Back Bay station

{{Short description|Railway station in Boston, Massachusetts, US}}

{{Infobox station

| name = Back Bay Station

| style = MBTA

| style2 = Orange and Purple

| image = Back Bay Station Boston June 2024.jpg

| image_caption = The Dartmouth Street entrance to the station in 2024

| address = 145 Dartmouth Street

| borough = Boston, Massachusetts

| country = United States

| coordinates = {{coord|42.3473|-71.0755|type:railwaystation_region:US-MA |display=inline,title}}

| owned = Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

| line = {{ubl|Attleboro Line (Northeast Corridor)|Southwest Corridor (Orange Line)|Worcester Main Line}}

| platform = {{ubl|1 island platform, 1 side platform (Northeast Corridor)|1 island platform (Orange Line)|1 island platform (Framingham/Worcester Line)}}

| tracks = {{ubl|3 (Northeast Corridor)|2 (Orange Line)|2 (Framingham/Worcester Line)}}

| connections = {{ric|MBTA|Bus|name=y}}: {{MBTA bus links|Back Bay}}

| parking =

| bicycle = {{ubl|40 spaces in "Pedal and Park" bicycle cage|30 outside spaces}}

| accessible = Yes

| code = {{Amtrak code|BBY}}

| iata = ZTY

| zone = 1A (MBTA Commuter Rail)

| opened = {{ubl|1879 (Columbus Avenue)|1899 (Back Bay, Trinity Place, Huntington Avenue)}}

| rebuilt = 1929; May 4, 1987 (modern station)

| mpassengers = {{rail pass box |system=Orange Line |passengers=15,646 daily boardings|pass_year=FY2019}}

{{rail pass box |system=Commuter Rail |passengers=8,103 daily boardings{{MBTA CR 2018}}|pass_year=2018}}

{{rail pass box |system=Amtrak |passengers={{Amtrak ridership|Boston-Back Bay}} annual boardings and alightings{{Amtrak ridership|citationMA}}|pass_year={{Amtrak ridership|date}}}}

| services_collapsible = yes

| services = {{Adjacent stations

|system1=Amtrak

|line1=Acela Express|left1=Route 128|right1=Boston South

|line2=Lake Shore Limited|left2=Framingham|right2=Boston South|to-right2=Boston South

|line3=Regional|left3=Route 128|right3=Boston South|to-right3=Boston South

|system4=MBTA

|line4=Framingham|left4=Lansdowne|right4=South Station

|line5=Needham|left5=Ruggles|right5=South Station

|line6=Providence/Stoughton|left6=Ruggles|right6=South Station

|line7=Franklin|left7=Ruggles|right7=South Station|note-mid7=weekdays

|line8=Foxboro event Boston|left8=Dedham Corporate Center|right8=South Station

|line9=Orange|left9=Massachusetts Avenue|right9=Tufts Medical Center

}}

| other_services_header = Former services

| other_services_collapsible = yes

| other_services2 = {{Adjacent stations|system1=MBTA|line1=South Coast Rail|left1=Ruggles|right1=South Station|note-mid=Phase 2 (2030)}}

| other_services2_header = Proposed services

| other_services2_collapsible = yes

| other_services = {{Adjacent stations

|system1=New York Central Railroad

|line1=Boston and Albany Railroad|left1=Newton|right1=Boston

|line2=Boston and Albany Railroad|left2=Allston|right2=Boston

|line3=Highland branch|left3=Longwood|right3=Boston

|system4=MBTA

|line4=Dedham|left4=Mount Hope|right4=South Station|note-mid4=Closed 1967

|line5=Millis|left5=Roslindale Village|right5=South Station|note-mid5=Closed 1967

