North Station

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Boston North Station
Image:NorthStationOrange.jpg
Inbound Orange Line train at North Station
Station statistics
Address	126 Causeway Street Boston, MA 02114
Coordinates	42°21′57″N 71°03′40″W / 42.3657, -71.061Coordinates: 42°21′57″N 71°03′40″W / 42.3657, -71.061
Lines	Amtrak: Downeaster MBTA Commuter Rail Lines: Fitchburg Line Haverhill/Reading Line Lowell Line Newburyport/Rockport Line
Connections	MBTA Bus: 4 MBTA Subway: Green Line ("C" & "E" Branches) Orange Line
Parking	privately-owned garage
Bicycle facilities	bike lockers
Other information
Opened	September 3, 1898 (Green Line surface, closed 1997) June 1, 1912 (Green Line elevated, closed June 2004) April 7, 1975 (Orange Line)
Rebuilt	June 28, 2004 (Green Line) November 2005 (station)
Accessible	Image:Wheelchair symbol.svg
Code	BON (Amtrak)
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Traffic
Passengers (2006)	294,686[1] Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 24%
Services
Preceding station     Amtrak     Following station   Terminus Downeaster Woburn/Anderson toward Portland   Preceding station     Image:Mbta-logo.svg MBTA     Following station   Haymarket toward Heath Street Green Line "E" Branch Science Park toward Lechmere Haymarket toward Cleveland Circle Green Line "C" Branch Terminus Haymarket toward Forest Hills Orange Line Community College toward Oak Grove Terminus Fitchburg Line Porter toward Fitchburg Lowell Line West Medford toward Lowell Haverhill/Reading Line Malden Center toward Haverhill Newburyport/Rockport Line Chelsea toward Newburyport or Rockport

North Station, located at Causeway and Nashua Streets, in Boston, Massachusetts is a major transportation hub.

Contents 1 Description 2 History 3 Gallery 3.1 Timeline 4 Nearby destinations 5 Bus connections 6 Accessibility 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Description

Its facilities include:

• Terminus for MBTA Commuter Rail northern routes
• Station on the Boston subway's Orange Line and Green Line
• Southern terminus of Amtrak's Downeaster Maine train service
• Local bus service
• Water taxi service at nearby Lovejoy Wharf
• Staffed ticket windows
• Small food court and waiting area
• Parking garage (privately operated)

In November, 2005, the MBTA completed construction of its North Station Superstation which placed the Green Line underground, offering inbound cross-platform transfers from Green to Orange Lines. Outbound Green Line trains arrive on the mezzanine level. The project was done primarily to improve transfer between the two lines, but also to tear down the old elevated North Station Green Line stop.

In April, 2006, the MBTA announced plans to enlarge the cramped waiting area at the station by building over the south end of the tracks and platforms. The expansion was expected to be completed by November and was paid for by Delaware North Companies, owners of the adjacent TD Banknorth Garden, who struck a deal for sharing revenue from concessions and advertising with the T. The project was substantially completed by the end of January, 2007.

Note: Several MBTA commuter rail lines, plus Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service to New York City, Washington, D.C. and beyond, originate from South Station, about 1-1/4 miles around the Boston peninsula from North Station. No direct link exists between the two stations although MBTA subway connections are available. Transfers to Amtrak and the MBTA Commuter Rail's Providence/Stoughton, Needham, Franklin, and Framingham/Worcester Lines may also be made at Back Bay, a one seat ride on the Orange Line from North Station. A North-South Rail Link is proposed to link North and South Stations, but as of May 2006 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has withdrawn its sponsorship of the proposal due to its high cost.

[edit] History

Before the union station opened on the spot in 1893, there were four separate stations in the area:

• The Boston and Maine Railroad terminal was just north of Haymarket Square, between Canal Street and Haverhill Street, stretching most of the way to Traverse Street. This approach was later used by the Green Line and Orange Line. The other three were all on the north side of Causeway Street, with the first two in the area where North Station is now:
• The Boston and Lowell Railroad terminal was on the east side of Nashua Street, stretching east for about a block.
• Next was the Eastern Railroad terminal, across Causeway Street from Friend Street.
• The Fitchburg Railroad station was on the other side of the Boston and Maine Railroad approach, right next to Beverly Street, the approach to the Warren Bridge.

Just south of North Station was the Canal Street Incline through which the Green Line and Orange Line originally went from elevated to subway. The original North Union Station was demolished in 1928 to make way for the Boston Garden, which included a new North Station as part of the design. This in turn became the FleetCenter, now the TD Banknorth Garden, which also necessitated a redesigned North Station. The waiting area was very limited, but this was rectified by a recent expansion which greatly enlarged the waiting area.

