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.
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a more direct route into Providence built in 1847. Branches were built to Dedham in 1834, Stoughton in 1845, and North Attleboro in 1871. It was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which in turn was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1893. The line became the New Haven's primary mainline to Boston; it was realigned in Boston in 1899 during the construction of South Station, and in Pawtucket and Central Falls in 1916 for grade crossing elimination.
The Cape Cod Railroad is a railroad in southeastern Massachusetts, running from Pilgrim Junction in Middleborough across the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, where it splits towards Hyannis in one direction and Falmouth in the other. It was incorporated in 1846 as the Cape Cod Branch Railroad to provide a rail link from the Fall River Railroad line in Middleborough to Cape Cod.
Braintree station is an intermodal transit station in Braintree, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Red Line and the MBTA Commuter Rail Old Colony Lines as well as MBTA buses.
Massachusetts Avenue station is a rapid transit station in the South End and Symphony neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Orange Line, and is located at 380 Massachusetts Avenue. The station opened in 1987 as part of the renovation and relocation of the southern Orange Line into the Southwest Corridor. The Orange line runs parallel to the Northeast Corridor, which carries Amtrak trains and several MBTA commuter rail lines.
The Greenbush Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system which serves the South Shore region of Massachusetts. The 27.6-mile (44.4 km) line runs from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns of Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate to the Greenbush neighborhood in southern Scituate. There are ten stations along the line. From South Station, to Quincy Center, service operates in conjunction with the Old Colony Lines commuter rail service via the Old Colony Main Line. From Weymouth Landing/East Braintree to Greenbush, trains utilize the Greenbush Branch, the former South Shore Railroad line that was later incorporated into the Old Colony Railroad.
The Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) is a 25.5-mile (41.0 km) paved rail trail located on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The trail route passes through the towns of Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet. It connects to the 6-plus mile (10 km) Old Colony Rail Trail leading to Chatham, the 2 mile Yarmouth multi-use trail, and 8 miles (13 km) of trails within Nickerson State Park. Short side trips on roads lead to national seashore beaches including Coast Guard Beach at the end of the Nauset Bike Trail in Cape Cod National Seashore. The trail is part of the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway.
The Framingham Secondary is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Mansfield northwest to Framingham along a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line. Its south end is at Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, over which CSX has trackage rights to reach the Middleboro Subdivision at Attleboro and the Boston Subdivision in Boston. Its north end is at the Framingham/Worcester Line; the Fitchburg Secondary continues northwest from Framingham.
Norwood Depot is an MBTA Commuter Rail Franklin/Foxboro Line station located in downtown Norwood, Massachusetts. The station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Franklin Branch, each with a mini-high section for accessibility. The Norfolk County Railroad opened through South Dedham in 1849, with a station at the modern location. It was renamed Norwood in 1872. The line came under control of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1895. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service in 1966 and purchased the line in 1973. Under the MBTA, renovations to the station were made around 1977 and 1992.
Attleboro station is a commuter rail station on the MBTA's Providence/Stoughton Line located in Attleboro, Massachusetts. By a 2018 count, Attleboro had 1,547 daily riders, making it the fourth busiest station on the system outside Boston.
West Concord station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located in West Concord, Massachusetts. It is served by the Fitchburg Line. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks, with mini-high platforms for accessibility. The adjacent station building, now a restaurant, is not used for railroad purposes.
Brockton station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Brockton, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Middleborough/Lakeville Line and is a stop on the seasonal CapeFLYER service. The station has a single accessible full-length high-level platform that serves the line's two tracks. It is located adjacent to the BAT Centre, the primary hub for Brockton Area Transit Authority local bus service.
Campello station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Brockton, Massachusetts, served by the Middleborough/Lakeville Line.
Middleborough/Lakeville station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Lakeville, Massachusetts, just south of the Middleborough border. It is the southern terminus of the Middleborough/Lakeville Line; it is also an intermediate stop for seasonal CapeFlyer service to Cape Cod. Middleborough/Lakeville has a single full-length high-level side platform serving the line's single track.
Whitman station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Whitman, Massachusetts. It serves the Plymouth/Kingston Line. It is located off South Avenue. Parking is available on the south side of South Avenue on both sides of the tracks. The station opened along with the rest of the Old Colony Lines on September 26, 1997.
Plymouth station is a closed MBTA Commuter Rail station in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It served the Plymouth/Kingston Line and was located in the Cordage Park complex of North Plymouth. Plymouth was one terminus of the MBTA's Kingston/Plymouth Line, along with Kingston/Route 3 station in nearby Kingston, Massachusetts. Plymouth station provided non-peak service to Boston's South Station, as well as some peak service, which ran in addition to peak trips to Kingston. Most trains on the line served only Kingston station; service to and ridership from Plymouth were thus very limited. Due to this limited ridership and service, as well as due to the fact that trains had to reverse in and out of the station in order to serve it, Plymouth station was indefinitely closed in April 2021.
Old Colony Railroad Station is an historic Italianate train station located off Dean Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. The historic station, also known as Dean Street, is proposed to be joined by the modern Taunton station around 2030 as part of Phase 2 of the South Coast Rail project.
The Cape Cod Central Railroad was a railroad in southeastern Massachusetts, more specifically in central Cape Cod. It was incorporated in 1861 to extend the Cape Cod Railroad from Yarmouth to Orleans through the towns of Dennis, Harwich and Brewster. The 18.7 mile line opened for service in December, 1865.
Harwich station was a railway station located in Harwich, Massachusetts. It opened in 1865 and closed in 1940. The station was the junction between the Cape Cod Railroad mainline and the Chatham Branch.
Middleborough station is an under-construction MBTA Commuter Rail station in Middleborough, Massachusetts. It is expected to open in May 2025 as part of the South Coast Rail project, replacing Middleborough/Lakeville station for regular service. The station will have a single side platform located inside the wye between the Middleborough Main Line and the Middleboro Secondary.
