# Self transfer BON to BBY & Reverse



## Lizzibabe (Sep 2, 2008)

Good morning. I wasn't able to find the answer in the First Time Rider Info, nor did the Search Feature help me.

I'm traveling to NH, and my itinerary states I must self transfer between the Boston Back Bay Station (BBY) and the Boston North Station (BON). I was figuring on paying $9 for a taxi between the two stations. Is there a better or cheaper way, like an Amtrak shuttle or something? I'm a little nervous to take the Boston T because I really only have 45 minutes between trains. Thanks for your help.


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## PRR 60 (Sep 2, 2008)

Amtrak does not have a shuttle bus between the stations.

If you are not comfortable with the "T" or have luggage, a cab is the way to go. It eliminates any uncertainty.


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## the_traveler (Sep 2, 2008)

I you do not have a lot of baggage, the Orange line (IIRC) of the "T" runs right from Back Bay (BBY) to North Station (BON). If you have much luggage, or are not comfortable with the "T", you may want to continue to South Station (BOS) and get a cab from there to BON. (It's closer, and the fare is the same. The only thing is the "T" has a connection to be made from BOS, where is is a direct line from BBY.)


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## Joel N. Weber II (Sep 2, 2008)

Lizzibabe said:


> I'm a little nervous to take the Boston T because I really only have 45 minutes between trains.


That ought to be plenty of time if you arrive in Boston on time. I would expect that 20-30 minutes ought to be enough time to get from one Amtrak platform to the other, including one to three minutes to deal with the fare vending machine, the time spent waiting for the Orange Line train, and the time spent riding the Orange Line train, and the time spent walking between the platforms Amtrak uses and the Orange Line platforms.

At the fare vending machine, you can either buy a CharlieTicket (which the fare vending machines will give you if you simply insert cash or a credit card after choosing the right options on the touch screen) or get a free CharlieCard from an MBTA employee before using the vending machine to save $.30 each way

I wouldn't really expect the T to be any slower than a cab. Boston traffic is rather congested at many hours of the day.

I suspect a large part of the reason there isn't any Amtrak shuttle is that a dedicated bus probably wouldn't be any better than the Orange Line. (And connecting the tracks so that Amtrak could run through is a multi-billion dollar project that doesn't yet seem to have enough support.)


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## Joel N. Weber II (Sep 2, 2008)

PRR 60 said:


> If you are not comfortable with the "T" or have luggage, a cab is the way to go. It eliminates any uncertainty.


I sort of suspect that there's more uncertainty with the speed of Boston traffic than there is with the reliability of the Orange Line, but since I tend to avoid driving in downtown Boston as much as possible (precisely because the few times I've been foolish enough to try it, it's been way less efficient than I expected), I don't have any real data on this. Is there anyone who has taken a cab between BON and BOS or BBY a dozen times in the last year who could comment on this?


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## amamba (Sep 2, 2008)

Joel N. Weber II said:


> PRR 60 said:
> 
> 
> > If you are not comfortable with the "T" or have luggage, a cab is the way to go. It eliminates any uncertainty.
> ...


To the OP: what time of day is your transfer? This greatly informs my response. I often drive around town in the middle of the day, and I will just say that downtown traffic is very unpredictable. It is completely likely that 45 minutes would NOT be enough time in a cab. It is, however, also completely likely that 45 minutes will not be enough time to take the Orange Line. The orange line is pretty slow on the weekends - I have definitely missed my MBTA commuter rail train out of BON on weekends because I sat at Downtown crossing waiting 30+ minutes for the orange lin.

However, I would lean towards the Orange Line in this case, but some details about day of week and time of day would help guide me.

If I was going to take a cab, I would probably lean toward disembarking at BOS because there are always plenty of cabs there and it is a straight shot down the surface road to north station which generally moves pretty quickly. If taking the Orange Line, I recommend disembarking at BBY because you can take the orange line straight to BON. If you get off at BOS you have to take the red and then transfer at downtown crossing to the orange or transfer at park to the green line (NOT recommended).


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## Lizzibabe (Sep 2, 2008)

amamba said:


> To the OP: what time of day is your transfer? This greatly informs my response. I often drive around town in the middle of the day, and I will just say that downtown traffic is very unpredictable. It is completely likely that 45 minutes would NOT be enough time in a cab. It is, however, also completely likely that 45 minutes will not be enough time to take the Orange Line. The orange line is pretty slow on the weekends - I have definitely missed my MBTA commuter rail train out of BON on weekends because I sat at Downtown crossing waiting 30+ minutes for the orange lin.
> However, I would lean towards the Orange Line in this case, but some details about day of week and time of day would help guide me.
> 
> If I was going to take a cab, I would probably lean toward disembarking at BOS because there are always plenty of cabs there and it is a straight shot down the surface road to north station which generally moves pretty quickly. If taking the Orange Line, I recommend disembarking at BBY because you can take the orange line straight to BON. If you get off at BOS you have to take the red and then transfer at downtown crossing to the orange or transfer at park to the green line (NOT recommended).



