MBTA Lechmere Station

She does what she’s supposed to do. It’s not a pretty station. Does it get you to Boston quickly? If your car has a driver available, then yes. If not, then you’re stuck at the station for what feels like forever. Glad to have this station across the river, but wouldn’t really recommend unless you have to use it.

The end of the green line. Most green line trains don’t go all the way to Lechmere, so if you need to get here, you might have to wait a while for a Lechmere-​bound train. Also, trains don’t leave that frequently from Lechmere either.
The station is above ground, which SUCKS during the winter. Since this is Cambridge/​Boston, by «winter» I mean November to March. The station itself is tiny, and often the trains get backed up, so there’s a huge buildup of people waiting here. Also, the trains drop you off on the other side, right into the back of a bus stop. So everyone gets off and then has to walk around the back of the bus stop to exit the station. Terrible layout.

Get here by 7 if you want a parking spot. 7:30 if you want to push your luck. Just know that if you miss the cutoff, it’s $ 25+ for a day parking pass in another lot in east Cambridge.
$ 6 parking, cash only, outdoors, tiny tiny spots. Some of the numbered spots seem to be sized for motorcycles, but you can squeeze a sedan in there if you go deep.
SUVs, this is not the lot for you. Sorry, turn around. This lot is full.

Came to Boston for a high school convention at the Hynes Convention Center, but didn’t want to pay the high prices of hotels in that area. Found the Holiday Inn Express out here, and based on our research, felt that this would be an easy commute. LOVED the station, especially the turn-​around. It will be a pity when they upgrade this, but in the interest of efficiency for locals, it might need an upgrade. The transit worker this morning was over-​the-​top nice at 5:40 a.m. on our way to the airport. For the four high school students from a place with no trains, subways and only a few «pretend» buses, which are almost always empty, being on the end of this line was perfect for a big-​city experience and convenient. We also learned how to pronounce Lechmere and Copley.

Ah yes, Lechmere MBTA station. Probably the oldest, un-​touched station in the system. And there’s a good reason for that. If/​when the Green Line Extension to Union Sq or Medford Hillside gets built, a brand new Lechmere will be built across the street. (Why waste money trying to fix up something that is going to be torn down in a few years?)
But yes, Lechmere, the current terminus for the E line. It’s also a turn around and a mini layover facility for trains. Four bus routes also terminate/​start here (69,80,87,88).
This station is walking distance to several venues, the main one being the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall (it’s a two minute walk). It’s also a short walk to the court house, Kendall square, and Northpoint.
My only real complaint about this station is how you have to walk in the underpass (that goes under the tracks) to get to the inbound side of the station. (Buses used to drop people off on the inbound side years ago… not sure why that stopped). Its just too long of a walk when you have seconds to try to make it to the inbound track to make the next train!
But other than that, it’s a MBTA train station. And it’s getting three stars. (more once the new station gets built).

Lechmere trains don’t leave as often as other green line trains. Stand further to the right when first walking into the station. They will pull the train up and you will have first dibs at the doors and first choice of seating.

Lechmeres used to be a store. It sold appliances. It is gone now.
Lechmere Station is still here. It’s kind of near Cambridgeside Galleria, but not too near.
Is it the best station? No. It is not the worst station either. So there’s that.

This station should be the first place the the MBTA officials check out when they are having an on site meeting about making improvements. It is by far the ugliest, most unpleasant, most neglected of all of the stations on the Green Line.
It is the end of the line– or the beginning– for so many people, due to its proximity to East Cambridge, the Cambridgeside Galleria Mall and a large number of buses that bring people to the magic squares, Inman, Union, Davis and Harvard. (In fact, this is one of the best launching areas for Union Square in Somerville, with all of its great restaurants and the farmers market in the summer.) Despite the vast number of people who go through here on a daily basis, it offers no shelter or warmth in the winter, an unusual number of late buses or trains, and one of the most vile waiting areas ever seen in this city.
Even the city’s pigeons avoid this place, however I have seen many large rats.
The 69 bus is usually on time (it brings you up Cambridge Street and ends at Harvard Square), but some of the others seem to operate in another time zone and on another frequency. The 80 bus is always late.
The only good thing about this station is that if you are getting on the Green Line to head into Boston during rush hour, you almost always get a seat, as this is the beginning of the route.
But this station is so depressing that it makes you wonder… Who dreamed up and designed this horrific place? And the MBTA should be ashamed of the way it has been neglected.