|system6=New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad

|line6=Shore Line Railway (Connecticut)|left6=Forest Hills|right6=Boston

|line7=Charles River Line|left7=Roslindale Village|right7=

|system10=Amtrak

|line11=Twilight Shoreliner|left11=Route 128 |right11=Boston South

|line12=Beacon Hill|left12=Route 128|note-mid12=1978-1979|right12=Boston South

|line15=Hilltopper|left15=Route 128 |right15=Boston South

|line16=Valley Forge|type16=weekends only|left16=Route 128 |right16=Boston South

|line17=Bay State|left17=Newtonville |right17=Boston South

|line18=Meteor|left18=Route 128 |right18=Boston South

}}

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-marker-color = {{rcr|Amtrak}}

| mapframe-zoom = 12

| route_map = {{Back Bay station|inline=y}}

| map_state = collapsed

}}

Back Bay station (also signed as Back Bay · South End) is an intermodal passenger station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located just south of Copley Square in Boston's Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. It serves MBTA Commuter Rail and MBTA subway routes, and also serves as a secondary Amtrak intercity rail station for Boston. The present building, designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood, opened in 1987. It replaced the New Haven Railroad's older Back Bay station – which opened in 1928 as a replacement for an 1899-built station – as well as the New York Central's Huntington Avenue and Trinity Place stations which had been demolished in 1964.

Although South Station is Boston's primary rail hub, Back Bay maintains high traffic levels due to its location in the Back Bay neighborhood near the Prudential Center development and its access to important Northeast Corridor services. All Amtrak Acela Express and Northeast Regional trains running to and from South Station stop at Back Bay, as does the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited. Four MBTA Commuter Rail routes – the Providence/Stoughton Line, Franklin/Foxboro Line, Needham Line, and Framingham/Worcester Line – also stop at Back Bay, as do the Orange Line subway and several local MBTA bus routes. It is the third-busiest MBTA Commuter Rail station (after North Station and South Station) and the sixth-busiest MBTA subway station.{{cite web |url=https://mbta-massdot.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/mbta-ridership-guide |title=A Guide to Ridership Data |publisher=MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation |date=June 22, 2020 |page=6}}

Station layout

File:Back Bay MBTA Station from Berkeley Street, March 2025.jpg

There are 5 tracks serving Amtrak and commuter rail service. Tracks 2, 1, and 3 (in order south to north) serve Amtrak's Acela Express and Northeast Regional plus the MBTA's Providence/Stoughton Line, Franklin/Foxboro Line, and Needham Line. Tracks 5 and 7 serve the Framingham/Worcester Line and the Lake Shore Limited from a separate island platform.{{cite web|title=Massachusetts Bay Colony Railroad Track Charts |first=Patrick R. |last=Held |url=http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/movies/MBCR+Maps+(2010).pdf |date=2010 |publisher=Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery |access-date=April 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008000656/http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/movies/MBCR%2BMaps%2B%282010%29.pdf |archive-date=October 8, 2013 }} Tracks 1 and 2 are considered the primary mainline tracks; the track numbering scheme used in the Boston area uses only odd numbers for additional tracks on the Track 1 side (hence Tracks 3, 5, and 7) and even numbers for tracks on the Track 2 side. The Orange Line tracks and platform lie between these two groups of mainline rail tracks.

Back Bay is fully accessible. The station has full-length high-level platforms on the three Northeast Corridor tracks, and a mini-high platform for the Worcester Line tracks. Elevators are available to access all platforms from the street-level station building.

The main station building is located between Dartmouth Street and Clarendon Street; however, there are secondary exits from the platforms onto Dartmouth Street, Clarendon Street, and Columbus Avenue. The Dartmouth Street Underpass connects the Copley Place shopping mall with the main station building. The underpass was closed from March 6, 2016 to June 1, 2017 during construction at Copley Place, during which it was given some refurbishment.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411050948/http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/?ttype=subway&advistory=true&route=Orange+Line |archive-date=11 April 2016 |url=http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/?ttype=subway&advistory=true&route=Orange+Line#advise |date=24 February 2016 |title=Subway Service Alerts: Orange Line |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority }}{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420000040/http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/?ttype=subway&route=Orange+Line |archive-date=April 20, 2017 |url=http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/?ttype=subway&advistory=true&route=Orange+Line#details |date=April 4, 2017 |title=Subway Service Alerts: Orange Line |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority }}

