Personally, all this talk of using trains to
attend Boston events has me shaking my head. I
always drive into twon for Fleet Center/Fenway
Park events ... but I have a bevy of usefull
parking ideas. I also know of a $5 lot just
outside Fleet Center if I need it. I never ride
trains anymore ... can't stand them. But I used to
... and therefore knew the trains very well. My
best parking idea for Fleet Center is eat at a
convenient North End restaurant ... use North End
parking (which can be tough but is do-able) and
walk about 5 minutes to the Fleet.
 
But, onto train ideas.
 
If you want to avoid the hectic downtown and can
afford to be without the innumerable restaurant
opportunites in Boston ... there is an excellent
alternative.
 
Boston has basically two train systems serving the
city.
 
One is the subway system which comprises four
different lines - Red, Green, Orange and Blue. The
Orange and Green serve "North Station" which is
where the Fleet Center is. Both these lines serve
the North Shore of Boston so you could easily be
set up in one of these communities and use the
trains to get in.
 
But the best idea involves the other system ..
namely the Commuter Rail System. There are two
Boston centers for this system, North Station and
South Station. Ideally, a hotel on one of the
North lines will set you up perfectly. Off the top
of my head, the Mishawum Station on the
Lowell-Boston line is perfect. Mishawum is located
in a business area with several hotels. A fare
from Mishawum to North Station is about $2.00. You
ride in comfort on padded seats much like you
would on Amtrak. These are above surface railways
and the train pulls right under the Fleet Center.
You never need to be exposed to the sky once you
board the train. Only drawback to this system is
the frequency of trains. Shouldn't be a problem
scheduling one in but you might be caught watching
your watch to get a train out ... seeing that
there is sometimes about an hour between departing
trains leaving North Station during late night.
The major plus of this idea is comfort of ride,
excellent promptness of arrivals and departure
times, and swiftness of travel ... there are only
a few stops between Mishawum and Boston so the
ride is only about 15 minutes.
 
There are other lines besides Lowell-Boston which
are served by North Station and may provide
additonal possibilities.
 
P.S. The commuter rail lines which pull into South
Station from points south including New York City
are useless ... since you have to go across town
to get to Fleet Center.
 
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