North Station (Boston)
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| Boston North Station | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address | 126 Causeway St. Boston, Massachusetts 02114 | ||
| Routes | Downeaster | ||
| Other service | MBTA Orange Line/Green Line, bus routes and commuter rail | ||
| Code | BON | ||
| Owned by | MBTA | ||
North Station, located at Causeway and Nashua Streets, in Boston, Massachusetts is a major transportation hub. Its facilities include:
- terminus for MBTA Commuter Rail northern routes
- a station on the Boston subway's Orange Line and Green Line.
- the southern terminus of Amtrak's Downeaster Maine train service.
- local bus service.
- Water taxi service at nearby Lovejoy Wharf.
- staffed ticket windows.
- a small food court and waiting area
- parking garage (privately operated)
In November, 2005, the MBTA completed construction of its North Station Superstation which placed the Green Line underground, offering inbound cross-platform transfers from Green to Orange Lines. Outbound Green Line trains arrive on the mezzanine level. The project was done primarily to improve transfer between the two lines, but also to tear down the old elevated North Station Green Line stop.
In April 2006, the MBTA announced plans to enlarge the cramped waiting area at the station by building over the south end of the tracks and platforms. The expansion is expected to be completed by November and will be paid for by Delaware North Companies, owners of the adjacent TD Banknorth Garden, who will share revenue from concessions and advertising with the T. In September of 2006, the MBTA announced this project was behind schedule, and won't be completed until January 2007.
Note: Several MBTA commuter rail lines, plus Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service to New York City, Washington, D.C. and beyond, originate from South Station, about 1-1/4 miles around the Boston peninsula from North Station. No direct link exists between the two stations although MBTA subway connections are available. Transfers to Amtrak may also be made at Back Bay, a one seat ride on the Orange Line from North Station. See also North-South Rail Link.
Contents |
[edit] History
Before the union station opened on the spot in 1893, there were four separate stations in the area:
- The Boston and Maine Railroad terminal was just north of Haymarket Square, between Canal Street and Haverhill Street, stretching most of the way to Traverse Street. This approach was later used by the Green Line and Orange Line.
The other three were all on the north side of Causeway Street, with the first two in the area where North Station is now:
- The Boston and Lowell Railroad terminal was on the east side of Nashua Street, stretching east for about a block.
- Next was the Eastern Railroad terminal, across Causeway Street from Friend Street.
- The Fitchburg Railroad station was on the other side of the Boston and Maine Railroad approach, right next to Beverly Street, the approach to the Warren Bridge.
Just south of North Station was the Canal Street Portal through which the Green and Orange Lines originally went from elevated to subway.
[edit] Timeline
This timeline shows which Green Line services terminated at North Station at which times (after 1940). <timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = left:50 right:10 bottom:45 top:10 Legend = columns:4 left:10 top:20 columnwidth:200 AlignBars = justify TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1940 till:04/13/2005 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1940 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1940
Colors =
id:all value:red legend:all_service id:most value:rgb(1,0.6,0.6) legend:most_service id:some value:rgb(1,0.8,0.8) legend:some_service id:nopassengers value:rgb(0.7,0.7,0.7) legend:no_passengers id:closed value:black id:opened value:green
BarData =
bar:9 text:"9" bar:43 text:"43" bar:B text:""B"" bar:C text:""C"" bar:D text:""D"" bar:E text:""E""
LineData=
at:06/17/1967 color:closed layer:back at:09/09/1967 color:opened layer:back at:09/14/1967 color:closed layer:back at:12/26/1970 color:opened layer:back at:06/26/1976 color:closed layer:back at:09/11/1976 color:opened layer:back at:06/18/1977 color:closed layer:back at:12/15/1977 color:opened layer:back at:03/28/1997 color:closed layer:back at:06/28/2004 color:opened layer:back
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:XS width:10
bar:9 from:start till:03/02/1953 color:all
bar:43 from:start till:11/20/1961 color:all
bar:B from:03/25/1967 till:06/17/1967 color:all bar:B from:09/09/1967 till:09/14/1967 color:all bar:B from:03/21/1970 till:12/26/1970 color:nopassengers #passenger service ended at Haymarket bar:B from:12/26/1970 till:03/25/1974 color:all bar:B from:01/01/1977 till:06/18/1977 color:most #all but weekends bar:B from:04/04/1981 till:07/30/1983 color:all bar:B from:06/28/2004 till:01/01/2005 color:most #some rush hour trains looped at Government Center
bar:C from:11/20/1961 till:03/25/1967 color:most #all but Sunday bar:C from:07/30/1983 till:03/28/1997 color:all bar:C from:01/01/2005 till:end color:all
bar:D from:03/25/1974 till:06/26/1976 color:all bar:D from:09/11/1976 till:01/01/1977 color:all bar:D from:12/15/1977 till:03/21/1980 color:all bar:D from:06/21/1980 till:04/04/1981 color:all
bar:E from:start till:09/11/1961 color:some #Heath Street only bar:E from:03/19/1977 till:06/18/1977 color:some #Heath Street only bar:E from:03/21/1980 till:06/21/1980 color:all #Symphony only (closed beyond) bar:E from:06/28/2004 till:end color:all
</timeline>
[edit] Nearby destinations
- Boston's TD Banknorth Garden (formerly called the FleetCenter), home of the Boston Bruins hockey and Boston Celtics basketball teams
- Sports and ethnic bars and restaurants along Causeway Street
- Boston's North End, a majority-Italian ethnic neighborhood with a wide variety of restaurants, Old North Church, and Paul Revere's house.
[edit] Bus connections
- 4 World Trade Center via Federal Courthouse & South Station
- EZRide Cambridge
[edit] Accessibility
- North Station is wheelchair accessible.
- Other Amtrak stations on the Maine route may have low-level platforms, but Amtrak provides level boarding through the use of station-board lifts.
- Only selected MBTA commuter rail stations have wheelchair access and most of those have short elevated platforms on the outbound end that only serve one or two cars. See MBTA accessibility.
[edit] References
- Various Sanborn maps
