This review assumes you are familiar with the T and aware of its pro's and cons. The D line is no better and no worse than the Red Line, about which I'm more familiar, with one exception: it is almost entirely above-ground until you get to Kenmore Station, which is a plus in my book. The red line from Alewife to Park is almost entirely underground.
I was in search of a way to get to my Copley Square destination from Waltham with the least amount of fuss/transfers (driving into Boston during the day being too expensive to park for the four hours I was going to be there). Previously I've driven to Alewife and taken the red line to the green line. Not a bad alternative, but involves a transfer at Park Street station. From now on I'll be taking the D line.
I started out looking at the Riverside line because I knew there was a huge parking lot and I like starting at the end of the line so I'm guaranteed a seat. Having been there once (unsuccessfully -- I saw there were transfers to buses along the line and I didn't want the delays that would cause) and also seeing how confusing it was, I took to the internet to find out more information. The Yelp interview confirmed that it is confusing, so I sought an alternative.
The Woodland stop (one stop in from Riverside) sounded like a reasonable possibility, and it was. It has an indoor garage (as opposed to Riverside's outdoor lot) and is a simple stop with two tracks (one inbound, one outbound) that is easily accessible. About a block along the track from the garage, one simply crosses the two ground-level tracks to get to inbound. The location is pretty peaceful, tucked away off the main street and bordered by a large condo/apartment complex called The Woodlands. Parking for approx 5-1/2 hours was $6.
At the time I traveled (10:30am on a weekday) the train was surprisingly full but I found a seat. Can't imagine what rush hour (or special event in Boston) is like. In that instance I might chance Riverside. read more