New England - Logan via Silver line

Took a train from Providence to South Station for a connection to Logan

what a total POS! the silver line is in reality a bus with no luggage storage capabilities commenserate with the destination. It is an articulated bus that has nothing but seats. The aisles are crammed with luggage that has to be moved everytime someone wants to get on or off - as the bus is also the inter-terminal bus to get back to South Station

who thought of this brainy idea and will be changed to a better bus or a train line?

The other option is the red line, to the orange line, to the blue line subway, but it's a bit of a pain to get between the airport subway station and the terminals (you have to take a free shuttle bus between the terminals and the subway station). At least with the silver line, you get from South Station to your terminal (or vice versa) on one vehicle, vs. four if you go the subway route.

Another option is a taxi. It's more convenient, though obviously far more expensive. Like all airport transportation, it's largely a matter of cost versus convenience. OTOH, the Silver Line does have a dedicated bus-way for a portion of the trip so it's less susceptible to traffic jams.

IME, the Silver Line is acceptable, and I don't recall having any issues with luggage. But YMMV. I can see that it would be somewhat of a hassle were it packed full and/or if you had large suitcases.

it was a late afternoon arrival at BOS for an early evening flight. everyone had large suitcases

they need a bus with limited seats and plenty of space for luggage. the inter terminal part was the worst because you had to move to aloow people to get off and on

I actually think the Silver line is great, and a very clever way of providing additional service to Logan. Building an additional train line would cost $$$ and it would be very difficult to connect it to the all terminals since they are separated. The silver line runs frequently, stops right outside every terminal, and only gets caught an occasional traffic thanks to the dedicated bus tunnel.

As far as the luggage issue, 90% of the time the buses used do have 3 different large luggage racks spaced throughout the bus which provide more then enough capacity to hold everyones suitcases. I agree with you it is a huge pain when the bus does not a have a luggage rack, but my guess is they only do this when a bus goes out of service, or they need to switch buses around for some reason. It was probably one of those "wait 10 minutes for another bus, or deal w/ cramming on the luggage" type deals.

I would suggest you give it another try sometime. The other option is to cough up $20+ for a cab (thanks to the absurd tunnel tolls).

Any type of airport transportation with the exception of a taxi would be very packed at that time of the day. As someone else stated, you may want to give it another try when you have an opportunity to travel at a different time. From my town the train goes straight to South Station and it is a short walk and trip to the airport via the Silver Line. Before then I would have had to walk to the Blue Line, travel to the airport and climb multiple stairs. The Silver Line may not be perfect, but it is better than what we had before. For future reference, there is a boat that you can take to get from the harbor to the airport if you want to try that.

I take the Silver Line to and from Logan all the time. It works great. But it's public transportation, and like virtually all modes of public transportation, sometimes it gets crowded. Deal with it or take a taxi.

I take the Silver Line to and from Logan all the time. It works great. But it's public transportation, and like virtually all modes of public transportation, sometimes it gets crowded. Deal with it or take a taxi.

true it is public transportation. But its mission is to get and people AND their luggage to Logan easily.

luckily this was a one off trip for me - dont have to worry about this again

true it is public transportation. But its mission is to get and people AND their luggage to Logan easily.

luckily this was a one off trip for me - dont have to worry about this againIt serves it's mission, as you've stated it, quite well.

I take public transportation to and from airports all over the world. Sometimes it's crowded, sometimes it's not. Shockingly, sometimes the same bus or train can be empty one time, and crowded another. Go figure.

It's kinda ridiculous, IMHO, for you to write it off based on a single experience.

I like the silver line. Yes, for people with a lot of luggage (more than two pieces per person) it isn't the most comfortable way. For everyone else it is the cheapest way to get from South Station to the Airport.

Took a train from Providence to South Station for a connection to Logan



Like many locals, I took the Silver Line once -- and only once. The subway is much faster.

From Providence, you should have gotten off the train one stop earlier, at Back Bay, then switched to the Orange Line subway, connected to the Blue Line subway, and taken that right to the airport station, where you can catch the normal shuttle bus that goes from terminal to terminal.

(I know it sounds like a lot of transferring, but it goes pretty smoothly.)

From Back Bay, the trip to the terminal takes maybe 20--25 minutes, unless there's a problem.

However, you would have your luggage on a normal subway car, which can be crowded at rush hour.

