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, including Acela high-speed trains. There is also daily Amtrak overnight train to Chicago.
- 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.
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 (when it opens) 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.