Morning rush
12 min 1,440 trips · 86% on paceOBSERVED MBTA TRAVEL TIME · 30 SERVICE DAYS
CentraltoAlewife
Red Line
A direct MBTA train from Central to Alewife took a median 12 minutes across 6,269 observed trips; 90% of measured rides finished within approximately 15 minutes.
Source: MBTA Performance Data · 2026-08-20 to 2026-09-18 · Completed direct trips only
Typical12 min50th percentile
Slower trip15 min90th percentile
Scheduled12 minmedian timetable
On pace86%within 2 min of schedule
THE SHORT ANSWER
How long does Central to Alewife take?
The median completed ride from Central to Alewife was 12 minutes; the published schedule’s median was 12 minutes.
Based on 6,269 direct trips between 2026-08-20 and 2026-09-18, the median observed ride was 12 minutes. That was within 0.5 minutes of the published schedule.
Nine out of ten measured trips finished within approximately 15 minutes. These figures describe completed direct trips; they do not include the time spent waiting for the train.
WHEN YOU TRAVEL
Central to Alewife times by daypart
Off-peak produced the fastest median for Central to Alewife; Evening rush produced the slowest.
Differences can change as the rolling dataset updates.
Midday
12 min 1,326 trips · 87% on paceEvening rush
12 min 1,376 trips · 82% on paceOff-peak
11 min 2,127 trips · 87% on paceMEASUREMENT SAMPLE
How Central to Alewife was measured
The Central to Alewife estimate uses 6,269 completed direct-trip stop-timestamp pairs matched to the schedule active for each observed train.
We publish the median because one dramatic delay should not define an everyday journey, and the 90th percentile because riders still need to understand the bad end of normal.
We do not infer why a trip ran slowly. Construction, incidents, crowding and weather require separate evidence.
Read the complete method →MORE FROM Central
Trips related to Central to Alewife
The Central to Alewife record is accompanied by 6 other measured direct rides beginning at Central, each with a published median duration.