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Back Bay (MBTA station)
Encyclopedia
Back Bay station, located at 145 Dartmouth Street, between Stuart Street and Columbus Avenue, is a train station in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The present building was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood
.
The station is serviced by Amtrak
, featuring Acela Express
and Northeast Corridor
regional trains, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA) with access to Attleboro/Providence, Framingham/Worcester, Needham, and Franklin commuter rail lines, and Orange Line
rapid transit
. There is also a daily Amtrak train (Lake Shore Limited
) to Chicago
, and access to local bus service.
The current Back Bay Station opened May 4, 1987 as part of the Orange Line's Southwest Corridor project and was dedicated by Governor Michael Dukakis
. It replaced the 1899-built and 1929-rebuilt former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
station of the same name, of which some remnants can still be found at the eastern end of the present station facilities, including a carved brick wall on the east side of Columbus Avenue. The main station building is located between Dartmouth Street and Clarendon Street; however, there are several additional exits from the Amtrak / commuter rail platforms on Dartmouth Street, Clarendon Street, and Columbus Avenue. The Dartmouth Street Underpass connects the Copley Place
mall with the main station building.
, Franklin Line
, and Needham Line
. Tracks 5 and 7 on the Framingham/Worcester Line and the Lake Shore Limited serve a separate island platform. The Orange Line tracks and platforms lie between these two groups of mainline rail tracks.
Because Amtrak's Downeaster
trains traveling northeastward to Portland, Maine
do not depart at Back Bay or South Station
, travelers that wish to make a connection via subway are advised to disembark at this station and take the Orange Line to North Station, which is where Downeaster service originates.
In 2010, the MBTA announced that it had secured $3.0 million to improve the ventilation in the lobby as a result of federal stimulus money
. While MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said there was no health threat, a scientist at the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based nonprofit pollution research group stated, "Honestly, down on the platform it was some of the worst air quality I’ve measured." Additionally passengers and clerks working in the station have complained. The MBTA says it will complete an improved ventilation system by 2012.
Kallmann McKinnell & Wood
Kallmann McKinnell & Wood is an architectural design firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, established in 1962 as Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles by Gerhard M. Kallmann, Michael McKinnell, and Edward Knowles.-History:...
.
The station is serviced by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, featuring Acela Express
Acela Express
The Acela Express is Amtrak's high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeast United States between Washington, D.C., and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York...
and Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
regional trains, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
(MBTA) with access to Attleboro/Providence, Framingham/Worcester, Needham, and Franklin commuter rail lines, and Orange Line
Orange Line (MBTA)
The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. It meets the Red Line at Downtown Crossing, the Blue Line at State, and the Green...
rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
. There is also a daily Amtrak train (Lake Shore Limited
Lake Shore Limited
The Lake Shore Limited is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. The train runs between Chicago and Albany, NY, where it divides into two sections that provide thru-service to New York and Boston...
) to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and access to local bus service.
The current Back Bay Station opened May 4, 1987 as part of the Orange Line's Southwest Corridor project and was dedicated by Governor Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
. It replaced the 1899-built and 1929-rebuilt former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...
station of the same name, of which some remnants can still be found at the eastern end of the present station facilities, including a carved brick wall on the east side of Columbus Avenue. The main station building is located between Dartmouth Street and Clarendon Street; however, there are several additional exits from the Amtrak / commuter rail platforms on Dartmouth Street, Clarendon Street, and Columbus Avenue. The Dartmouth Street Underpass connects the Copley Place
Copley Place
Copley Place is an enclosed shopping mall, constructed in 1983, located in the Back Bay section of Boston, Massachusetts. It is owned by Simon Property Group, which acquired it in the 2002 breakup of the then-Dutch owned Urban Shopping Centers, Inc...
mall with the main station building.
Configuration
There are 5 tracks serving Amtrak and commuter rail service. Tracks 3, 1, and 2 (in order north to south) serve Amtrak's Acela Express and Northeast Regional plus the MBTA's Providence/Stoughton LineProvidence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The main line was originally built by the Boston and Providence Rail Road, and now carries service between Boston and T. F. Green Airport, Rhode Island...
, Franklin Line
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville though some weekday trains use the Fairmount Line to access South Station...
, and Needham Line
Needham Line
The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the Boston neighborhoods ofRoxbury,Jamaica Plain,Roslindale,West Roxbury, and the town ofNeedham....
