South Station - Definition and Overview

South Station, located at Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street, in Boston, Massachusetts is a major transportation hub. Its facilities include:

• the northern terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor train service (Acela Express high-speed trains and Regional local trains). There is also a daily Amtrak overnight train to Chicago (the Lake Shore Limited).
• a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail terminus.
• a station stop on the Boston subway's Red Line.
• a station stop on the Phase 2 of the Silver Line (opened in late 2004, with service extending to Logan Airport in 2005)
• Boston's main inter-city bus terminal.
• local bus service.
• staffed ticket windows.
• a food court and waiting area.
• public art, including a sculpture built of railroad car couplers and a model of the planet Jupiter, part of the Boston Museum of Science scale model of the solar system

South Station opened on January 1, 1899. It underwent a complete renovation in 1985. An intercity bus terminal was added around 2001, replacing one on top of the Central Artery tunnel between Summer Street and Congress Street.

Note: Several MBTA commuter rail lines plus Amtrak's Downeaster service to Maine originate from North Station, about 1-1/4 miles around the Boston penninsula from South Station. No direct link exists between the two stations although MBTA subway connections exist; see MBTA Commuter Rail and North-South Rail Link .

Attractions

• Boston South Postal Annex, with a post office that is almost never closed (there is a passage way to it at the foot of Track 13).
• Boston's financial district including the Federal Reserve Bank Building.
• the Children's Museum.
• Rowes Wharf ferry terminal.
• the Boston Convention Center, about a 10 minute walk, or you can take the Silver Line to the World Trade Center stop.

Accessibility

• South Station is wheelchair accessible, but finding the elevator to the subway can be a bit tricky - it's in the corridor behind the information booth.
• Other Amtrak stations on the Northeast Corridor are generally accessible.
• Some MBTA commuter rail stations have no wheelchair access and many of those that do have short elevated platforms that only serve one or two cars. See MBTA accessibility.

External links

• Amtrak - Boston South Station (http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Station/Station_Page&c=am2Station&cid=1080080550772&ssid=93)