Like many locals, I took the Silver Line once -- and only once. The subway is much faster.Which is faster entirely depends on where you are. If you're at or close to South Station or close to another Silver Line stop, and from most other Red Line stations, it makes no sense to take the subway. If you have decent access to the Blue Line, on the other hand, the subway almost always makes sense. When I worked in the financial district, and was equidistant to the Silver Line (Court House station) and the Blue Line (Aquarium station), I always opted for the Silver Line to avoid having to tranfer to the MassPort bus; I can't guarantee that my route was faster, but it certainly was more convenient and relaxing. From my home near Central Square, Cambridge, I always take the Red Line to the Silver Line, since the alternative would be the Red Line to the Green Line to the Blue Line to the MassPort bus.

I take the Silver Line to and from Logan all the time. It works great. But it's public transportation, and like virtually all modes of public transportation, sometimes it gets crowded. Deal with it or take a taxi.

+1. I think the whole bus thing as a "subway" is ridiculous but it is public transportation. Other option (which would take longer, again public transport) is to take the red line from south station, switch to the orange line at downtown crossing, switch to blue line at state street, then get off at the airport station and take the massport bus to the terminals.

There is also an Prov - Logan bus that takes you right to the terminal for about $20.

I find the Blue Line to be much faster to get to the airport than the Silver Line; there's a Silver Line stop a block from my office and a Blue Line station 3 blocks, and I always walk to the Blue (except for one time when I tried the Silver Line).

I am not a person who likes to wait around, so I will admit that I don't get to the airport way early; I print out my boarding pass and start heading to the airport from downtown with an hour to go, so an excruciatingly slow Silver Line is not for me. Even on my way home, I'm usually trying to connect with a train to Rhode Island, so I'd rather get from the airport to the train station as efficiently as possible.

But, to each their own. The Silver Line certainly cost a fortune to build, so I'm glad some folks like using it.

Which is faster entirely depends on where you are. If you're at or close to South Station or close to another Silver Line stop, and from most other Red Line stations, it makes no sense to take the subway. If you have decent access to the Blue Line, on the other hand, the subway almost always makes sense. When I worked in the financial district, and was equidistant to the Silver Line (Court House station) and the Blue Line (Aquarium station), I always opted for the Silver Line to avoid having to tranfer to the MassPort bus; I can't guarantee that my route was faster, but it certainly was more convenient and relaxing. From my home near Central Square, Cambridge, I always take the Red Line to the Silver Line, since the alternative would be the Red Line to the Green Line to the Blue Line to the MassPort bus.

I find the Blue Line to be much faster to get to the airport than the Silver Line; there's a Silver Line stop a block from my office and a Blue Line station 3 blocks, and I always walk to the Blue (except for one time when I tried the Silver Line).

I am not a person who likes to wait around, so I will admit that I don't get to the airport way early; I print out my boarding pass and start heading to the airport from downtown with an hour to go, so an excruciatingly slow Silver Line is not for me. Even on my way home, I'm usually trying to connect with a train to Rhode Island, so I'd rather get from the airport to the train station as efficiently as possible.

But, to each their own. The Silver Line certainly cost a fortune to build, so I'm glad some folks like using it.It's not apporpriate (IMHO) to draw broad conclusions based on a single experience. I have taken both the Blue Line and the Silver Line dozens of times and can assure you that, depending on your origin and destination, there are many times when the Silver Line makes more sense than the Blue Line. My office used to be one block from the Silver Line and three from the Blue Line, and I always opted for the Silver Line on the way to the airport, and whichever bus came first (the Silver Line or the shuttle to the Blue Line) on the return. Neither route was noticably better than the other. On the outbound, I chose the Silver Line because of the convenience of its single seat ride to the terminal.

Took a train from Providence to South Station for a connection to Logan

what a total POS! the silver line is in reality a bus with no luggage storage capabilities commenserate with the destination. It is an articulated bus that has nothing but seats. The aisles are crammed with luggage that has to be moved everytime someone wants to get on or off - as the bus is also the inter-terminal bus to get back to South Station

who thought of this brainy idea and will be changed to a better bus or a train line?

You got unlucky. I've never been on a Silver line airport bus that lacked ample luggage space, though yours is the second report I've read on this forum this past.. maybe a month.. that featured this complaint.