History

=Previous stations=

The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened from downtown Boston to Newton in 1834, and to Worcester within the next several years. The Boston and Providence Railroad opened from Park Square to East Providence later that year. The two lines crossed on causeways in the Back Bay, then still used as a mill pond.{{cite map |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:1257b958n|title=Boston with Charlestown and Roxbury |year=1842 |author=Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge |scale=ca. 1:16,000}} On or just before January 1, 1879, the Boston and Albany Railroad (descendant of the B&W) opened its Columbus Avenue station to serve new developments on the filled bay.{{cite book |title=Boston's Depots and Terminals |first=Richard C. |last=Barrett |pages=137–147 |publisher=Railroad Research Publications |isbn=1-884650-03-1 |year=1996}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/166393018/ |title=Highland Street Railway Co. [advertisement] |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 1, 1879 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-post/166393005/ |title=Highland Railway |newspaper=Boston Post |date=January 1, 189 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} It was a small corrugated iron building on the north side of the tracks just east of the Columbus Avenue bridge.{{cite map |url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764bm.g03693188702 |map-url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764bm.g03693188702/?sp=10 |map=Plate 32 |title=Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts |volume=2 |date=1887 |publisher=Sanborn Map Company |scale=1:600}}{{cite map |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:tt44pv576 |title=Atlas of the City of Boston, Boston Proper |volume=1 |publisher=G.W. Bromley and Co. |year=1883 |map=Plate J |scale=1:1,200}} In 1897, the New Haven Railroad (which owned the Boston and Providence and leased the Old Colony Railroad), the New York and New England Railroad, and the Boston and Albany formed the Boston Terminal Company to consolidate their four terminals into a new union station.

Simultaneous with the construction of the resulting South Station in 1899, the New Haven also built its first Back Bay Station just east of Dartmouth Street to compete with the B&A's Columbus Avenue station. Back Bay station opened on September 19, 1899 – the same day that Providence Division trains began using South Station.{{cite journal |jstor=43504499 |title=Dates of Some of the Principal Events in the History of 100 Years of the Railroad in New England. 1826–1926 |first=Warren |last=Jacobs |date=October 1928 |journal=Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin |publisher=Railway and Locomotive Historical Society |volume=17 |issue=17 |pages=15–28}} The next year, the B&A replaced Columbus Avenue station with the westbound-only Trinity Place and eastbound-only Huntington Avenue stations.{{cite book |title=Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years |author1=Humphrey, Thomas J. |author2=Clark, Norton D. |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-685-41294-7 |pages=22}}

File:Columbus Avenue station greyscale.jpg|Columbus Avenue station in 1898|alt=A wooden railway station next to a below-grade rail line in a city

File:Huntington Avenue station postcard.JPG|Huntington Avenue station around 1910|alt=A postcard of a stone Romanesque railway station with a wide canopy in an urban area

File:Trinity Place station, circa 1940s (cropped).jpg|Trinity Place station around the 1940s|alt=A stone Romanesque railway station with a wide canopy in an urban area

File:Original Back Bay station.jpg|The 1899-built Back Bay station|alt=A postcard of a large railway station facade

File:Back Bay station, April 1980.jpg|The 1929-built Back Bay station in 1980|alt=A brick railway station facade on an urban street

