Morning rush
8.2 min 1,318 trips · 94% on paceOBSERVED MBTA TRAVEL TIME · 30 SERVICE DAYS
CentraltoSouth Station
Red Line
A direct MBTA train from Central to South Station took a median 8.8 minutes across 6,271 observed trips; 90% of measured rides finished within approximately 11 minutes.
Source: MBTA Performance Data · 2026-08-20 to 2026-09-18 · Completed direct trips only
Typical8.8 min50th percentile
Slower trip11 min90th percentile
Scheduled9.2 minmedian timetable
On pace93%within 2 min of schedule
THE SHORT ANSWER
How long does Central to South Station take?
The median completed ride from Central to South Station was 8.8 minutes; the published schedule’s median was 9.2 minutes.
Based on 6,271 direct trips between 2026-08-20 and 2026-09-18, the median observed ride was 8.8 minutes. That was within 0.5 minutes of the published schedule.
Nine out of ten measured trips finished within approximately 11 minutes. These figures describe completed direct trips; they do not include the time spent waiting for the train.
WHEN YOU TRAVEL
Central to South Station times by daypart
Morning rush produced the fastest median for Central to South Station; Evening rush produced the slowest.
Differences can change as the rolling dataset updates.
Midday
8.8 min 1,632 trips · 93% on paceEvening rush
9.2 min 1,329 trips · 89% on paceOff-peak
8.2 min 1,992 trips · 93% on paceMEASUREMENT SAMPLE
How Central to South Station was measured
The Central to South Station estimate uses 6,271 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 South Station
The Central to South Station record is accompanied by 6 other measured direct rides beginning at Central, each with a published median duration.