The Expansion of Boston South Station
Public Private Partnership Commission
July 15, 2013
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South Station Area - Today
Financial
District
Chinatown
Leather
District
South
Station
Bus
Terminal
I-90
Ramps
USPS
Facility
CA/T
Vent
Fort Point
Channel
Fort Point
Neighborhood
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Project Purpose & Goals - Why?
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A rare chance to remove a major corridor chokepoint and
unlock greater growth for both intercity and commuter rail.
• More daily trains between Boston, New York, and DC –
more business and recreational trips, more regional
connectivity and growth.
• Opportunities for more and new MBTA Commuter Rail
service – opening the economic potential of new regions.
• New sites for much-needed midday vehicle layover.
• Opportunities for new development in downtown Boston,
with construction and permanent jobs.
To address a long-standing transportation deficit:
inadequate capacity for projected passenger rail growth.
Project Tasks - What?
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Planning, environmental review, and preliminary
engineering in order to create a larger, more efficient, and
more modern South Station:
• Purchase of existing US Postal Service facility (adjacent)
• New station platforms, tracks, waiting areas, streetscape,
interlockings, station systems
• Improved connectivity within and around the station and
between the station and its surrounding neighborhoods
• New off-peak train storage
• New Dorchester Avenue for waterfront and station access
• Opportunity for joint development around and over
expanded station
South Station - History
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Station opened to the public in 1899.
Built with 28 tracks (now has 13).
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At one time, twice as busy as Grand Central.
Co-located with USPS (Dorchester Ave.) in the 1930s.
Avoided demolition and was sold to the MBTA in 1978.
Extensive renovations completed with federal funds in the
1980s. Bus terminal built by MBTA in the 1990s.
Award-winning City/neighborhood planning for Boston
Harbor and Fort Point Channel in 1980s, 1990s, and beyond.
Agreement for multiuse air-rights project over station/tracks
signed by MBTA/BRA/Hines Corp. in 2007 (un-built).
South Station - Today
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Over 20 million rail annual passengers - Second only to Logan
Airport in New England in passenger volumes
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Limited track capacity creates a chokepoint
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Idle trains stored at station platforms during the midday
Constraint on the expansion or addition of service
Concourse configuration works poorly, forces passenger
queues to overlap, limited protection from weather
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Track/platform congestion leads decreased reliability and delays
Inability to improve service or add new service
Insufficient vehicle layover space creates inefficiencies
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40 daily Amtrak NEC trains and 296 daily MBTA commuter trains
MBTA rapid transit and bus connections, intercity bus terminal
Limited options for emergency egress
Future Vision
New Tracks and Platforms
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Project Concept
A vibrant neighborhood, anchored by a multimodal
transportation facility that harmonizes old and new.
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Future Vision
New Passenger Spaces and Improved Circulation
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Future Vision
A Reclaimed Waterfront
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Joint Development
Benefits
• Potential to expand South Station not just as a transportation
facility but also as a civic center, with a range of communitysupporting uses (retail, restaurants, housing, hotel, etc.)
• Models: DC Union Station, St. Pancras Station
• Potential for private funds to supplement public funding of
station expansion
Challenges
• Zoning and other land use restrictions, including FAA height
limit and waterfront building limits
• Construction staging and timing
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‘Minimum’ Development
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‘Maximum’ Development
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Project Challenges
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Property acquisition - U.S. Postal Service
• Need to successfully negotiate purchase
Stakeholder coordination
• Federal, state, local agencies
• Elected officials
• Interest/advocacy groups
Engineering/architecture to re-imagine the station
• Fire/Life Safety and emergency egress
Potential for future private development
Construction funding
• State? Federal? Private?
Contact Information
Katherine S. Fichter
Project Manager
South Station Expansion Project
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Office of Transportation Planning
857-368-8852
katherine.fichter@state.ma.us
massdot.state.ma/southstationexpansion
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