South Station (Boston)

SOUTH STATION
The historic South Station headhouse facing Atlantic Avenue
Location	700 Atlantic Avenue Boston, MA 02110
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Platforms	7
Tracks	13
Connections	Bus Terminal South Station Under   Red Line   Silver Line
Construction
Parking	privately owned garage
Bicycle facilities	bike lockers
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	BOS (Amtrak)
Fare zone	1A (MBTA Commuter Rail)
History
Opened	1899 (Mainline station)
Rebuilt	1985
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	21,772 daily boardings (MBTA Commuter Rail)
Passengers (FY2016)	1,574,450  1.96% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Boston Back Bay toward Washington, DC Acela Express Terminus Boston Back Bay toward Chicago Lake Shore Limited Boston Back Bay toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Lynchburg Northeast Regional MBTA Commuter Rail Back Bay toward Worcester Framingham/Worcester Line Terminus Back Bay toward Needham Heights Needham Line Back Bay toward Forge Park/495 Franklin Line Newmarket (limited service) toward Forge Park/495 Foxboro (special events) Terminus Back Bay toward Wickford Junction or Stoughton Providence/Stoughton Line Newmarket toward Readville Fairmount Line Terminus Greenbush Line JFK/UMass toward Greenbush Kingston/Plymouth Line JFK/UMass toward Kingston or Plymouth Middleborough/ Lakeville Line JFK/UMass toward Middleborough / Lakeville CapeFLYER Braintree toward Hyannis   Former services   MBTA Commuter Rail Back Bay toward Dedham Dedham Branch Closed 1967 Terminus Back Bay toward Millis Millis Branch Closed 1967 New York Central Railroad Trinity Place toward Albany Boston and Albany Railroad Main Line Terminus Trinity Place toward Worcester Worcester Line
South Station Headhouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°21′07″N 71°03′19″W / 42.35194°N 71.05528°W / 42.35194; -71.05528Coordinates: 42°21′07″N 71°03′19″W / 42.35194°N 71.05528°W / 42.35194; -71.05528
Area	0.5 acres (0.2 ha)
Built	1899
Architect	Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge; Norcross Bros.
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP Reference #	75000299
Added to NRHP	February 13, 1975

South Station — officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station — is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan International Airport. Located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, the historic station building was constructed in 1899 to replace the downtown terminals of several railroads. Today, it serves as a major intermodal domestic transportation hub, with service to the Greater Boston region and the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. It is used by thousands of commuter rail and intercity rail passengers daily. Connections to the rapid transit Red Line and Silver Line are made through the adjacent subway station.

The station was renamed for former Massachusetts governor Michael S. Dukakis in November 2014, though maps and station signs continue to use the shorter "South Station".

When the railroads serving Boston were first laid out and built, each one stopped at its own terminal. The four terminals serving the south-side railroads were as follows:

The Boston Terminal Company, established in 1897, was charged with the task of combining the four terminals into one consolidated terminal. South Station combined the four terminals in one spot (a union station).

South Station opened as South Central Station on January 1, 1899 at a cost of $3.6 million (1899 dollars). The architects were Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston, with the actual construction undertaken by the engineering firm of Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co. It became the busiest station in the world by 1913. A stop on the Atlantic Avenue Elevated served South Station from 1901 to 1938; what is now the Red Line subway was extended from Park Street to South Station in 1913. The train shed, originally one of the largest in the world, was eliminated in a 1930 renovation due to corrosion caused by the nearby ocean's salt air.