Back Bay (MBTA station)

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.

History

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 ^[2] 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.^[3] 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.

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 Line, Franklin Line, and Needham Line. Tracks 5 and 7 on the Framingham/Worcester Line and the Lake Shore Limited serve a separate island platform.^[4] 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.

Bus connections

• 10 City Point – Copley Square via Andrew Station & BU Medical Center
• 39 Back Bay – Forest Hills via Copley Square and Huntington Avenue
• 170 Central Square (Waltham) — Dudley Square via Copley Square, Mass Pike/I-90

Accessibility

• Back Bay Station is wheelchair accessible.
• Back Bay Station has full-length high-level platforms for Amtrak Northeast Corridor 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.^[5]

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.^[6][7][8] 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.^[9]

Gallery

See also

• Northeast Corridor
• North Station
• South Station
• North-South Rail Link

References

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – Back Bay
• 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 Connecticut 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