Boarding at Boston South Station on a through ticket POR - NYP

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AudenHoggart

Service Attendant
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
218
According to the Amtrak website, if I buy a through ticket from Portland, Maine to New York Penn Station I'll be ticketed from POR to BON, and then from BBY to NYP. I thought you had the option of taking a taxi from BON to BOS and boarding there instead of taking the T from BON to BBY.

Any experiences with this? Will I have a problem at BOS with a ticket that indicates I should be boarding at BBY?
 
Boarding at BOS with a BBY ticket is unlikely to cause a problem as it would in other different station scenarios. The stations are so close together a complete sweep of the train to scan tickets between BOS and BBY is not always completed, often times is done after departing BBY. Also the fares from BOS and BBY are the same so there is no advantage to the passenger for booking BBY vs. BOS. This is a very common scenario. What are you trying to avoid by taking a taxi? Are you trying to avoid BBY station? If so from BON you can take the green line connecting to the red line to BOS, or are you trying to avoid riding the T altogether?
 
I'd rather wait at BOS than at BBY. There are certainly more options for picking up food for the train, etc.

I realize we could take the T from BON to BOS, but it's such a short trip that a taxi wouldn't be very expensive and then no need to lug luggage up and down to the T platforms.
 
There is no problem. You could be ticketed for South Station (BOS), Back Bay (BBY), or even Route 128/Westwood/University Park Station (RTE), and board/detrain at whichever stop works best for you.

If you wanted to get away for cheap you could take the Orange Line to Downtown Crossing to connect to the Red Line, Green Line to Park Street to connect to the Red Line, or even Orange Line to Back Bay and commuter rail (for free).

It's too bad there's no luggage storage at Back Bay, because Copley Mall and Prudential Center are both a very short walk away, and you could get to many nice restaurants in both malls. Depending on what your layover is at South Station, consider handing your luggage to a red cap for storage and walking up to Downtown Crossing, or a local restaurant.
 
A few years ago, a taxi ride from South Station to North Station "set me back" $10.00 plus tip, during non-rush hour.
 
A few years ago, a taxi ride from South Station to North Station "set me back" $10.00 plus tip, during non-rush hour.
That's not far from what it still costs, depending on weather and route taken. UberX is another option. Regular car costs $7.46 right now, 7:50pm on a Sunday. If you want UberPOOL (please, for the sake of your driver's wallet don't do this, or leave then a couple of dollars as a tip), it's currently $3.38.
 
I'd rather wait at BOS than at BBY. There are certainly more options for picking up food for the train, etc.

I realize we could take the T from BON to BOS, but it's such a short trip that a taxi wouldn't be very expensive and then no need to lug luggage up and down to the T platforms.
I don't blame you for wanting to wait at South Station rather than Back Bay. I checked out Back Bay Station last week, and was less than impressed with the ambiance and the hard granite seating provided for waiting passengers. Also, there's no Amtrak ticket agent on duty and there appeared to be no redcaps on duty, either. Your point about availability of food is well taken. Also, because all the trains to the south originate at South Station, you get a better selection of seats if you board there. Also, if you're select plus or are traveling first class/sleeper, there's a Club Acela at South Station.

As far as the T goes, while they seem to have up-escalators at all stations (at least all of the ones that I've used), they don't have down-escalators, which can make hauling luggage a pain. However, elevators at stations seem to be more available than in, say. Chicago (hello, Clinton Blue line!) or New York.
 
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I've made the POR to NYP (and WAS, PHL, etc) trip many, many times.

Amtraks official policy is that any tickets for BOS, BBY, or RTE are interchangeable. Like said above, if time allows, I'll go to South Station. Not only is the station 100 times nicer, it ensures I'll have a good seat for myself and my children. Plus, I'll usually "pick up" a ClubAcela pass, and load up on snacks, drinks, newspapers, etc for the trip. Generally, I'll only use BBY station on the way back, in order to get to North Station quicker.

NOTE: I'd suggest buying your POR-BON, and BOS-NYP tickets seperate.. Its usually cheaper. The saver fares are usually not availibe when you book the POR-NYP trip, but will show up if you book BOS-NYP. Then, when you book POR-BON, you can usually find a code from amtrakdowneaster that will drop the fare substantially. (ie Kids free on sunday). I have a trip coming up on 4/10. Booking seperate dropped the roundtrip from $210 to $120.
 
I don't know the exact number that connect BON to BOS, but my guess is that it's not a huge number for two reasons:

a) I don't think an awful lot of people coming into BON need to reach a destination south of BOS (PVD would be my guess for the most frequent south-of-BOS destination, and I don't think there are many going there on a regular basis).

b) The guaranteed connections between the Downeaster and any of the Northeast Regional or Acela trains are all pretty terrible because of the need to "self transfer".
 
As far as the T goes, while they seem to have up-escalators at all stations (at least all of the ones that I've used), they don't have down-escalators, which can make hauling luggage a pain. However, elevators at stations seem to be more available than in, say. Chicago (hello, Clinton Blue line!) or New York.
Here's a newspaper article suggesting that the T and the CTA have roughly the same percentage of accessible stations. http://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2016/03/20/with-new-government-center-mbta-takes-another-step-toward-accessibility
 
As far as the T goes, while they seem to have up-escalators at all stations (at least all of the ones that I've used), they don't have down-escalators, which can make hauling luggage a pain. However, elevators at stations seem to be more available than in, say. Chicago (hello, Clinton Blue line!) or New York.
Here's a newspaper article suggesting that the T and the CTA have roughly the same percentage of accessible stations. http://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2016/03/20/with-new-government-center-mbta-takes-another-step-toward-accessibility
Whattaya know! I took a look at the Chicago "L" map, and found that the Blue Line Clinton Station *is* accessible, which means they must have an elevator. The question is, where's the street elevator located in relation to Union Station. However the Quincy Station, the other L stop of interest to those wanting to make connections to/from Union Station, is still non-accessible, thus requiring a walk up to Washington St.
 
Whattaya know! I took a look at the Chicago "L" map, and found that the Blue Line Clinton Station *is* accessible, which means they must have an elevator. The question is, where's the street elevator located in relation to Union Station. However the Quincy Station, the other L stop of interest to those wanting to make connections to/from Union Station, is still non-accessible, thus requiring a walk up to Washington St.
You were right the first time: Clinton Blue subway is not accessible. Clinton Green/Pink "L", a few blocks to the north, is accessible.

And while Quincy isn't accessible now, it will be made accessible. http://www.transitchicago.com/news/default.aspx?Archive=y&ArticleId=3552 Since Quincy is the Loop station CTA preserves in historic condition, it'll be interesting to see what pseudo-Victorian design they've picked for the elevators. :) [Clicks through to http://www.transitchicago.com/quincy/ ] Ok, unless those elevator towers will be wrapped in brass with a lot of Victorian frou-frou not visible in the sketch, they're not even trying. :p
 
Back Bay (bby) is essentially T stop with Amtrak, no amenities, few places to sit, eat or relax during your layover. BOS is much nicer with food court, etc. Plus it's first stop so you get a better choice of seat. It also has Red Caps if you need them. Definitely worth the cab/Uber fare from BON.
 
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