The subway, with its multuple connections, many exposed to the elements whether covered or not (winter cometh) never has luggage space. Were I moving from commuter rail/amtrak to logan I would always take the silver line from South station, unless I had many kids/tons of luggage, where I'd spring for a cab. Since I travel with neither, it's silver every time for me.

So a couple of participants in this thread have complained about the speed (or lack thereof) of the Silver Line. I flew into BOS this morning and decided I would time how long it took me to get from BOS, via the Silver Line to the Red Line, to Central Square in Cambridge, where I live. I recognize that this is only one data point, and that to be statistically valid we'd need to repeat this numerable times, but it's a start:

11:00 Disembarked at BOS (US terminal)
11:01 Arrive curbside
11:08 Board Silver Line bus
11:16 Silver Line bus exits airport after stopping at Terminal B (AA side), Terminal C and Terminal E
11:31 Silver Line bus arrives South Station
11:32 Arrive at Red Line platform
11:37 Board Red Line train
11:40 Arrive at Park Street station
11:47 Arrive at Central Square station

A few observations:

1. As Silver Line rides go, this certainly was on the slow side: it took seven minutes for the bus to arrive (it runs every 10 minutes, so the average wait is approximately five minutes), and boarded a lot of passengers (including one guy at Terminal C who held up the entire line of passengers attempting to board while he and the bus driver tried to figure out the best way for him to get to where he was going). So I certainly can see beating the time it took by at least five minutes if the bus arrives sooner and is not as crowded.

2. Notwithstanding the crowdedness, there was no shortage of storage space for luggage.

3. I used to live near Park Street, and usually would take the Blue Line to the Green Line when I did. That trip typically took 35-40 minutes. The Silver Line to the Red Line route was consistent with that, getting there in 39 minutes from when I arrived curbside, or 32 minutes from when I boarded the bus.

4. The Silver Line bus certainly feels like it's a slow option. It feels like you're trudging. But as my timeline shows, you're clearly not, or at least not being disadvantaged relative to the Blue Line option. I got to Park Street just as quickly as I used to via the Blue Line route, and certainly if I were going to my old office in the Financial District, or to South Station or somewhere in the Seaport district, this would have been the better option than taking the Blue Line.

While I haven't lived in Boston since the advent of the Silver Line, I did grow up there. I've also taken the SL several times in the last few years, so speaking from the perspective of a visitor vis-a-vis a local...I have always found it to be a better alternative to any other "T" option to get almost anywhere in the city. It's new, clean, runs (IMO) more often and efficiently than the Blue Line bus connection, and the best part to me is, you don't end up actually riding the Blue Line, with its' inherent mullet heads from Revere and Eastie. (Yeah, I said it.)

It gets you easily to South Station, Red Line, which gives a fairly easy transfer connection to all the other lines. As Blumie said upthread, it's public transportation, "ya pays your money and ya takes your chances," (Ok, I said that part) when it comes to things like luggage storage, etc.

OP, sorry you had a bad experience. I've had plenty of them on public trains. The Metro, The Tube, The T, the Skylink at DFW, they all let you down occasionally. Frequent travel means at least occasional snafu's.

Keep in mind that the Silver Line goes from a major transportation hub (South Station) not only to the airport, but also to a commercial center (Seaport district) where a substantial number of people are employed. So, it doesn't surprise me at all that the Silver Line is crowded at rush hours, and that more time is needed at rush hours to complete its route (due both to road traffic and to extra time needed for people to get on/off the bus). During the time periods when the Silver Line is especially crowded, I'd expect the subway lines to be similarly crowded, though of course they would not be subject to the road traffic delays.

Keep in mind that the Silver Line goes from a major transportation hub (South Station) not only to the airport, but also to a commercial center (Seaport district) where a substantial number of people are employed. So, it doesn't surprise me at all that the Silver Line is crowded at rush hours, and that more time is needed at rush hours to complete its route (due both to road traffic and to extra time needed for people to get on/off the bus). During the time periods when the Silver Line is especially crowded, I'd expect the subway lines to be similarly crowded, though of course they would not be subject to the road traffic delays.I have found the crowds on the Silver Line to be somewhat unpredictable. For example, I didn't expect it to be crowded yesterday, a Tuesday, at 11am leaving Logan, but it was. Also, outbound from South Station, the crowds are impacted as much by the schedule and timing of events at the convention center as they are by rush hour travel patterns. And lastly, one needs to be careful about events at the Bank of America Pavillion: those events are really the ones that can lead to the type of heavy automobile traffic that can really slow down the Silver Line buses.

lastly, one needs to be careful about events at the Bank of America Pavillion...

