Morning rush
18 min 674 trips · 89% on paceOBSERVED MBTA TRAVEL TIME · 30 SERVICE DAYS
Malden CentertoBack Bay
Orange Line
A direct train took 18 minutes on a typical trip. On a slower-than-usual trip, allow up to 22 minutes.
Typical18 min50th percentile
Slower trip22 min90th percentile
Scheduled19 minmedian timetable
On pace87%within 2 min of schedule
THE SHORT ANSWER
How long does Malden Center to Back Bay take?
Based on 3,360 direct trips between 2026-08-17 and 2026-09-15, the median observed ride was 18 minutes. That was within 1 minutes of the published schedule.
Nine out of ten measured trips finished within approximately 22 minutes. These figures describe completed direct trips; they do not include the time spent waiting for the train.
WHEN YOU TRAVEL
Time-of-day breakdown
Evening rush produced the fastest typical result in this window; Off-peak was slowest. Differences can change as the rolling dataset updates.
Midday
18 min 609 trips · 87% on paceEvening rush
18 min 686 trips · 85% on paceOff-peak
18 min 1,391 trips · 88% on paceHOW TO READ THIS
Measured, not promised.
TransitMeter pairs vehicle stop timestamps with the schedule active for each trip. 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 Malden Center