=Modern station=

File:Back Bay MBTA Orange Line Platform, March 2025.jpg

The current Back Bay Station opened on May 4, 1987, as part of the Orange Line's Southwest Corridor project and was dedicated by Governor Michael Dukakis.{{cite web |title=Boston, MA - Back Bay Station (BBY) |work=Great American Stations |url=https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/boston-back-bay-ma-bby/ |publisher=Amtrak}} It replaced the 1899-built and 1929-rebuilt ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad station of the same name, of which some remnants can still be found at the eastern end of the present station facilities, including a carved stone embedded in the brick wall on the east side of Columbus Avenue.{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses |author=Roy, John H. Jr. |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-942147-08-7 |page=129}} The reopened station had South End as a secondary name, approved in 1985 as part of a series of station name changes.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54291295/the-boston-globe/ |title=T board votes to change the names of some stations |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=July 27, 1985 |first=Douglas S. |last=Crocket |page=26 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The 1987 reconstruction added a waiting area with a 9-foot bronze statue dedicated to civil rights and labor movement pioneer A. Philip Randolph. The area includes various posters with historical photographs and interview excerpts regarding Randolph's career in organizing the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and work with the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1990, a northbound commuter train running along the Providence/Stoughton Line was involved in a collision with a northbound Night Owl train. The accident, which occurred at the west end of Back Bay, injured 453 people, although there were no fatalities.{{cite web|title=Railroad Accident Report RAR-92-01: Derailment and Collision of Amtrak Passenger Train 66 with MBTA Commuter Train 906 at Back Bay Station, Boston, Massachusetts, December 12, 1990|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NTSB_RAR-92_01.pdf|publisher=National Transportation Safety Board, Washington, DC |date=25 February 1992}}

On September 22, 2006, the MBTA began allowing free inbound travel from Back Bay to South Station. This change was to allow travel from Back Bay hotels to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and Logan International Airport (using the Silver Line from South Station) without the need to transfer to the Red Line.{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2006-09-22/mbta-announces-free-commuter-rail-service-back-bay-south-station |title=MBTA Announces Free Commuter Rail Service From Back Bay To South Station |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |date=September 22, 2006}} Until replaced with the CharlieCard Store at {{bts|Downtown Crossing}} on August 13, 2012, an MBTA customer service booth for special pass users was located at Back Bay station.{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/downtown/2012/08/mbta_opens_new_charliecard_sto.html |title=MBTA opens new CharlieCard Store inside Downtown Crossing Station |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 13, 2012 |last=Rocheleau |first=Matt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816202455/http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/downtown/2012/08/mbta_opens_new_charliecard_sto.html |archive-date=August 16, 2012}} The entire Orange Line, including the Orange Line platform at Back Bay station, was closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, during maintenance work. Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail service to the station was not changed.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/2022-08-12-ol-gl-closures-a-riders-guide-to-planning-ahead.pdf |title=A Rider's Guide to Planning Ahead: Upcoming Orange & Green Line Service Suspensions |date=August 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}

= Air quality =

File:Back Bay platform.JPG

Back Bay station has suffered from poor air quality since its opening; passengers with lung conditions have been advised to avoid the station. Much of the commuter rail infrastructure at Back Bay is covered and enclosed, and so diesel fumes cannot escape quickly to the outside air. A petition drive in 2000 gathered complaints about the then-"longstanding" issue.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36777703/the_boston_globe/ |title=Petition drive puts focus on foul-smelling T station |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=May 27, 2001 |first=Thomas C. Jr. |last=Palmer |page=B2 |via=Newspapers.com}} Studies in 2006 and 2008 showed that "the air was many, many times below air-quality standards" due to trapped diesel exhaust and soot. An earlier study showed elevated levels of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, particulates, and oxides of nitrogen, though it noted that there is no regulated standard to meet for indoor air quality in public spaces. Though simple changes were made regarding scheduling, and checking to make sure train engines were running properly, in 2008 the MBTA claimed it lacked the financial resources to fully upgrade the ventilation system.{{cite news |title=Bad Air at Back Bay Too Costly to Fix, T Says |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/31/bad_air_at_back_bay_too_costly_to_fix_t_says/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=August 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231701/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/31/bad_air_at_back_bay_too_costly_to_fix_t_says/ |archive-date=June 28, 2011}}

