Back Bay station (also signed as Back Bay · South End) is an
intermodal passenger station in
Boston, Massachusetts. It is located just south of
Copley Square
Copley Square , named for painter John Singleton Copley, is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to it ...
in Boston's
Back Bay
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...
and
South End neighborhoods. It serves
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
and
MBTA subway
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates rapid transit (heavy rail), light rail, and bus rapid transit services in the Boston metropolitan area, collectively referred to as the rapid transit, subway, or the T system.
The c ...
routes, and also serves as a secondary
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
intercity rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
station for Boston. The present building, designed by
Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Kallmann McKinnell & Wood is an architectural design firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1962 as Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles by Gerhard Kallmann (1915-2012), Michael McKinnell (1935–2020), and Edward Knowles.
Histo ...
, opened in 1987. It replaced the
New Haven Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
's older Back Bay station – which opened in 1928 as a replacement for an 1899-built station – as well as the
New York Central
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
's Huntington Avenue and Trinity Place stations which had been demolished in 1964.
Although
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
is Boston's primary rail hub, Back Bay maintains high traffic levels due to its location in the Back Bay neighborhood near the
Prudential Center
Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...
development and its access to important
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
services. All
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
''
Acela Express
The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermediate stops, inclu ...
'' and ''
Northeast Regional
The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busies ...
'' trains running to and from South Station stop at Back Bay, as does the Boston section of the ''
Lake Shore Limited
The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an overnight Amtrak intercity rail, intercity passenger train that runs between Chicago and either New York City or Boston via two Section (rail transport), sections east of Albany, New York, Albany. The train bega ...
''. Four
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
routes – the
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Prov ...
,
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line, also called the Franklin/Foxboro Line, is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts, utilizing the Northeast Corridor before splitti ...
,
Needham Line, and
Framingham/Worcester Line
The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 station stops in Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashlan ...
– also stop at Back Bay, as do the
Orange Line subway and several local
MBTA bus
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates List of MBTA bus routes, 170 bus routes in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance (defined as ) for all residents ...
routes. It is the third-busiest MBTA Commuter Rail station (after North Station and South Station) and the sixth-busiest MBTA subway station.
History
![Original Back Bay station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Original_Back_Bay_station.jpg)
The
Boston and Worcester Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. P ...
opened from downtown Boston to Newton in 1834, and to Worcester within the next several years. The
Boston and Providence Railroad
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the Rail transport in the United States, first rail ...
opened from
Park Square to East Providence later that year. The two lines crossed on causeways in the Back Bay, then still used as a
mill pond
A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill.
Description
Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway.
In many places, the com ...
. Around 1880, the
Boston and Albany Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Pa ...
(descendant of the B&W) opened its Columbus Avenue station to serve new developments on the filled bay. In 1897, the
New Haven Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
(which owned the Boston and Providence and leased the
Old Colony Railroad
The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall Ri ...
), the
New York and New England Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...
, and the Boston and Albany formed the Boston Terminal Company to consolidate their four terminals into a new
union station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
.
Simultaneous with the construction of the resulting
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
in 1899, the New Haven also built its first Back Bay Station just east of Dartmouth Street to compete with the B&A's Columbus Avenue station. Back Bay station opened on September 19, 1899 – the same day that Providence Division trains began using South Station. The next year, the B&A replaced Columbus Avenue station with the westbound-only Trinity Place and eastbound-only Huntington Avenue stations.
The current Back Bay Station opened on May 4, 1987, as part of the Orange Line's
Southwest Corridor project and was dedicated by Governor
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
.
It replaced the 1899-built and 1929-rebuilt ex-
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
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 stone embedded in the brick wall on the east side of Columbus Avenue.
The reopened station had South End as a secondary name, approved in 1985 as part of a series of station name changes.
The 1987 reconstruction added a waiting area with a 9-foot bronze statue dedicated to civil rights and labor movement pioneer
A. Philip Randolph. The area includes various posters with historical photographs and interview excerpts regarding Randolph's career in organizing the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Founded in 1925, The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP gathered a membership of 18,000 passenger railwa ...
and work with the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
.
On September 22, 2006, the MBTA began allowing free inbound travel from Back Bay to South Station. This change was to allow travel from Back Bay hotels to the
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) is an exhibition center in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is among the largest exhibition centers in the Northeastern United States, with approximately 516,000 square feet (about 4.8 hect ...
and
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...