I have no choice but to channel my inner Dan Aykroyd… Lechmere, you ignorant slut!
While I frequent the Green Line, I avoid Lechmere Station like a short frat boy double fisting Natty Lights talking about his homemade recipe for Four Lokos and last week was a brilliant reminder as to why.
First, after a thrill ride on the 80 down to the station I stood outside the station electronic «turn-​style» because the platform area was too packed with people within the gated area for anyone else to get in. Eventually the packed train that had been sitting there for a while left and people spilled onto the tracks so more could pass through… GREAT logic — just hang out on the tracks! As the minutes passed, and by minutes I mean groups of 10 – 15 minutes at a time, trains would start up, pull forward and then leave the station — empty. Wha WHA?!
FINALLY, our moment had come! A train starts up, pulls forward, STOPS and the doors open. We pile on… people are pushing, shoving, bitching and moaning — and this is one time I can say, rightfully so! So there we stand, trains packed to the brim, ready to trek inbound in style. Wait… wait — WHAT?! You detached the first car and JUST took that one? Are you kidding me?! Don’t leave me on car 3813! Take me with you!
Mind you the entire time the station is bustling with MBTA employees and not ONE is even acknowledging anyone, making any announcements or attempting to offer an explanation to the rock bottom service that is about 20 levels below sub-​par that we are receiving.
All of this and the MBTA is suggesting we pay MORE for LESS service, hot damn… color me excited.
Lechmere…GET IT TOGETHER!
Now, as for the rest of the Green Line adventure that day:
— the driver’s radio not working so he used his cell
— the kids with the BB guns (hopefully) that looked like pistols and were talking about the fight they were going to get into
— the rats running rampant in the tunnel that move faster than the train.
These topics, my friend, are for another review though… stay tuned!

Convenient to the Galleria in Cambridge, but very tired and in need of updates. It has frequent breakdowns and delays in the bad weather. Hopefully when it moves and reopens things will change.

Yes, it is rundown and a little sketch, and you will sometimes end up waiting 10 – 20 minutes for a train, but…
Lechemere is a great location. I live out in the nowhereville of East Cambridge and not having to walk all the way over to the red line is great.
I have lived most of my life in the country or in cities without public transportation, so the fairly reliable, cheap MBTA is pretty damn good, I say. I’ll hoof it over to lechemere rather than risk my life with a homicidal Boston taxi driver any day.

This station is clearly the afterthought station even though this is the northern terminus of the green line and four bus lines come through here. What little physical structure exists here is decrepit and hardly provides shelter from the elements. I guess this is what you get for a green line stop outside of central Boston.
If it’s 9 degrees with a wind chill of freeze your balls off expect there to be nary a train or bus in site. SUPER! When a train does show up it will most likely sit back from the crowd while the driver smokes or reads the paper.
Luckily there is the trolley Snack shop where you can get boiled chicken with rice, something with shrimps, and all the cigarettes are $ 7. Hooray
The bus area is chaos on pavement, there’s little more nerve-​wracking than having buses trying to move through while a sea of people flood around to get to their line. There really needs to be more order to this joint but this is the MBTA there is ALWAYS more madness than method.
I guess eventually they will replace this stop but in the meantime can you help us out when it’s cold?
**edit**
I’m adding a star since a T worker actually yelled out «Get off yo phone and go drive that train!» this morning.