I'm arriving at Back Bay station at 8pm on Thursday. In looking over my itinerary more closely, I believe I'll have more time before the train leaves Boston North Station than I thought:

Service: 176 Northeast Regional

Duration: 7h 55m

<Departs>

Washington - Union Station, DC (WAS)

12:05 pm

<Arrives>

Boston - Back Bay, MA (BBY)

8:00 pm

<Seat(s)/Room(s)>

1 Reserved Coach Seat

Amenities: Snack car

------------------------------------------------------------

Service: 2689 Self Transfer

Duration: 0h 10m

<Departs>

Boston - Back Bay, MA (BBY)

10:00 pm

<Arrives>

Boston - North Station Maine Service, MA (BON)

10:10 pm

<Seat(s)/Room(s)>

1 Unreserved Coach Seat

Amenities: ------------------------------------------------------------

Service: 689 Downeaster

Duration: 1h 28m

<Departs>

Boston - North Station Maine Service, MA (BON)

11:20 pm

<Arrives>

Dover, NH (DOV)

12:48 am

<Seat(s)/Room(s)>

1 Reserved Coach Seat

Amenities: Snack car"

And reverse:

Service: 680 Downeaster

Duration: 1h 33m

<Departs>

Dover, NH (DOV)

6:52 am

<Arrives>

Boston - North Station Maine Service, MA (BON)

8:25 am

<Seat(s)/Room(s)>

1 Reserved Coach Seat

Amenities: Snack car

------------------------------------------------------------

Service: 2680 Self Transfer

Duration: 0h 9m

<Departs>

Boston - North Station Maine Service, MA (BON)

9:02 am

<Arrives>

Boston - Back Bay, MA (BBY)

9:11 am

<Seat(s)/Room(s)>

1 Unreserved Coach Seat

Amenities: ------------------------------------------------------------

Service: 93 Northeast Regional

Duration: 7h 45m

<Departs>

Boston - Back Bay, MA (BBY)

9:40 am

<Arrives>

Washington - Union Station, DC (WAS)

5:25 pm

<Seat(s)/Room(s)>

1 Reserved Coach Seat

Amenities: Snack car


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## Lizzibabe (Sep 2, 2008)

Oh, and I'm traveling on a Thursday and returning on Monday


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## amamba (Sep 2, 2008)

If I'm reading that correctly, you actually have in the window of three hours to get to BON from BBY on the way there, and then about 1.5 hours on the way home. I think both times you will be fine with the orange line. It costs $1.70 each way on a charlie card, which you probably won't have, or $2 each way on a charlie ticket which you can buy from the machines. Be sure to have cash AND a credit card. Sometimes all of the charlie ticket machines are broken and will only take cash, but sometimes they are broken and will only take credit cards. Impossible to guess which one it will be 

If you do want to take a cab, go out to the Dartmouth Street entrance of BBY station and tell them you are going to North Station. I'm not sure how much it will cost - but please be aware that Boston cabs are now the most expensive in the country, starting this week after the BPD (which oversees the hackney division) agreed to fare hike. In return, all cabs will have to go hybrid by 2012, cabbies can no longer talk on cell phones, and supposedly all cabs will have credit card readers. I'll believe that when I see it.


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## Joel N. Weber II (Sep 2, 2008)

amamba said:


> If I'm reading that correctly, you actually have in the window of three hours to get to BON from BBY on the way there, and then about 1.5 hours on the way home. I think both times you will be fine with the orange line. It costs $1.70 each way on a charlie card, which you probably won't have, or $2 each way on a charlie ticket which you can buy from the machines. Be sure to have cash AND a credit card. Sometimes all of the charlie ticket machines are broken and will only take cash, but sometimes they are broken and will only take credit cards. Impossible to guess which one it will be


I have never had trouble buying my monthly passes with cash from the vending machines, except for the time the machine wouldn't give me a reciept, apparently because someone changed the timeout on the question about whether I wanted one from 10 seconds to 3 seconds one month, and the machine is busy dispensing change at the same time it's asking you that question and I probably figured I should go ahead and collect that change. But that's probably something like 30 out of 30 times when the machines have successfully taken my cash and convinced a CharlieCard to be my monthly pass.

There should be an MBTA employee easily findable who can help with the vending machines who can probably give you a free CharlieCard if you ask. By ``should'', I mean that the MBTA management claims that their employees should be easily findable, not that I would count on there being a 100% chance that you'll find someone.


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## sue (May 22, 2012)

** * * * * * * * * * * NOTE - Four Year Old Topic * * * * * * * * * * * **

Hi,

I am arriving at Back Bay station at 8 am on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, and depart for North Station at 8:50 am. I will be fairly baggage free, and was planning on taking the Orange Line. However, I am concerned by the earlier post stating that weekend Orange Line trains are unreliable. Will there be enough time for the Orange Line? Or should I cab?


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## the_traveler (May 22, 2012)

Get off at BacK Bay (BBY) one stop (5 minutes before South Station) to get to North Station (BON).

I just did the Orange Line Shuffle from BBY to BON last Thursday. the actual ride on the "T" (subway) takes 12 minutes. From the platform at BBY, go up the steps and turn right and walk 100 feet or so. There is the Orange line! This is all in the station! Ride the train on the right side of the platform for IIRC 6 stops to North Station. Exit from the "Causeway Street" exit. North Station (the station) is a few feet away with some outside walking. (It may also say "Commuter Rail" or "TD North Garden" (where the Bruins and Celtics play). Although you will see steps when you open the door, there is a handicapped ramp on the right side just before the stairs.

I don't offhand know the headway between trains on the weekend, but 1 hour should be plenty of time.


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## amamba (May 22, 2012)

The time between trains is supposed to be between 10-13 minutes on the weekend, but in practice I have waited 20 min+ for an orange line train. YMMV. Personally I would not risk the 45 minute connection on an early morning weekend and would cab it, but I am very anxious about missing trains.


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## the_traveler (May 22, 2012)

What does she know!




I like to live dangerously!





In fact, I also did the Orange/Red Line shuffle between BON and BOS, and got there while my train was boarding!



I only went to BOS because my traveling partner was departing on #449 and spending time in the CA, and I wanted to "show him the ropes"! I could have boarded at BBY, but Jim may have been still there - like "Charlie" lost forever!


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