(using the Silver Line from South Station) without the need to transfer to the Red Line. Until replaced with the
CharlieCard
The CharlieCard is a contactless smart card used for fare payment for transportation in the Boston area. It is the primary payment method for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and several regional public transport systems in ...
Store at
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district within downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located east of Boston Common, west of the Financial District, south of Government Center, and north of Chinatown and the old Combat Zone. It features la ...
on August 13, 2012, an MBTA customer service booth for special pass users was located at Back Bay station. The entire Orange Line, including the Orange Line platforms at Back Bay station, was closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, during maintenance work. Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail service to the station was not changed.
''Night Owl'' crash
In 1990, a northbound commuter train running along the
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Prov ...
was involved in
a collision
''A Collision or (3+4=7)'' is the third full-length studio album and sixth album overall by David Crowder Band and the third recorded for sixstepsrecords, released in September 2005. "Foreverandever Etc…" is on the Digital Praise PC game Guita ...
with a northbound ''
Night Owl'' train. The accident, which occurred at the west end of Back Bay, injured 453 people, although there were no fatalities.
Air quality
![Back Bay platform](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Back_Bay_platform.JPG)
Back Bay station has suffered from poor
air quality
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
since its opening; passengers with lung conditions have been advised to avoid the station. Much of the commuter rail infrastructure at Back Bay is covered and enclosed, and so diesel fumes cannot escape quickly to the outside air. A petition drive in 2000 gathered complaints about the then-"longstanding" issue. Studies in 2006 and 2008 showed that "the air was many, many times below air-quality standards" due to trapped
diesel exhaust
Diesel exhaust is the gaseous exhaust produced by a diesel type of internal combustion engine, plus any contained particulates. Its composition may vary with the fuel type or rate of consumption, or speed of engine operation (e.g., idling or at ...
and soot. An earlier study showed elevated levels of
carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...
,
formaldehyde
Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...
,
particulates
Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...
, and
oxides of nitrogen Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds:
Charge-neutral
*Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide
*Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide
* Nitrogen trioxide (), or n ...
, though it noted that there is no regulated standard to meet for
indoor air quality
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is the air quality within and around buildings and structures. IAQ is known to affect the health, comfort, and well-being of building occupants. Poor indoor air quality has been linked to sick building syndrome, reduced ...
in public spaces.
Though simple changes were made regarding scheduling, and checking to make sure train engines were running properly, in 2008 the MBTA claimed it lacked the financial resources to fully upgrade the
ventilation
Ventilation may refer to:
* Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation
** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing
*** Ventilator, a m ...
system.
In 2010, the MBTA announced that it had secured $3.0 million in
federal stimulus money to improve the ventilation in the lobby. 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 said then that it would complete an improved ventilation system by 2012.
On October 8, 2014, Amtrak removed its customer service and ticketing agents from the station due to the persistent air quality issues. Back Bay was to be an unstaffed station "until further notice" as improvements are made. Amtrak personnel returned in 2015, but Amtrak pulled them again effective October 1, 2016.
The station has remained unstaffed since then, though two Quik-Trak kiosks are available. However, baggage cannot be checked at the station. Despite being unstaffed, it remains one of the
busiest Amtrak stations in the country. In 2018, it was the fourth-busiest Amtrak station in New England (behind South Station,
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
and
New Haven Union) and the 16th-busiest nationwide.
A $10 million ventilation project, funded equally by MassDOT and Boston Properties, was bid in 2016. The work will improve ventilation at the platform level and add "
air curtains" to prevent exhaust fumes from reaching the concourse. , final designs are due to be submitted in 2020, and the work is expected to take until at least 2022.
Privatization and renovations
![Back Bay Station, Boston (Sigma DP2s)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Back_Bay_Station%2C_Boston_%28Sigma_DP2s%29.jpg)
In 2014,
Boston Properties
Boston Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in premier workplaces in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. As of June 30, 2022, the company owned or had interest ...
(which purchased the adjacent parking garage in 2010) began negotiating with the state for the right to build an
air rights
Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others.
This legal ...
development atop the station and garage parcels, in exchange for managing the station and completing a $25 million renovation. Similar private management schemes were already in place at North Station and South Station, though without the real estate component. An agreement was signed in late 2014, with the renovation budget increased to $32 million. In August 2015, the MBTA began paying Boston Properties a subsidy (as rents from retail spaces had been lower than expected) and agreed to fund some repairs to expansion joints not covered in the original agreement.
