Park Street is a rapid transit and light rail station of the MBTA

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...

 subway system in Downtown Boston. One of the four subway hub stations, Park Street is a transfer point between the Green

Green Line (MBTA)

The Green Line is a streetcar system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. It is the oldest line of Boston's subway, which is known locally as the 'T'. The Green Line runs underground downtown and on the surface in outlying...

 and Red Lines

Red Line (MBTA)

The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...

. Park Street is the fourth-busiest station in the MBTA network, with an average of 19,836 entries each weekday in 2010. Throughout the Green and Red Lines, trains labeled "inbound" are headed towards this station, Downtown Crossing, or Government Center, while those labeled "outbound" are headed away.

Location

Park Street is located in the southwestern section of Downtown Boston, specifically at the intersection of Tremont and Park Streets, under which the Green and Red Lines run, respectively. Nearby are a number of important sites, including Boston Common, the Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts State House

The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...

, Emerson College

Emerson College

Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...

, Suffolk University

Suffolk University

Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...

, the Freedom Trail

Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail is a red path through downtown Boston, Massachusetts, that leads to 16 significant historic sites. It is a 2.5-mile walk from Boston Common to Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Simple ground markers explaining events, graveyards, notable churches and other buildings, and a...

, Newbury Street

Newbury Street (Boston)

Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east-to-west, from the Boston Public Garden to Massachusetts Ave. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entrance to the Mass Pike westbound at Mass Ave...

, and the Boston Paulist Center.

History

The Green Line platforms on the upper level of Park Street Station were originally constructed in 1897, making it one of the two oldest subway

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...

 stations in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, along with Boylston

Boylston (MBTA station)

Boylston is a station on the Green Line light rail service of the MBTA rapid transport network, and is located on the southeast corner of Boston Common at the intersection of Boylston and Tremont Streets.-Location:...

 station. The Red Line platforms beneath, sometimes called "Park Street Under," were constructed in 1912.

Station layout

Park Street is a bi-level station, with the Green Line running on the upper level and the Red Line on the lower level. It is the only MBTA subway station with six tracks: tracks 1 to 4 are used by Green Line trains, while tracks 5 and 6 are served by the Red Line. The upper level has two island platforms, while the lower level employs a Spanish solution

Spanish solution

The Spanish solution is a method of using two railway platforms, one on each side of the track, in order to speed up boarding and alighting from trains. Alighting passengers get off the train on one side and boarding passengers get on from the other...

-type setup with one island platform and two side platforms.

Accessibility

Park Street station is partially wheelchair accessible, after a renovation completed in 2004. The Red Line on the lower level has both island

Island platform

An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...

 and side platform

Side platform

A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...

s, a setup that theoretically allows implementation of the "Spanish solution

Spanish solution

The Spanish solution is a method of using two railway platforms, one on each side of the track, in order to speed up boarding and alighting from trains. Alighting passengers get off the train on one side and boarding passengers get on from the other...

" system of managing heavy passenger traffic flows. However, narrow stairways serving the center island platform impair full implementation of this system, since many impatient riders prefer to sprint up the wider side platform stairway to catch a Green Line transfer. Only the island platform of the Red Line level has elevator access. As of 2011, construction is proceeding to provide elevator access to the upper Green Line platforms.

Bus connections

Ruggles Station

Ruggles (MBTA station)

Ruggles Station is a MBTA subway station on the Orange Line; it is also a MBTA commuter rail station serving the Providence/Stoughton, Franklin, and Needham Lines. It is located at the intersection of Ruggles and Tremont Streets, where the Roxbury neighborhood begins and borders with the nearby...

 Jersey and Queensberry via Copley Sq.

Copley (MBTA station)

Copley is a station on the MBTA Green Line light rail subway in Boston, Massachusetts. Located in and named after Copley Square, the station has entrances and exits along Boylston Street and Dartmouth Street....

and Ipswich Street

External links

• MBTA Red & Green Lines -- Park Street Station
• nycsubway.org - Historical photo of Park Street in 1980
• nycsubway.org - Another historical photo of Park Street in 1980
• Park Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• West Street entrance from Google Maps Street View