Alewife station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station in the North Cambridge neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the northwest terminal of the rapid transit Red Line and a hub for several MBTA bus routes. The station is at the confluence of the Minuteman Bikeway, Alewife Linear Park, Fitchburg Cutoff Path, and Alewife Greenway off Alewife Brook Parkway adjacent to Massachusetts Route 2, with a five-story parking garage for park and ride use. The station has three bike cages. Alewife station is named after nearby Alewife Brook Parkway and Alewife Brook, themselves named after the alewife fish.
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main line from Boston to Fitchburg is now operated as the MBTA Fitchburg Line; Pan Am Railways runs freight service on some other portions.
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 Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system which runs from Boston's North Station to Wachusett station in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was built across northern Massachusetts, United States, in the 1840s. Winter weekend service includes a specially equipped seasonal "ski train" to Wachusett Mountain.
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.
Waltham station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Waltham, Massachusetts, served by the Fitchburg Line. It is located in downtown Waltham adjacent to Central Square. The station is the transit hub of Waltham, with MBTA bus routes 61, 70, 553, 554, 556, and 558 stopping on Carter Street adjacent to the station.
The Linden Street Bridge is a historic bridge of the abandoned Central Massachusetts Railroad over Linden Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. A restoration of the bridge is in design as a part of the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside (MCRT—Wayside) project. It is a riveted lattice through truss bridge, built in 1894 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, and is one of only three such bridges left in the state. The bridge is 98 feet 3 inches (29.95 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, with an inside truss height of 21 feet 11.5 inches (6.693 m), and rests on granite abutments. The design of the bridge was based on that of the Northampton crossing of the Connecticut River by the same railroad. This section of the Central Massachusetts Branch, and the bridge, have been out of service since the early 1990s when service to the last customer, a lumber dealer located on Emerson Road, ended. The bridge is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and leased to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for the rail trail.
The Watertown Branch Railroad was a branch loop of the Fitchburg Railroad that was meant to serve the town of Watertown and the City of Waltham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, as an independent short line railroad; it also serviced the Watertown Arsenal. The line has been formally abandoned and portions have been converted into a rail trail, the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. A section from School Street to Arlington Street in Watertown was completed first. A small portion in Waltham has been converted into a park called Chemistry Station Park after the railroad station once located there. Construction of an extension to Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge began in the summer of 2018 and was completed in June 2022.
The Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT) is a partially-completed multi-use rail trail running through the cities and towns of Marlborough, Hudson, Stow, Maynard, and Acton, Massachusetts, United States. It is a conversion of the abandoned Marlborough Branch of the Fitchburg Railroad. The right-of-way parallels the Assabet River in the trail's midsection. At the north end it veers north to the South Acton MBTA train station while the south end veers south to Marlborough. When fully completed, the end-to-end length will be 12.5 miles (20.1 km). As of June 2020, the southwest 5.1-mile (8.2 km) portion of the trail from Marlborough to Hudson and the northeast 3.4-mile (5.5 km) portion running from the South Acton MBTA station to the Maynard–Stow border are completed. No current plans exist for paving the 4.0-mile (6.4 km) gap in Stow and Hudson between the two trail ends.
The Dighton and Somerset Railroad, currently referred to as the Dean Street Industrial Track, is a railroad that ran between Fall River and Braintree, Massachusetts. It opened in 1866; from the 1890s to the 1930s and again in the late 1950s, it was the primary rail route from Boston to the South Coast. Passenger service ended in stages with the final regular service in 1958, though freight service on two short segments continues into the 21st century. MBTA Commuter Rail service is proposed to be extended onto the northern part of the line around 2030 as part of the South Coast Rail project.
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.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operates subway, bus, commuter rail, and ferry service in the Greater Boston region. Boston has some of the highest rates of non-motorized commuting in the United States, including high bicycle usage. The MBTA offers certain provisions for riders wishing to make part of their trips by bicycle. The agency allows bicycles to be carried on all fixed-route services except the Green Line and the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line light rail lines, although they are restricted on the commuter rail and heavy rail subway services at peak hours. Bicycle storage areas are offered at many stations, with "Pedal and Park" locking bicycle cages at certain high-usage stations.
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.
Waltham North station is a former railroad station in Waltham, Massachusetts. It was originally built by the Massachusetts Central Railroad which constructed it 1881, and by 1885 it was operated by the successor Central Massachusetts Railroad. It was part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system from 1965 to 1971. It was located on Lexington Street in north-central Waltham. It was closed on November 26, 1971, when service on the Central Mass Branch was terminated due to poor track conditions and low ridership. The station building is no longer extant, having been demolished at some point after the end of service on the branch. In 2023, a paved section of the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside was built along the railbed past the former station site.
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.
Cherry Brook station was a former train station in Weston, Massachusetts, named for the nearby Cherry Brook flowing north-south.
Tower Hill station was a former train station in Wayland, Massachusetts near Plain Road.
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.