Although that worry can be put off until next summer.

Although that worry can be put off until next summer.Not completely true, as the facility sometimes is used for other events (such as graduations). When I rode the Silver Line yesterday, there was some event there generating some traffic.

It's not apporpriate (IMHO) to draw broad conclusions based on a single experience.

Hey, what about the saying "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me"? :)

Just kidding!

I'm kind of surprised there's been so much discussion on this topic since I last checked. People seem to feel passionately about it, especially Blumie.

I tried checking the MBTA website "trip planner" to see how long the options are supposed to take, but it doesn't seem like it has the Silver Line loaded into the system, so it was no help.

Maybe some time I will give the SL another shot, and see what I missed the first time. A while back, there were a lot of radio commercials in Boston telling people to come out to Logan Airport even if you don't have a flight, just to enjoy the world class restaurants and shopping. Maybe I'll take them up on that offer, so I don't have to worry about making a connection (or lug luggage).

Not completely true, as the facility sometimes is used for other events (such as graduations). When I rode the Silver Line yesterday, there was some event there generating some traffic.
I mean summer loosely. I'm pretty sure there's shows/events as early as May and as you point out, into October.

While I haven't lived in Boston since the advent of the Silver Line, I did grow up there. I've also taken the SL several times in the last few years, so speaking from the perspective of a visitor vis-a-vis a local...I have always found it to be a better alternative to any other "T" option to get almost anywhere in the city. It's new, clean, runs (IMO) more often and efficiently than the Blue Line bus connection, and the best part to me is, you don't end up actually riding the Blue Line, with its' inherent mullet heads from Revere and Eastie. (Yeah, I said it.)

It gets you easily to South Station, Red Line, which gives a fairly easy transfer connection to all the other lines. As Blumie said upthread, it's public transportation, "ya pays your money and ya takes your chances," (Ok, I said that part) when it comes to things like luggage storage, etc.

OP, sorry you had a bad experience. I've had plenty of them on public trains. The Metro, The Tube, The T, the Skylink at DFW, they all let you down occasionally. Frequent travel means at least occasional snafu's.


maybe it was a one off thing. we had an articulated bus that went from south station to logan. it was completely full of people and their large luggage. the trip went south when the inter terminal part started - people getting off with their luggage, other pax had to basically get off with their luggage and then get back on with it. most of the luggage was in the aisle since the luggage racks couldnt accomodate all of it. the riede isnt that long so standing for most people would be acceptable

i would think that they concept would be like an inter terminal airport train - a couple of seats with tons of standing room. The SL is billed as the airport train - wouldnt that mean most people flying with luggage?

i was flying out of BOS with other people - normally fly out of newark. dont worry - new jersey transit has the same idea. take a regular commuter train with limited luggage storage and use it as a airport train, doesnt work here either

I flew into BOS this morning and decided I would time how long it took me to get from BOS, via the Silver Line to the Red Line, to Central Square in Cambridge, where I live.

I arrive to BOS this Friday for the first time ever and I want to go to Le Meridien Cambridge. Google Maps tells me Central Square is the closest station. Would you recommend the Silver line vs. the option with the three metro lines? Could someone please advise me how to get my tickets? Thanks!

(I'm flying CO, so I guess I arrive in Terminal A. I'll have a carry-on luggage and a laptop brief with me).

I arrive to BOS this Friday for the first time ever and I want to go to Le Meridien Cambridge. Google Maps tells me Central Square is the closest station. Would you recommend the Silver line vs. the option with the three metro lines? Could someone please advise me how to get my tickets? Thanks!

Yes, Silver Line to South Station, Red Line to Central would be your best option. The other option would require at least three transfers (massport bus to blue line, blue line to orange line, orange line to red line).

I believe I saw somewhere that there is an MBTA kiosk near the baggage claims that you can purchase a ticket from.

There is definitely a kiosk in baggage claim. Or just have two singles and insert them into the machine on the bus. No more money needed as the bus terminal is past the gates in South Station.

Friday's weather is shakey (snow) and the Le Meridien is a couple good blocks from the subway station in Central Square. Be prepared for some nasty, slushy sidewalks.