In 2010, the MBTA secured $3.0 million in federal stimulus money to improve the ventilation in the lobby.{{cite web|url=http://ncppp.org/publications/TransitBoston_0909/Waaramaa_0909.pdf |title=American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 MBTA Implementation & Oversight |publisher=National Council for Public-Private Partnerships |access-date=January 14, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727113742/http://ncppp.org/publications/TransitBoston_0909/Waaramaa_0909.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2011 }} The MBTA then planned to complete an improved ventilation system by 2012.{{cite news |title=Amid Complaints, T Aims to Fix Back Bay Station's Ventilation System |first=Matt |last=Rocheleau |url=http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/back_bay/2010/10/t_planning_project_to_rid_stat.html |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=October 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005033040/http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/back_bay/2010/10/t_planning_project_to_rid_stat.html |archive-date=October 5, 2010}} On October 8, 2014, Amtrak removed its customer service and ticketing agents from the station due to the persistent air quality issues. Back Bay was to be an unstaffed station "until further notice".{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007003550/http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am%2Fam2Station%2FStation_Page&code=BBY |url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=BBY |archive-date=7 October 2014 |title=Boston, MA (BBY) |publisher=Amtrak |url-status=dead }} Amtrak personnel returned in 2015, but Amtrak pulled them again effective October 1, 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=BBY |title=Boston, MA (BBY) |publisher=Amtrak |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922151119/https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am%2Fam2Station%2FStation_Page&code=BBY |archive-date=September 22, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

The station has remained unstaffed since then. It remains one of the busiest Amtrak stations: in 2018, it was the fourth-busiest Amtrak station in New England (behind South Station, Providence and New Haven Union) and the 16th-busiest nationwide.{{cite web |url=http://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Amtrak-Corporate-Profile_FY2018_Pub-March-1-2019.pdf |year=2019 |title=Amtrak National Facts| publisher=Amtrak}}

A $10 million ventilation project, funded equally by MassDOT and Boston Properties, was bid in 2016. The work was to improve ventilation at the platform level and add "air curtains" to prevent exhaust fumes from reaching the concourse.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/04/04/relief-could-coming-for-back-bay-station-commuters-weary-diesel-fumes/Zd96LvNx5ZGd9hnzg7Zb2K/story.html |title=Relief could be coming for Back Bay commuters weary of diesel fumes |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 4, 2016 |first=Jon |last=Chesto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610125239/http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/04/04/relief-could-coming-for-back-bay-station-commuters-weary-diesel-fumes/Zd96LvNx5ZGd9hnzg7Zb2K/story.html |archive-date=June 10, 2016}} By 2019, final designs were due to be submitted in 2020, with the work expected to take until at least 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.mbta.com/projects/back-bay-station-improvements |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503070952/https://www.mbta.com/projects/back-bay-station-improvements |archive-date=May 3, 2019 |title=Back Bay Station Improvements |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |url-status=live}} {{As of|February 2025}}, the MBTA expects bidding for a $38 million construction contract to take place in April to June 2025.{{cite web |url=https://bc.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/future_solicitations/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221010145/https://bc.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/future_solicitations/ |archive-date=February 21, 2025 |title=Future Construction Contract Bid Solicitations |date=February 2025 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}

= Privatization and renovations =

File:Back Bay station lobby near Dartmouth Street entrance.jpg

Boston Properties (later BXP) purchased the adjacent parking garage in 2010. In 2014, the company began negotiating with the state for the right to build an air rights development atop the station and garage parcels, in exchange for managing the station and completing a $25 million renovation. Similar private management schemes were already in place at North Station and South Station, though without the real estate component.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/06/17/deal-renovate-back-bay-station-would-grant-rights-for-new-tower/sIvpCwX0hQbGpnFQQStFDP/story.html |title=Skyscraper envisioned at Back Bay station: Developer would manage T facility in return for rights |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 18, 2014 |first=Casey |last=Ross |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727005426/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/06/17/deal-renovate-back-bay-station-would-grant-rights-for-new-tower/sIvpCwX0hQbGpnFQQStFDP/story.html |archive-date=July 27, 2014}} An agreement was signed in late 2014, with the renovation budget increased to $32 million. In August 2015, the MBTA began paying Boston Properties a subsidy (as rents from retail spaces had been lower than expected) and agreed to fund some repairs to expansion joints not covered in the original agreement.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/08/10/deal-privatize-back-bay-mbta-station-off-rough-start/TuOX2I4srKKKhnZFyubHQJ/story.html |title=Deal to privatize MBTA station debuts with shortfalls |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 10, 2015 |first=Tim |last=Logan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220141509/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/08/10/deal-privatize-back-bay-mbta-station-off-rough-start/TuOX2I4srKKKhnZFyubHQJ/story.html |archive-date=December 20, 2016}}

