The surface lines that fed into the subway had poor schedule reliability. The Boston Elevated Railway wished to convert the subway into a quasi-rapid transit service, with surface lines terminating at transfer stations (as had been done with the Main Line El and Cambridge–Dorchester line). A prepayment transfer station was constructed at Lechmere Square for this purpose. The station had a balloon loop with separate boarding and alighting platforms for subway trains, with a small storage yard inside. Surface streetcars would drop off passengers on the inbound side with a cross-platform transfer, then use a second loop (under the elevated tracks) to pick up outbound passengers. Lechmere station opened on July 10, 1922.