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).
Forest Hills station is an intermodal transfer station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA rapid transit Orange Line and three MBTA Commuter Rail lines and is a major terminus for MBTA bus routes. It is located in Forest Hills, in the southern part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Most Providence/Stoughton Line and Franklin/Foxboro Line trains, and all Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains, pass through the station without stopping. Forest Hills station is fully accessible on all modes.
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 Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. The eastern terminus of the line was at North Cambridge Junction where it split off from the Middlesex Central Branch of the Boston and Lowell Railroad in North Cambridge and through which it had access to North Station in Boston. From there, the route ran 98.77 miles west through the modern-day towns of Belmont, Waltham, Weston, Wayland, Sudbury, Hudson, Bolton, Berlin, Clinton, West Boylston, Holden, Rutland, Oakham, Barre, New Braintree, Hardwick, Ware, Palmer, Belchertown, Amherst, and Hadley to its western terminal junction at N. O. Tower in Northampton with the Connecticut River Railroad.
The Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) is a partially completed rail trail between Northampton, Massachusetts and Boston along the right-of-way (ROW) of the former Massachusetts Central Railroad and former Central Massachusetts Railroad. It currently has over 60 miles (97 km) open, and 94.5 miles (152.1 km) are open or protected for trail development. When complete, it will be 104 miles (167 km) long through Central Massachusetts and Greater Boston, forming the longest rail trail in New England. Many sections of the trail, including the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail and the Somerville Community Path, have been developed as separate projects but serve as part of the complete Mass Central Rail Trail. The Norwottuck Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the build and operation of the MCRT, maintains an interactive map of the MCRT and other Massachusetts trails.
The Fitchburg Cutoff was a rail line running 2.8 miles (4.5 km) from Brighton Street in Belmont, Massachusetts, to Somerville Junction in Somerville, Massachusetts. It was constructed in two segments in 1870 and 1881 to connect the Lexington Branch and Massachusetts Central Railroad to the Boston and Lowell Railroad. Passenger service lasted until 1927. Freight service ended in 1979–80 to allow construction of the Red Line Northwest Extension; the line was abandoned in three sections in 1979, 1983, and 2007.
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was a railroad company chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846 that operated in eastern Massachusetts. It and its successors provided passenger service until 1977 and freight service until 1980 or early 1981.
Silver Hill station is an MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line station in Weston, Massachusetts, United States. The station has a small shelter, parking area, and a gravel boarding area; it is not accessible. It was the least-used station in the entire MBTA system in 2018, with an average of just eleven daily boardings. Silver Hill station opened in 1844 as one of the original stops on the Fitchburg Railroad. The Boston and Maine Railroad unsuccessfully attempted to close the station in 1959. It remained in use until its temporary closure by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in December 2020 due to low ridership and a lack of accessibility, with indefinite closure effective April 2021. It reopened on November 18, 2024.
Lynn station is an intermodal transit station in downtown Lynn, Massachusetts. It is a station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line and a hub for the MBTA bus system.
Kendal Green station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Weston, Massachusetts, US, served by the Fitchburg Line. The station has a single platform serving two tracks; it is not accessible. It originally opened with the Fitchburg Railroad in 1844 as "Weston"; it was renamed Kendal Green after the green cloth around 1886. A new station building was constructed in 1896. Service passed to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900, and to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the 1970s. The former station building, reused as a private residence, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 as a contributing property to the Kendal Green Historic District.
Hastings station was an MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line station in Weston, Massachusetts. The station had a small parking area but no platforms; passengers boarded trains from the Viles Street grade crossing. It was originally opened in the 1890s to serve the adjacent Hook & Hastings organ factory. The factory closed in 1935, but the station remained open with limited service. It was temporarily closed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in December 2020 due to its low ridership and lack of accessibility; indefinite closure became effective in April 2021.
The Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center is a regional rail and bus station located in downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It is a stop on the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line and a hub for Montachusett Regional Transit Authority local and intercity bus routes.
Bedford Depot is a historic railroad depot in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Bedford was the junction of the Reformatory Branch and the Lexington Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad; it saw passenger service until 1977 as the stub of the Lexington Branch. The original 1874 depot and 1877 freight house are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; along with a restored Budd Rail Diesel Car, they form the centerpieces of the Bedford Depot Park.
South Sudbury was a commuter rail station in Sudbury, Massachusetts. It was located at the junction of the Massachusetts Central Railroad, succeeded by the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and the Framingham and Lowell Railroad, slightly north of Boston Post Road in South Sudbury. The Boston and Maine Railroad station was incorporated into the MBTA Commuter Rail through subsidies in 1965. The station was closed in November 1971 when the branch's last remaining round trip was discontinued. The 1952-built station building was a private business until its closure in 2019. In August 2023 the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation offered the building to the Town of Sudbury at no cost, and in May 2024 the Town voted to acquire it.
Wayland station is a former railroad station in Wayland, Massachusetts. Originally built by the Massachusetts Central Railroad in 1881, by 1885 it was operated by the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and it was later part of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The MBTA subsidized service at the station beginning in 1965. It was closed in 1971 when service on the Central Mass Branch was terminated due to poor track conditions. Since 1980, The Wayland Depot, a charitable women's consignment craft shop, has operated out of the station, which is now owned by the Town of Wayland. The Wayland Depot's mission includes preservation of the historic station. In 2017, a stone dust section of the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside was built over the section of the ROW the station was built to service, which is planned to be paved in 2027.
Weston station is a former railroad station in Weston, Massachusetts. Located off Church Street in the Weston town center, it was originally built by the Massachusetts Central Railroad which constructed it in the board-and-batten style in 1881. By 1885 it was operated by the successor Central Massachusetts Railroad.
Clematis Brook station was an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Waltham, Massachusetts. It served the Fitchburg Line, and was located in the Warrendale section of Waltham. It was closed in 1978 due to poor ridership.
Cross Street station was an MBTA Commuter Rail station in northern Winchester, Massachusetts, on the border with Woburn. The station first opened in the mid-1840s as Richardson Row on the Woburn Branch Railroad, part of the Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L). It was renamed Cross Street in 1876. The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) leased the B&L in 1887, built a new depot at Cross Street in 1893, and replaced it with a concrete shelter in 1955. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service on the Woburn Branch in 1965 and purchased the line in 1976. The station was closed along with the Woburn Branch in 1981.
Cherry Brook station was a former train station in Weston, Massachusetts, named for the nearby Cherry Brook flowing north-south.
East Sudbury station was a train station in Sudbury, Massachusetts. It was located on the Central Massachusetts Railroad mainline east of the Landham Road overpass.