Boston Properties filed notice with the
Boston Redevelopment Authority
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is a Massachusetts public agency that serves as the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial de ...
(BRA) in December 2015, beginning the permitting process. Plans for the station and development were released in March 2016. The station renovation will include restoration of the original architecture, relocation of the Orange Line entrances, expanded waiting areas in the main concourse, renovated bathrooms, improved ventilation, and new retail spaces surrounding the concourse. The station work was then scheduled to begin in 2017 pending BRA approval. , construction is planned to begin in 2021.
Plans for wayfinding signage, lighting, and other station improvements for the Orange Line station were completed by May 2021. On September 26, 2021, nine people were injured when an escalator at the station malfunctioned.
Station layout
![Inbound Orange Line train and Back Bay tracks, April 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Inbound_Orange_Line_train_and_Back_Bay_tracks%2C_April_2016.jpg)
There are 5 tracks serving Amtrak and commuter rail service. Tracks 2, 1, and 3 (in order south to north) serve Amtrak's ''Acela Express'' and ''Northeast Regional'' plus the MBTA's
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Prov ...
,
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line, also called the Franklin/Foxboro Line, is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts, utilizing the Northeast Corridor before splitti ...
, and
Needham Line. Tracks 5 and 7 on the Framingham/Worcester Line and the ''Lake Shore Limited'' serve westbound trains from a separate island platform.
Tracks 1 and 2 are considered the primary mainline tracks; the track numbering scheme used in the Boston area uses only odd numbers for additional tracks on the Track 1 side (hence Tracks 3, 5, and 7) and even numbers for tracks on the Track 2 side.
The Orange Line tracks and platforms lie between these two groups of mainline rail tracks.
![Back Bay trainshed 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Back_Bay_trainshed_2.JPG)
Back Bay is fully handicapped accessible. The station has full-length
high-level platforms on the three Northeast Corridor tracks, and a
mini-high platform
Railway platform height is the built height – ''above top of rail (ATR)'' – of passenger platforms at stations. A connected term is ''train floor height'', which refers to the ATR height of the floor of rail vehicles. Worldwide, there are ...
for the Worcester Line tracks. Elevators are available to access all platforms from the street-level station building.
Because Amtrak's ''
Downeaster'' trains depart from
North Station
North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtrak ...
rather than Back Bay or
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
, Amtrak advises travelers that wish to make a connection via subway to use the Orange Line between Back Bay and North Station, as using South Station would require an additional transfer at
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district within downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located east of Boston Common, west of the Financial District, south of Government Center, and north of Chinatown and the old Combat Zone. It features la ...
or
Park Street.
The main station building is located between Dartmouth Street and Clarendon Street; however, there are several additional emergency exits from the Amtrak / commuter rail platforms onto Dartmouth Street, Clarendon Street, and Columbus Avenue. The Dartmouth Street Underpass connects the
Copley Place
Copley Place is an enclosed shopping mall within the mixed-use Copley Square in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It features direct indoor connections to several nearby destinations including four office towers, and the Bosto ...
shopping mall with the main station building. The underpass was closed from March 6, 2016 to June 1, 2017 during construction at Copley Place, during which it was given some rudimentary refurbishment.
Gallery
File:New Haven Railroad stone carving at Back Bay station, April 2016.JPG, This carving on Columbus Avenue is a piece from the demolished 1929 station
File:Back Bay Station.jpg, Station facade with John Hancock Tower
200 Clarendon Street, previously John Hancock Tower and colloquially known as The Hancock, is a 60-story, skyscraper in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. It is the tallest building in New England. The tower was designed by Henry N. Cobb of ...
behind
File:Back Bay structure.jpg, The main station arcade is supported by massive curved ribs
File:Orange Line turnstiles at Back Bay.jpg, Orange Line electronic fare gates
References
External links
Back Bay – MBTALibrary of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey. Back Bay Station, 145 Dartmouth Street, 1979.
{{MBTA Subway Stations
Boston Back Bay
Back Bay, Boston
Boston Back Bay
Boston Back Bay
MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Boston
MBTA subway stations located underground
Railway stations in Boston
Railway stations located underground in Boston
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1987
Orange Line (MBTA) stations
South End, Boston
Stations on the Northeast Corridor