(rshsdepot) North Station - Boston, MA

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From yesterday's Boston Globe.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
Expansion to Double Size of North  Station By November

By Mac Daniel, The Boston Globe  
Apr. 26--The MBTA plans to announce today a major expansion of cramped North  
Station, a project expected to more than double the concourse's size and 
bring a  South Station-like atmosphere to the northside rail hub.  
The 20,000-square-foot, multimillion-dollar expansion is to be financed  
entirely by the Delaware North Companies-Boston, owners and operators of the TD  
Banknorth Garden, which sits atop the station. It is to be completed by  
November, T officials said yesterday.  
"It's a great deal for us," said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the 
 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. "We're delivering what the 
customer  wants, as quickly as we can, and finally giving our northside passengers 
the  same welcome to Boston that our southside passengers get."  
North Station serves five commuter rail lines and Amtrak's Downeaster service 
 to New Hampshire and Maine. On a typical weekday, 187 commuter rail trips 
bring  nearly 50,000 passengers in and out of Boston.  
T officials said the expansion, while not making the concourse as spacious as 
 South Station's, should relieve longstanding gripes from passengers about  
crowding at North Station, especially when commuters converge with those  
attending events at the Garden. Grabauskas said a survey of passengers by the  
Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, the consortium that operates commuter rail  
for the T, found that the station's size was the top complaint.  
"It's too small. It's just too small," said passenger Marcel Cote, 41, of  
Lowell. "And at times, it's dangerous. If there's a show here and there are  
mothers with strollers, forget about it."  
T officials said they began talking to officials at the Delaware North  Compa
nies-Boston about six months ago after it became clear that development on  
the original Boston Garden site adjacent to Causeway Street was not going to  
happen. The T had planned to use that site, now a parking lot, to expand North  
Station.  
An official from Delaware North Companies-Boston declined to give a precise  
price tag for the planned expansion, saying that the figure depends on the 
final  design, but said that it would not be more than $10 million.  
With more passengers, North Station has less space and less history than in  
the days it was home to the famous Iron Horse restaurant and pub.  
Now during the winter, passengers said, the station's automatic doors leading 
 to the tracks are constantly tripped open, letting cold air blow into the  
station. There is also little seating, few vendors, and tiny black-and-white  
monitors that list trains.  
The planned changes would significantly enlarge the waiting area and add  
tables, chairs, and benches in a climate-controlled space. Food vendors and  
services would be added, and a large, overhead board would display schedule and  
track information.  
The expansion will extend the concourse atop the existing platforms and  
tracks, which T officials say will still be long enough to accommodate trains.  
The design will also include crowd-control measures to separate Garden  
patrons from outgoing commuters, Grabauskas said. The station will maintain its  
two entrances on the east and west sides. The expansion still does not include a 
 direct connection to the tunnel leading to the Orange and Green subway and  
trolley lines.  
There will be some disruption during construction. North Station will remain  
open during the project, with temporary pedestrian walkways built to guide  
passengers around the work.  
John Wentzell, president of Delaware North Companies-Boston, said yesterday  
that improvements are needed at North Station to make it nicer for Garden fans 
 and concert-goers and also to handle a growing number of nearby residents 
with  the opening of land parcels atop the Big Dig.  
"We are making a very concerted effort in looking at what we are doing after  
10 years of operation," he said. "This is a way for us to improve, both for  
commuters and patrons of the Garden. We very much are focusing on making the  
experience better and this is certainly something we can do."  
Delaware North Companies-Boston will maintain and clean the station, the T  
will get a chance for new advertising revenue, and the two entities plan to  
split revenue from new vendors.  
"With the concessions and advertising, we'll make money," Grabauskas said.  
Passengers waiting in North Station yesterday were excited about the plans,  
with most saying they were long overdue.  
"It's just a logistical nightmare," said Tom Connolly, 45, of Marblehead, an  
English professor at Suffolk University. "South Station is a pleasure. It 
seems  to me that this is a train station appended to a hockey arena."  
He pointed to a nearby McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, where he said customer  
lines often block the hallway. Passengers said they have adapted to the  
uncomfortable confines by arriving minutes before their train leaves to save  them 
from standing and waiting because of the lack of seats.  
Elaine Christensen, 52, of Reading, who goes through North Station to get to  
her Back Bay publishing job, said the conditions were like herding cattle.  
"There's just not enough room in this little station," she said.  
"Any improvement will be great," said Maryann Daidone, 49, of Andover. "If  
there was more room, people would be more happy." 

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1348
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org