. Alternatively, if you aren't too familiar with the area or it's late night - there is also a very well-lit pedestrian walkway leading from the station out to Melville Avenue.

With a footpath off Elliot St between two homes, Valley Road station is down a large flight of…read morestairs. It nicely serves this bedroom community of Milton with the M Line. The station is down the grade and there is a small overhead that would provide some cover from the elements but I'd be concerned about those steep stairs on a snowy day. Valley Road is the only station on the M line that is not handicapped accessible. There is a small waiting area and a display announcing the schedule for the next trains on both the inbound and outbound side of the tracks. The station is between Capen Street (outbound) and Central Avenue (inbound). There are no shops or restaurants in the immediate vicinity.

This small stop on the Mattapan M Line is a street-level station in the middle of a residential…read moreneighborhood on a dead-end road. The station is handicapped accessible and has audible and visual announcements of the next train. There is some cover here from the elements. There is no parking. This station is between Mattapan (outbound, the terminus of the line) and Valley Road (inbound). There is no automated ticket machine. You will need to board the train at the door next to the train driver so that you can swipe your Charlie Card or Charlie Ticket.

Central Avenue is a stop on the M Line between Ashmont and Mattapan. This small surface level…read morestation is complete with some shelter from the elements, audible and visual announcements of the next train in either direction and it is handicapped accessible. I'm not sure if there's parking. The station is located between Valley Road Station (outbound) and Milton Station (inbound). You will need to board the train at the door by the train driver so that you can swipe your Charlie Card or Charlie Ticket. There is no ticket machine at this station to add value to your card. If you're here and looking for food, I'd recommend Steel and Rye.

This was. A great way to get around. I used this versus a taxi or Uber. It was less expensive and…read moreand easy way to get around town..it was clean versus most rail systems. I would recommend using it when visiting or getting around Boston.

Pro's: you are doing your part for the environment by not driving. You are not sitting in traffic…read morebut though this doesn't mean you might not be sitting on the train for the same amount of time. It's cheap. Cons: it seems to be run by the 3 Stooges. The trains that are leaving origin stations are often mislabeled or not labeled. At the Tufts station I had to wait 30 minutes to leave because I followed the bright flashing arrow towards the train on my right. 13 minutes later the train on the left, full of staff laughing and joking as folks piled onto the wrong train, took off. Still sitting, watching as the train departs, another train arrives. Staff finally tells us to switch. NYC, Chicago, New Jersey all have either signs or automated announcements letting passengers know which train is departing so we get on the right train. If a train isn't leaving the doors are closed. This is just the most recent experience. This and other annoyances are par for the course in riding the T. Don't ride if you are on a time schedule or make sure to add at least 40 minutes to your travel schedule.

Green Street Station is on the Orange Line. Not a very busy station but it is fully handicapped…read moreaccessible and that's awesome. There are escalators and stairs and an elevator from the platform level to the street/ticketing level. The station features visual and audible announcements of the next train in both directions, which is helpful. There are automated ticket machines for adding value or purchasing a Charlie Ticket. When I was here, there was also a red shirted "Can I Help You?" staffer to answer questions. Located between Forest Hills (outbound, the terminus of the line) and Stony Brook (inbound), Green Street is an island platform so the train doors will open on the left.

Green Street station has been good to me…read more Seeing as this is the first stop after a terminal station, the inbound trains are always on time and that right there makes for a positive experience. Not having to hear the PA system announce: "experiencing slight delays due to police action at such and such a station" while waiting for the train to work in the morning gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling all over. It is actually a very clean station inside too. We won't talk about the tracks further down past the platform - you could build a house with the amount of garbage gathered there - but there are trash and recycling bins a plenty, so there is really no need to drop your junk anywhere but in the basura. There is almost always an attendant manning the station. There is an elevator for handicapped citizens or mom's with strollers. Location is great, it empties you out within walking distance to the Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, the Brewery complex (although Stony is closer) and Doyles. I just can't find anything bad to say about this station - except - the hoards of English High School students who swarm the platform every afternoon from 2-3 pm. They are loud, rude and obnoxious. Model citizens in the making, if I may. Maybe I'm just bitter because I have to wait and ride with these heathens three days out of the week...if I only saw them once and a while, I probably wouldn't even mention it. But they ruin my ride into work. You can't hear your iPod. You can't concentrate on a book. You can't hear yourself think in between the hooting, screeching and swearing emitted from these unruly creatures. So I pretty much sit there, brewing, watching and listening to them, because I have no choice. Which is why I'm not a teacher at an inner city high school. Point in case. Otherwise, Green is the queen of the Orange Line!