Boston’s South Station: The ultimate guide

Boston’s South Station is both New England’s busiest train hub and the region’s busiest bus terminal.

There are about 75,000 boardings and alightings daily in the portion of the station that is part of the T, including commuter rail, and the Amtrak portion services some 1.5 million boardings and alightings annually. Moreover, an estimated 1 million passengers arrive and depart from its bus terminal yearly.

How to navigate it all? Here’s how.

Getting there and away from there

Forget cabs, your car, Uber, etc.—the best way to get to and from South Station is via the T, full stop. The station is a point on both the Red Line and the Silver Line, both of which are much cheaper than a taxi or a ride-hail fare.

The Silver Line from Logan Airport, in fact, is free and ends at South Station, where riders can pick up the Red Line or hit downtown Boston just outside the station.

South Station: The basics

• Its address is 700 Atlantic Avenue.
• It is officially known as the Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, after the former governor, presidential nominee, academic, and longtime public transit advocate. But everyone calls it South Station and that’s what all the main signs say.
• Three train services operate out of South Station: Amtrak, MBTA commuter rail, and the T’s Red Line (the Silver Line is actually a bus that runs along a partially dedicated route).
• There are seven train platforms and 13 tracks.
• Seven bus services operate out of South Station’s bus terminal, which is next to the train terminal, including Greyhound, Megabus, and Bolt Bus.
• There are 26 bus bays.
• The train and bus terminals are both open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to midnight.

Use the MBTA’s trip planner to figure out the quickest way to the Red Line or the Silver Line, if not already along it, and then to South Station.

If you have to drive, there are at least six parking garages nearby with daily rates running from $25 to $30. The taxi stand is located on Atlantic Avenue between the bus and train terminals. Uber and Lyft also pick up from South Station, usually outside on Atlantic.

There are National and Alamo rental car offices on Atlantic Avenue—though none in South Station itself—and Zipcar locations nearby.

Also, there is a Hubway bike-sharing dock just outside of the train terminal on Atlantic Avenue. It hosts around 40 bikes, though the number available at any one time might vary. Check the South Station point on this real-time map for availability.

Finally, if you’re coming from somewhere in downtown Boston, including Downtown Crossing, the Government Center area, or the Financial District, walking is also a very good—and very cheap—option.

Staying nearby

There are several hotels around South Station and, true to form in Boston, none of them are really cheap. Here are some of the closest:

InterContinental Boston: The luxury hotel is on Fort Point Channel and next to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, too. It’s the closest major hotel in walking distance to South Station.

Hyatt Regency Boston: This brand-name chain hotel is about equidistant between Boston Common and South Station.

Residence Inn Boston Downtown/Seaport: Extended stays are possible at this hotel just over Fort Point Channel from South Station and a little ways into the Seaport.

HI Boston Hostel: This one is exactly what its name implies—a hostel about a half-mile from South Station. Beware: It’s not necessarily cheap, at least by hostel standards. Stays can run to nearly $200 a night.

Quick hacks

• While there are plenty of food and drink options within South Station, there is also a vibrant cluster of food trucks just outside of the front of the station in Dewey Square, especially during the warmer months.
• The main information booth at South Station can be found just to the left as riders exit the escalator from the Red Line.
• The lost and found for the station is in the hallway to the left of Barbara's Bookstore. The phone number is 617.772.4958.
• South Station has free WiFi, but it can be spotty at times. Best bet is probably a smartphone hotspot.
• Service animals are permitted in South Station at all times.
• An elevator is located down the corridor from the main information booth. It’s perfect for getting to the Red Line platform for those with physical challenges as well as those with baby strollers.
• Commuter rail and Amtrak platforms are fully handicap accessible, and the bus terminal can be reached from the Track 1 platform.
• The Silver Line to Logan Airport is called SL1 and has a little airplane icon on the front. The Silver Line to the Seaport is called SL2. To get to either in South Station, follow the little airplane icon on signs in the station.
• Meanwhile, SL3 will take you to East Boston and to downtown Chelsea. And SL4 goes to Roxbury’s Dudley Station.
• The Amtrak lounge, with its complimentary coffee and newspapers, is just past the information booth on the left. It is open only to business class Acela ticketholders. It’s open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Amtrak permits pets on single trips up to seven hours so long as the cat or dog and its carrier do not exceed 20 pounds total. More pet-traveling details here.
• Greyhound and other bus services generally do not permit pets. Service animals are the exception (as they are on Amtrak, too).

Where to eat, drink, and shop

There are 20 eateries in South Station, including fast-casual dining such as Au Bon Pain and McDonald’s; a Tavern in the Square pub; and coffee vendors such as Starbucks and Dunkin (McDonald’s and Au Bon Pain also serve coffee).

Most of these eateries are located in the train terminal.

There are six retailers at South Station, including a CVS upstairs at the train terminal for all sorts of hygiene and snack needs. Further, there are three ATMs that take pretty much any card (though fees might apply if a user is not with Bank of America, Santander, or Citizens Bank).

The backstory

South Station was born in 1899 out of a need to combine the terminals of various railroads.

The original station saw its passenger numbers rise and fall over the subsequent decades, with an early 20th-century peak during World War II of 125,000 riders daily.

In the early 1970s, the station—which had already survived a partial demolition to build a postal annex and other buildings—survived calls for a total redo that would have seen a new train station, a bus station, a commercial complex, and a parking garage.

As it was, the National Register of Historic Places added the Classical Revival structure to its registry in February 1975.

The MBTA, the station’s owner, undertook a major renovation in the 1980s, which included installing direct interior access to the Red Line and expanding the number of tracks.

The bus terminal, which has direct assess to I-90 and I-93, opened in 1995.

The Silver Line started rolling out to and from South Station in the mid-2000s, largely as a byproduct of the Big Dig.

The future of South Station

The state earlier this decade embarked on a major expansion of the station’s capacity. That expansion is slated to include seven more tracks as well as the relocation of a neighboring postal annex.

The expansion is still in the planning stages.

While the actual nuts and bolts of the transit hub await major changes, the air above it could see the construction of one of the tallest towers in New England. Houston-based developer Hines wants to build a 51-story office and condo building (it’s rendered above). The project would involve a 50 percent expansion of the station’s bus capacity, too.

The project remains in limbo, though, because of a dispute between the state and the city. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, in mid-2017, Ashkenazy Acquisition, a New York concern that operates the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, bought a 98-year lease for South Station’s concourse and office space for $125 million.