Back Bay station

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Back Bay Station (also signed as Back Bay – South End) is an easy-to-reach rail hub in Boston, just south of Copley Square in the Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. It serves MBTA Commuter Rail and the Orange Line, and acts as a secondary stop for Amtrak trains.

What it is now
The current Back Bay Station opened in 1987 as part of the Orange Line’s Southwest Corridor project. It replaced older Back Bay facilities from 1899 and earlier. The building is fully accessible, with long, high-level platforms and elevators to street level.

What trains stop here
- Amtrak: Acela to Washington, D.C.; Northeast Regional to the Mid-Atlantic and beyond; Lake Shore Limited to Chicago.
- MBTA Commuter Rail: Providence/Stoughton, Needham, Franklin/Foxboro, and Framingham/Worcester lines.
- MBTA Orange Line subway and local MBTA buses also stop here.

Layout and access
Back Bay sits between Dartmouth and Clarendon streets, with exits to Dartmouth Street, Clarendon Street, and Columbus Avenue. The Dartmouth Street Underpass connects to the Copley Place mall. The station uses several tracks and platforms for Amtrak, the Worcester/Framingham line, and the Orange Line.

Public art and notable features
The waiting area includes a statue honoring A. Philip Randolph. The station is connected to local shopping and development in the area, and it has a mix of transit and retail spaces around the concourse.

Air quality and improvements
Enclosed tracks at Back Bay have long caused air-quality concerns due to diesel exhaust. The MBTA and partners have funded ventilation and related improvements since the 2010s. Amtrak briefly removed staff in 2014 and again in 2016; the station remains unstaffed, with ongoing ventilation work and plans for further upgrades.

Renovation plans and management
A private development plan with Boston Properties aims to renovate the station, relocate Orange Line entrances, expand the concourse, improve bathrooms and ventilation, and add retail space. The project has evolved over the years, with construction hoped for 2025–2027 and fare gates planned for 2026. There was a 2021 escalator accident that injured nine people. Back Bay remains one of the busiest MBTA and Amtrak stations in the region.