The fare policy on the "D" Riverside line is unique. All outbound trips solely on the surface portion of the line are totally free (those coming from subway stations paid upon entering). Inbound, there is a zone charge, so that depending on where the passenger' boards, a premium is paid which partially makes up for the outbound free fares. Those who have the Visitors Passes need not worry about the premium fares.
The inbound trip seems to take a little longer, and that is because fares are collected, and because those fares vary depending on where a passenger boards and how fare he or she is going.
We are eastbound, headed for North Station on this trip. It will be the same as the previous outbound trip, as far as Arlington.
Beyond Arlington, we curve to the north and stop at Boylston. This is one of the entire MBTA system's oldest stations. You will notice that the station has four tracks, but only two are used. The old Tremont Street subway, now dormant, came in here. The Boylston station has platforms that are staggered, to allow for extra space in a confined area, and the big 90-degree curve just south of it. You will notice on the right side, a heritage trolley car on display.
Next station is Park Street, the busiest station in the system. There are separate boarding areas for each outbound line, as the cars routinely stop at assigned locations within the station. Four tracks pass through the station, and the doors should open on both sides to allow for transfers within the Green Line system. The Red Line has its own station downstairs, in a place previously known as "Park Street Under". Transfers between the Green and Red Lines are free.
Park Street is also the center of the transit system, and it is here that all MBTA bus, rapid transit, trolley, and ferry schedules should be available from racks right on the northbound and southbound platforms.
Next stop up the line is Government Center. This station has a strange, triangular shape to it, causing a little confusion for the novice. Government Center used to be known as Scollay Square, which in its "heyday" was the city's red light district. (That distinction has since moved to the area around what is now the Chinatown station on the Orange Line.) The Blue Line intersects downstairs, with parts of its station still carrying markings as "Scollay Under".
At Government Center, two of the four Green Line routes turn around. Under the current scheme, the "B" and "C" lines terminate and then return outbound to Boston College and Cleveland Circle respectively. The "D" and "E" lines continue northward to Lechmere, via North Station.
Our next stop is Haymarket. This is the third station in a row where there is an easy transfer to another line. The parallel Orange Line also stops here. Later today we will be making a transfer at this station.
After Haymarket is a portal, bringing us into daylight and onto a temporary elevated structure, built to circumvent construction below on the North Station Superstation and the Big Dig. After a rather sharp curve to the left, we end up on the last original elevated line in Boston, over Causeway Street. The North Station/ Fleet Center complex is on our right. We get off here, but will ride the remainder of the line to Lechmere around dinnertime.
Plans for this area include tearing down this elevated portion of the line, after an underground Superstation opens that allows quick cross-platform transfers between the Green and Orange Lines, and eventually an indoor connection between the Superstation and the inside of North Station. For now, one has to descend from the elevated on a very narrow staircase to Causeway Street, and then walk 1/2 block to the Fleet Center, under which sits North Station.
We have a little time here to grab lunch. There is a Burger King, McDonald's, and an Italian restaurant (pizza, pasta, sandwiches) across Causeway Street from North Station. A McDonald's and a Dunkin Donuts are also inside North Station. Or, you can wait until we are on the train, where you can have food catered by Epicurean Feast in the DOWNEASTER's food service car. There are rest rooms within North Station, and aboard the train.