Station Layout
The Red Line platforms at JFK/UMass have an unusual configuration. It is the only MBTA rapid transit station where trains from different branches of a line serve two separate island platforms; the Ashmont and Braintree branches merge immediately inbound from the station. This peculiar platform configuration comes from the historical fact that the Braintree Branch trains all bypassed the original station, until a separate island platform was later built for that branch. So that inbound passengers do not have to guess which inbound platform wil be served next, an automatic illuminated sign at the fare mezzanine level indicates the correct platform for the next inbound train.
This unusual setup can be compared to the junction station at Kenmore, where pairs of tracks serve different Green Line branches from a separate inbound island platform, and a separate outbound island platform. The commuter rail stations at Back Bay and Canton Junction have separate platforms for different lines that diverge near those stations.
Read more about this topic: JFK/UMass (MBTA Station)
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