Boston Properties filed notice with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in December 2015, beginning the permitting process.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/12/30/new-complex-proposed-over-back-bay-station/ZMr5CA6Nyjrp20aX7GT8sI/story.html |title=New complex proposed over Back Bay Station |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=December 30, 2015 |first=Tim |last=Logan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220141505/http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/12/30/new-complex-proposed-over-back-bay-station/ZMr5CA6Nyjrp20aX7GT8sI/story.html |archive-date=December 20, 2016}} Plans for the station and development were released in March 2016. The station renovation would include restoration of the original architecture, relocation of the Orange Line entrances, expanded waiting areas in the main concourse, renovated bathrooms, improved ventilation, and new retail spaces surrounding the concourse. The station work was then scheduled to begin in 2017 pending BRA approval.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/03/29/dramatic-remake-coming-back-bay-crossroads-train-station/gjhUwgfSwlmq863rWxKEjK/story.html |title=Dramatic remake coming to Back Bay Station |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 29, 2016 |first1=Tim |last1=Logan |first2=Jon |last2=Chesto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220141513/http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/03/29/dramatic-remake-coming-back-bay-crossroads-train-station/gjhUwgfSwlmq863rWxKEjK/story.html |archive-date=December 20, 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/3c17ced5-9199-4323-ac54-e5516c681f0a |title=The Back Bay / South End Gateway Project – Project Notification Form |publisher=Boston Redevelopment Authority |author=BP Hancock LLC via Boston Properties Limited Partnership |date=March 29, 2016}} By 2019, construction was planned to begin in 2021.{{Cite news |date=November 20, 2019 |title=Massive air-rights project over Back Bay Station inches ahead |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/11/19/massive-air-rights-project-over-back-bay-station-inches-ahead/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925055107/https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/11/19/massive-air-rights-project-over-back-bay-station-inches-ahead/ |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |newspaper=Boston Herald |language=en-US}} In 2024, BXP indicated that the tower project was on hold.{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/real-estate/2024/11/01/27-story-back-bay-station-tower-on-hold-developer-says/ |title=27-story Back Bay Station tower on hold, developer says |newspaper=Boston Globe |first=Beth |last=Treffeisen |date=November 1, 2024 |access-date=November 3, 2024}}

Plans for wayfinding signage, lighting, and other station improvements for the Orange Line station were completed by May 2021.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-05/2021-05-28-swa-initiatives-accessible.pdf |title=System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—May 2021 |date=May 24, 2021 |first=Laura |last=Brelsford |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility |page=5}} On September 26, 2021, nine people were injured when an escalator at the station malfunctioned.{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/09/27/back-bay-mbta-escalator-injuries |title=9 Hurt After Escalator Malfunctioned And Flattened Into 'A Slide' At Back Bay Station |date=September 27, 2021 |newspaper=WBUR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015113614/https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/09/27/back-bay-mbta-escalator-injuries |archive-date=October 15, 2021}} {{As of|March 2025}}, the MBTA plans to install fare gates for the commuter rail and Amtrak platforms later in 2025.{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/03/06/commuter-rail-fare-gates-south-station-back-bay-mbta |title=MBTA says commuter rail fare gates coming this year to two train hubs |newspaper=WBUR |date=March 6, 2025 |first=Chris |last=Lisinski |access-date=March 6, 2025}}

References

External links

[https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-bbsta Back Bay – MBTA]

Boston Back Bay

Category:Back Bay, Boston

Boston Back Bay

Category:MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Boston

Category:Railway stations located underground in Boston

Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1987

Category:Orange Line (MBTA) stations

Category:South End, Boston

Category:Stations on the Northeast Corridor