page_title: North Station
section_title: New station
hierarchical_section_title: North Station / History / MBTA era / New station
caption_attribution_description: English: MBTA trains at North Station in June 1988
context_page_description: North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines - the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line - and the Amtrak Downeaster intercity service. The concourse is located under the TD Garden arena, with the platforms extending north towards drawbridges over the Charles River. The eponymous subway station, served by the Green Line and Orange Line, is connected to the concourse with an underground passageway.
context_section_description: On January 20, 1984, a fire destroyed the wooden trestles leading to the North Station drawbridges. Temporary terminals were soon established: Haverhill/Reading trains terminated at Oak Grove, Rockport/Ipswich trains at a temporary platform at Sullivan, and Lowell and Gardner trains at a temporary station near Lechmere. On June 28, 1984, the MBTA awarded a $11.3 million contract for construction of replacement trestles plus new tracks and platforms. The rebuilt station opened on April 20, 1985. On March 29, 1989, the MBTA awarded a $13.7 million construction contract to raise the five commuter rail platforms for accessibility. (Until then, a modified forklift was used as a mobile lift.) Groundbreaking was held for the underground garage on June 25, 1990, followed by the platform project on July 12. However, the nearest accessible subway transfer was State station over half a mile away; not until 2001 were the North Station and Haymarket subway stations made accessible. 
  In February 1993, the state reached a deal with a developer for the replacement of the aging Boston Garden. In exchange for the land and easements to construct the FleetCenter, the developer would construct a new train shed and waiting area on the ground floor of the new arena. The MBTA would also be granted easements for a Green Line tunnel under the arena to replace the Causeway Street Elevated, for a combined underground "superstation" for the Green and Orange lines, and for pedestrian access to North Station. The FleetCenter, North Station concourse, and garage opened in 1995.
  In 2001, intercity service returned to North Station with Amtrak's Downeaster to Portland, Maine (later extended to Brunswick), using the Lowell and Haverhill lines to the New Hampshire border. It has become one of the more popular routes in New England. Due in part to this, North Station was the 23rd busiest Amtrak station in the country in fiscal 2018, and the fifth busiest in New England (behind South Station, Providence, New Haven Union and Back Bay).
  In April 2006, the MBTA announced plans for an enlargement of the waiting area at North Station. The project covered over the southern 80 feet (24 m) of the platforms, adding 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²) of waiting and retail space. The $5 million project was completed in February 2007. Two large train information displays, with electronic noises to imitate Solari boards, were added in November 2007.
caption: Trains at North Station in 1988, viewed from the north end of the island platforms
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