. Tracks 5 and 7 on the Framingham/Worcester Line and the Lake Shore Limited serve a separate island platform. The Orange Line tracks and platforms lie between these two groups of mainline rail tracks.
Because Amtrak's Downeaster
Downeaster
The Downeaster is a 116-mile regional passenger train service managed by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and operated by Amtrak, connecting North Station in Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, Maine...
trains traveling northeastward to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
do not depart at Back Bay or South Station
South Station
South Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...
, travelers that wish to make a connection via subway are advised to disembark at this station and take the Orange Line to North Station, which is where Downeaster service originates.
Bus connections
- 10 City Point – Copley SquareCopley SquareCopley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
via Andrew StationAndrew (MBTA station)Andrew is a station on the rapid transit Red Line at Dorchester Avenue at Andrew Square, by Southampton Street, Dorchester Street, and Boston Street in South Boston, Massachusetts...
& BU Medical Center - 39 Back Bay – Forest HillsForest Hills (MBTA station)Forest Hills Station is a station on the MBTA Orange Line, located in Forest Hills in the southern part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts at the intersections of Washington Street, Hyde Park Avenue, South Street, The Arborway and Morton Street.Forest Hills is the southern...
via Copley SquareCopley SquareCopley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
and Huntington Avenue - 170 Central Square (WalthamWaltham, MassachusettsWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
) — Dudley SquareDudley Square (MBTA station)Dudley Square is a ground-level bus depot in Dudley Square, Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, served by local buses of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and their Silver Line bus rapid transit service...
via Copley Square, Mass Pike/I-90Massachusetts TurnpikeThe Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...
Accessibility
- Back Bay Station is wheelchair accessible.
- Back Bay Station has full-length high-level platformsRailway platform heightOn a railway the platform height refers to the height of a platform above the rail. The value varies between railway systems. A related term is "train floor height" which is the height of the floor of the rail vehicle. There are a wide number of standards for platform heights and train floor heights...
for Amtrak Northeast CorridorNortheast CorridorThe Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
and MBTA Attleboro/Providence trains, but only a short high-level platform for MBTA Framingham/Worcester and Amtrak trains to Chicago (which operate on tracks other than those used by the Northeast Corridor service). - Other Amtrak stations on the Northeast Corridor are generally accessible.
- Some MBTA commuter rail stations have no wheelchair access; many of those that do, have short high-level platforms that only serve one or two cars.
Air quality
Back Bay Station has suffered for some time from poor air quality, and people with lung conditions have been advised to avoid the station. A study conducted in 2006 and again in 2008 showed that "The air was many, many times below air-quality standards," due to trapped diesel exhaust and soot. Much of the commuter rail platforms at back Bay are covered and enclosed, and so fumes cannot escape quickly to the outside air. An earlier study showed elevated levels of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, particulates, and oxides of nitrogen, though it noted that there is no regulated standard to meet for indoor air quality in public spaces. Though simple changes were made regarding scheduling, and checking to make sure train engines were running properly, an MBTA spokesman stated that the MBTA did not have the financial resources to upgrade the ventilation system.In 2010, the MBTA announced that it had secured $3.0 million to improve the ventilation in the lobby as a result of federal stimulus money
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
. While MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said there was no health threat, a scientist at the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based nonprofit pollution research group stated, "Honestly, down on the platform it was some of the worst air quality I’ve measured." Additionally passengers and clerks working in the station have complained. The MBTA says it will complete an improved ventilation system by 2012.
See also
- Northeast CorridorNortheast CorridorThe Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
- North Station
- South StationSouth StationSouth Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...
- North-South Rail LinkNorth-South Rail LinkThe North–South Rail Link is a proposed pair of approximately 1.5 mile -long rail tunnels below downtown Boston, Massachusetts.The tunnels would serve the goals of better unification for Boston's separate northern and southern MBTA Commuter Rail terminals, and provide direct linkage between...
External links
- MBTA - Back Bay Station
- Boston Back Bay Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide -- Train Web)
- "Back Bay station, November 16, 1960" - photograph, Railroad History Archive, University of ConnecticutUniversity of ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
Libraries Collection. - Library of Congress. Historic American Buildings Survey. Back Bay Station, 145 Dartmouth Street, 1979.
- Columbus Avenue entrance (exit only) from Google Maps Street View
- Bus Lane entrance from Google Maps Street View
- Dartmouth Street entrance from Google Maps Street View