South Station (MBTA station)

Not to be confused with South Street (MBTA station).
For the commuter rail and Amtrak station, see South Station.
SOUTH STATION
SOUTH STATION

Red Line platform
Station statistics
Address Atlantic Avenue & Summer Street Boston, MA 02110
Lines
  Red Line
  Silver Line
Connections MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak at South Station
Buses at South Station Bus Terminal
MBTA Bus: 4, 7, 11, 448, 449, 459[1]
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 side platforms (Red Line)
3 side platforms (Silver Line)
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened December 3, 1916[2][3] (Red Line)
December 17, 2004[4][5] (Silver Line)
Accessible
Owned by MBTA
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
toward Alewife
 Red Line
toward Ashmont or Braintree
Terminus Silver Line
Silver Line
toward Design Center
One-way operation
 Silver Line Terminus

South Station also known as South Station Under[6][7] is a station on the MBTA Red Line subway and Silver Line bus rapid transit located at Summer Street and Atlantic Avenue in Boston. It is a part of the South Station complex, the second busiest transportation center in New England.[8] Commuter Rail and long distance trains are also included at South Station.

Contents

History

A station serving South Station was located on the Atlantic Avenue Elevated. Service on the Atlantic Avenue "El" was discontinued on September 20, 1938. The structure itself was torn torn down in the spring of 1942.[9] Before stairs were added, passengers wishing to change lines from the underground station had to use a paper transfer and go outside to change trains.[9] This would change after a series of renovations.

Renovations

The first renovation began around 1980 and consisted of the adding of a passageway to already existing stairs and escalators upstairs to the main terminal building.[10] An entrance was also added to the Federal Archives Building as well as a passageway under Summer Street connecting the other street entrances. In 1985, the Red Line platforms were extended 60 feet on either end to allow 6-car trains.[9]

The final renovation was triggered by the massive highway project known as the "Big Dig". Since the Red Line tunnel beneath Summer Street is perpendicular to Atlantic Avenue, where the new I-93 northbound tunnel was to be built, builders had to tunnel under the tracks. After the first tunnel was complete, another tunnel was added along with a station for the Silver Line. Since the new tunnel was built at the former fare level, another fare level was constructed a level above. This allowed combined access for the Silver and Red lines. The original lobby that was destroyed was replaced by stairways.[9] This project was completed at a cost of 35 million dollars.[11]

Layout

The Red Line part of the station has two tracks and two side platforms. The Silver Line SL4 service that began in October 2009[12][13] stops at Atlantic Avenue and Essex Street near the Bus Terminal.[12][14] Other Silver Line service is provided in an underground tunnel near the Red Line platforms. There are underground passageways upstairs to the inter-city rail station and many restaurants. There are entrances at street level on all four corners of the intersection of Summer Street and Atlantic Avenue.[15]

Gallery

Silver Line underground station  
Silver Line street-level station  
Station turnstiles  
Outbound train approaching South Station  

See also

References

  1. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – South Station (MBTA station) (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=42.352828,-71.055509&spn=0.001974,0.006695&z=18&iwloc=lyrftr:m,0x89e37a78b10d5b6f:0xe4c494f81762a19a,42.352273,-71.0553. Retrieved January 10, 2011. 
  2. ^ "New Tunnel Station is Opened". Boston Daily Globe. December 4, 1916. 
  3. ^ "South Station Under Opens Tomorrow". Boston Daily Globe. December 2, 1916. 
  4. ^ Brian Carovillano (December 18–19, 2004). "Boston unveils new Silver Line bus tunnel". Bangor Daily News. 
  5. ^ thebostonchannel.com. Retrieved January 5, 2011
  6. ^ South Station sign. Retrieved January 3, 2011
  7. ^ Forgotten Boston. Retrieved January 3, 2011
  8. ^ Project for Public Spaces, Retrieved December 31, 2010
  9. ^ a b c d Red Line Overview. Retrieved January 1, 2011
  10. ^ NYCSubway Picture. Retrieved January 3, 2011
  11. ^ Intermodal Stations. Retrieved December 31, 2010
  12. ^ a b "South Station Direct Connect". MassDOT. http://www.eot.state.ma.us/SouthStationDirectConnect/index.html. Retrieved December 31, 2010. 
  13. ^ "Press Release". MBTA. October 13, 2009. http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/news_events/?id=18411&month=&year=. Retrieved December 31, 2010. 
  14. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – South Station (MBTA station) (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Boston+MA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.671324,76.113281&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Boston,+Suffolk,+Massachusetts&ll=42.351894,-71.056137&spn=0.000498,0.001672&t=h&z=20&iwloc=lyrftr:h,0x89e37a78aaf9dcb9:0x51f57fc40997d256,42.351807,-71.05589. Retrieved December 31, 2010. 
  15. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – South Station (MBTA station) (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Boston+MA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.671324,76.113281&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Boston,+Suffolk,+Massachusetts&ll=42.352609,-71.055386&spn=0.000498,0.001672&t=h&z=20. Retrieved December 31, 2010. 

External links