Boston North Station

[jis]

I experienced Boston North Station for the first time after the completion of the full passenger concourse. It certainly is a much more attractive environment now than before the construction was completed.

Unfortunately the signage leaves much to be desired. They have these huge track number signs above each door. However, half of them are now carefully hidden behind the even huger train departure boards hung right in front of them.

As a passenger arriving from out of town, try figuring out how to get either to a Taxi or even to the MBTA's own Green and Orange Line! Frankly I was unable to find any sign to a Taxi or a Taxi stand or a Taxi for that matter.

There is a sign on the wall pointing left to Green and Orange Line. You follow the sign and you exit a door onto a driveway with lots of concrete Jersey Dividers on it and just a Police Car sitting there and no further signage. You look straight, left and right, and Oh there appears to be something there that looks like an entrance to something! So you walk over and find a sign which says "North Station, All Trains"! Really? I just thought I came from all the trains? Ah no. These are the other kind of trains.... Once you get there then the relatively good signage in the T station takes over and things work fine.

But who came up with this fine idea of not providing an entrance directly from the station concourse to the T? Or did I miss one that exists because there is no obviously visible sign pointing to it?

On the other hand you have plethora of signs pointing you to the sports facility (TD Garden) sitting above. Someone needs to get their design priorities straight IMHO. Both the Commuter and Underground facility are operated by MBTA, but possibly different arms of it that don't apparently communicate too well with each other when it comes to making things convenient for users at North Station.

All just IMHO of course.

 

[the_traveler]

I have not been there since the remodel, but I agree with you the MBTA stationNorth station directions are very confusing for anyone from out of town. I once came up the wrong escalator from the Orange Line, and came out the door on the opposite side of the T stop. So I asked

How do I get to North Station?

The reply

You're at North Station! (The T stop)

Even if I used the right exit, it's not real obvious that you have to go outside then walk a ways before going into another building to get to North Station!

 

[jimhudson]

You are correct sir! This is a problem in most Rail Stations but I think there is a thread somewhere about new signage @ Amtrak Stations and with all the remodels and rehabs going on ( ie Denver/ Seattle etc) This is an excellent time for Amtrak, in conjunction with other operators and station owners/ managers to come up with a co-ordinated, standardized plan to fix this problem!

Chicago Union Station and NYP are really in need of this along with Boston North!

 

[jis]

The thing about Chicago and New York Penn Station is that at least they are complicated places requiring multitude of signs in many places. In contrast, there is no complications involved in North Station in Boston. It is a single concourse with two exit doors placed mysteriously in places that seems to immediately go to nowhere. you have to turn right or left to go anywhere from them and there is nary a sign which advises of of that too obviously. It seems to be a far more incompetent execution than either New York Penn Station or Chicago given the utter simplicity of it and the consequent need for only a few well paced signs.

 

[AG1]

jis, I agree with the lack of signage. It would be nice if a orange/green line was painted(or bricked) into the floor in BON and on the sidewalk between the stations which is probably 75 feet or so. Boston for example has the "Freedom Trail" bricked into the sidewalks for the tourists too follow to historic sites.

 

[afigg]

jis, I agree with the lack of signage. It would be nice if a orange/green line was painted(or bricked) into the floor in BON and on the sidewalk between the stations which is probably 75 feet or so. Boston for example has the "Freedom Trail" bricked into the sidewalks for the tourists to follow to historic sites.

The green/orange wide line on the walkway idea makes too much sense for the MBTA to implement. I was going through BON a few years ago and had the same problem of getting a little lost making my way from the Orange Line to the main station. I ended up following the crowd of people figuring some of them knew where they were going.

 

[Eric S]

My understanding is that when TD Garden was built, the lot in front of it along Causeway Street was expected to be developed shortly thereafter and that development was to include a direct/indoor connection between the commuter rail North Station and the subway North Station. Obviously that development has yet to occur. However, plans are in the works for development there but it was sort of hard to tell just how this will affect the commuter rail-subway connection.

EDIT: None of that should be taken as an attempt to excuse the poor or nonexistent signage. I do seem to recall that the signage in the other direction, connecting from the subway to commuter rail/Amtrak, is better.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

I had harder time finding Millenium Station in Chicago ( Metra Electric and South Shore Line terminus) than North Station in Boston.

Could be worse