The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over 394 mi (634 km) of track to 135 stations. It is operated under contract by Keolis, which took over operations on July 1, 2014, from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR).
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight as the Berkshire Subdivision and Boston Subdivision. Passenger service is provided on the line by Amtrak, as part of their Lake Shore Limited service, and by the MBTA Commuter Rail system, which owns the section east of Worcester and operates it as its Framingham/Worcester Line.
The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod. For many years the Old Colony Railroad Company also operated steamboat and ferry lines, including those of the Fall River Line with express train service from Boston to its wharf in Fall River where passengers boarded luxury liners to New York City. The company also briefly operated a railroad line on Martha's Vineyard, as well as the freight-only Union Freight Railroad in Boston. The OC was named after the "Old Colony", the nickname for the Plymouth Colony.
Foxboro station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Foxborough, Massachusetts, located adjacent to Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping center. The station has a single side platform serving the main track of the Framingham Secondary. It is the terminus of a branch of the Franklin/Foxboro Line service, and is served by trains from Boston via the Franklin/Foxboro Line and from Providence via the Providence/Stoughton Line during events at Gillette Stadium.
The Franklin/Foxboro Line is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most weekday trains use the Northeast Corridor before splitting off onto the namesake Franklin Branch at Readville, though some weekday trains and all weekend trains use the Dorchester Branch between Boston and Readville.
Union Station, also known as Walpole station, is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Walpole, Massachusetts. It is located at the crossing of the Franklin Branch and Framingham Secondary just west of downtown Walpole. The station has one side platform on the Franklin Branch serving the Franklin/Foxboro Line service. Unlike most MBTA stations, Walpole station is not accessible.
The Fall River Secondary is a freight railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, with freight operations handled by the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad; it was formerly owned and operated by CSX Transportation. The line runs from the New Bedford Subdivision at Myricks south to Fall River along a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line. At its south end, at the Rhode Island state line in Fall River, it becomes a line of the Providence and Worcester Railroad.
The New Bedford Main Line, also known as the New Bedford Subdivision, is a freight railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, with freight operations handled by the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad. The line runs from Cotley Junction where it meets the Middleboro Secondary near Weir Village south to New Bedford along a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line. The Fall River Secondary branches off at Myricks Junction.
The Middleboro Secondary is a railroad line owned by MassDOT in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Attleboro to Middleborough via Taunton.
The Fitchburg Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Fitchburg southeast to Framingham Center along a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line. Its south end is at the Boston Subdivision; the MBTA's Framingham Secondary continues southeast from Framingham.
The Boston Subdivision is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Back Bay Station in Boston west to Wilbraham, just east of Springfield. along a former New York Central Railroad line. The line connects with the Northeast Corridor its east end and continues as the Berkshire Subdivision at its west end. Along the way, the line junctions with the Framingham Subdivision and Fitchburg Subdivision at Framingham.
Mansfield station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Located in downtown Mansfield, it serves the Providence/Stoughton Line. With 1,966 weekday boardings in a 2018 count, Mansfield is the third-busiest station on the system outside Boston.
The Taunton Branch Railroad was one of the earliest railroads to be established in Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered by the state in 1835 as a branch of the Boston and Providence Railroad running between Mansfield and Taunton, Massachusetts. The railroad provided a rapid overland connection between the seat of Bristol County and Boston and Providence.
The Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was formed on June 1, 1876, when the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad merged with the New Bedford Railroad. The Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad connected with the key railroad hubs of Worcester, Framingham, and Ayer, as well as several important industrial towns such as Fitchburg and Lowell, with the latter coming through a lease of the Framingham and Lowell Railroad. The New Bedford Railroad linked Framingham with New Bedford, which was a key deep-water port.
Medfield Junction is a railway junction and former train station located in northwest Medfield, Massachusetts. It is the junction of the Framingham Secondary and the former Millis Branch. The station was open from November 1861 until April 1967.
The Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1840 to provide a rail connection between Fitchburg and Worcester. Service began on February 11, 1850, running 18 miles from Fitchburg through Leominster and Sterling to Sterling Junction, where it connected with the Worcester and Nashua Railroad.
The Agricultural Branch Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated by the Legislature of Massachusetts on April 26, 1847, to provide a rail connection between Framingham and Northborough through the town of Southborough and a small portion of the city of Marlborough. Service began on December 1, 1855.
The New Bedford Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated on July 1, 1873, as a merger between the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad, the Taunton Branch Railroad, and the Middleborough and Taunton Railroad. The main line ran from a junction with the Boston and Providence Railroad in Mansfield through the towns of Norton, Taunton, Berkley, Lakeville, and Freetown to the deep-water whaling port of New Bedford. The railroad also had several branches, including the former Middleborough and Taunton Railroad, which ran from Weir Village, Taunton into Middleborough through Raynham, and a shortcut to Providence via the Boston and Providence Railroad which ran from Taunton to Attleborough through Norton.
The Framingham and Lowell Railroad was a railroad in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1870 to provide a rail connection between the growing railroad hub of Framingham and the important mill city of Lowell, passing through the towns of Sudbury, Concord, Acton, Carlisle, Westford and Chelmsford. The 26.1 mile line opened on October 1, 1871.
The Taunton and Middleborough Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1848 to connect the Taunton Branch Railroad in Weir Village, Taunton with the Fall River Railroad and newly built Cape Cod Branch Railroad in Middleborough through the town of Raynham. In 1853, the railroad changed its name to the Middleborough and Taunton Railroad.
