Route 128 - Westwood

"Easy to get around Boston during early morning and day time afternoon and evening commute can take a while."

"MBTA riders beware! You must purchase commuter rail tickets online through the transit app or at nearby retail stores that offer them for sale. There are NO automated MBTA ticket vending machines or agent windows at the station. I made the mistake of presuming one could purchase rail fare from a physical location on-site and was forced to pay a hefty surcharge aboard the train as a result! Also, be sure to arrive at the station early, especially when riding during the weekend and at off-peak times. The wait between trains to/from Boston can be up to two hours on Saturday and Sunday, and it might take some time to figure out the app for parking in the adjacent garage."

"Where are the signs to enter this blasted station? Please Amtrak, light this place up and put a big Amtrak sign so we know where the hell to enter. It was a dark and rainy night and I drove right past it into a construction sight. Google maps didn't help either. Travelers take note: it's a parking garage on your left that is the entrance to Amtrak station also. Very easy to miss when it's dark and rainy . Because you can not see the unlit and tiny Amtrak sign."

"Overall one of the best stations on the MBTA Commuter Rail network. Station is completely high level, so wheelchair users may board any car (Though wheelchaired passengers going to Hyde Park, Canton Junction and Center, Stoughton, Sharon, Mansfield and Attleboro should be in the southern two cars). Amtrak Northeast Regional and Acela trains to NYC, Philly, DC and Virginia also stop here, with service in each direction at least once an hour. MBTA Commuter Rail trains to/from Providence/Wickford Junction, RI and Stoughton also stop here, with service to/from each terminal also at least once an hour (more frequent during rush hour). The station has lots of signage, clear announcements saying the train number, destination, station stops, and for Amtrak where certain cars on the train are. The station building is nice and modern, with plenty of signs showing upcoming trains, plenty of seating, shops and a big parking lot."

"The Rt 128 University Park train station is the most convenient to reach for me, even though I am in the Merrimack Valley/I-495 region, north of the station's Metro-West area. There is a simple route to take (Route 3 to Rt 128 South) compared with access to South Station or Back Bay - even though Rt-3 and Rt-128 are often congested. Moreover, when I reach the Westwood station, the easy parking and the reasonably well laid out and equipped site is hard to beat. Yes, at times, certain apparatus can be out of order (an escalator or a rest room), but one learns to cope. On my most recent visit, when I was leaving the facility in my car after returning from a trip, the network facilitating operation of ticket reading and exit gate raising was out of order; several minutes expired before a nice attendant appeared and manually opened the gate arm to let me out. Apparently, I will not be charged for parking - the silver lining! By the way, this station was one of the first USA passenger rail facilities specifically designed to serve travelers arriving by automobile. I recall the the current building wasopened in 2000!! Here is an interesting quote from The Great American Stations giving you a better sense of the interior look: "On both floors, tall bands of glass wrap around the structure, emphasizing its horizontal orientation while also flooding the lofty passenger areas with bright light that bounces off the highly polished floors. At the southeast corner of the waiting room, the whole wall is glass and offers wonderful views of the arriving and departing trains. Reflecting the building’s post-modern aesthetic, the ceiling is crisscrossed by ducts and electrical conduits, and the structural girders are visible, thereby revealing how the building is assembled and how its basic systems function. To access the northbound platform, passengers must take an escalator or stairs to the second floor and then walk across a glass enclosed bridge to reach the other side. The north and south bound platforms are sheltered by wide canopies that protect passengers from inclement weather.""