[edit] Gallery

Mbtaatnorthstation.jpg Northern MBTA Commuter Rail lines terminate at North Station.	MBTANorthStation.jpg The waiting area of North Station, sharing room with ticket counters for Celtics games at TD Banknorth Garden.	NorthStationOrangeOutbound.jpg Outbound Orange Line Train at North Station.
GreenEnterNorthStation.jpg Lechmere-bound Green Line train arrives at North Station.	MBTANorthStationLobby.jpg The nearly completed new waiting area at North Station, as of January 29, 2007.	Northstationmbta.jpg Entrance to the MBTA Green Line at North Station.

[edit] Timeline

This timeline shows which Green Line services terminated at North Station at which times (after 1940). <timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = left:50 right:10 bottom:45 top:10 Legend = columns:4 left:10 top:20 columnwidth:200 AlignBars = justify TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1940 till:04/13/2005 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1940 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1940

Colors =

id:all value:red legend:all_service
id:most value:rgb(1,0.6,0.6) legend:most_service
id:some value:rgb(1,0.8,0.8) legend:some_service
id:nopassengers value:rgb(0.7,0.7,0.7) legend:no_passengers
id:closed value:black
id:opened value:green

BarData =

bar:9 text:"9"
bar:43 text:"43"
bar:B text:""B""
bar:C text:""C""
bar:D text:""D""
bar:E text:""E""

LineData=

 at:06/17/1967 color:closed layer:back
 at:09/09/1967 color:opened layer:back
 at:09/14/1967 color:closed layer:back
 at:12/26/1970 color:opened layer:back
 at:06/26/1976 color:closed layer:back
 at:09/11/1976 color:opened layer:back
 at:06/18/1977 color:closed layer:back
 at:12/15/1977 color:opened layer:back
 at:03/28/1997 color:closed layer:back
 at:06/28/2004 color:opened layer:back

PlotData=

align:center textcolor:black fontsize:XS width:10

bar:9 from:start till:03/02/1953 color:all

bar:43 from:start till:11/20/1961 color:all

bar:B from:03/25/1967 till:06/17/1967 color:all
bar:B from:09/09/1967 till:09/14/1967 color:all
bar:B from:03/21/1970 till:12/26/1970 color:nopassengers #passenger service ended at Haymarket
bar:B from:12/26/1970 till:03/25/1974 color:all
bar:B from:01/01/1977 till:06/18/1977 color:most #all but weekends
bar:B from:04/04/1981 till:07/30/1983 color:all
bar:B from:06/28/2004 till:01/01/2005 color:most #some rush hour trains looped at Government Center

bar:C from:11/20/1961 till:03/25/1967 color:most #all but Sunday
bar:C from:07/30/1983 till:03/28/1997 color:all
bar:C from:01/01/2005 till:end color:all

bar:D from:03/25/1974 till:06/26/1976 color:all
bar:D from:09/11/1976 till:01/01/1977 color:all
bar:D from:12/15/1977 till:03/21/1980 color:all
bar:D from:06/21/1980 till:04/04/1981 color:all

bar:E from:start till:09/11/1961 color:some #Heath Street only
bar:E from:03/19/1977 till:06/18/1977 color:some #Heath Street only
bar:E from:03/21/1980 till:06/21/1980 color:all #Symphony only (closed beyond)
bar:E from:06/28/2004 till:end color:all

</timeline>

[edit] Nearby destinations

• Boston's TD Banknorth Garden (formerly the FleetCenter), home of the Boston Bruins hockey and Boston Celtics basketball teams, which is directly above North Station.
• Sports and ethnic bars and restaurants along Causeway Street
• Boston's North End, a majority-Italian ethnic neighborhood with a wide variety of restaurants, Old North Church, and Paul Revere's house.

[edit] Bus connections

• 4 World Trade Center via Federal Courthouse & South Station
• EZRide Cambridge

[edit] Accessibility

• North Station is wheelchair accessible.
• Other Amtrak stations on the Maine route may have low-level platforms, but Amtrak provides level boarding through the use of station-board lifts.
• Only selected MBTA commuter rail stations have wheelchair access and most of those have short elevated platforms on the outbound end that only serve one or two cars. See MBTA accessibility.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Various Sanborn maps

[edit] External links

• Amtrak - Stations - Boston North Station

• Ridership figures, FY 2004
• Ridership figures, FY 2005
• Ridership figures, FY 2006

• Elaborate Union (North) Station facade, circa 1890.