The is a line of the
MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from
Boston, Massachusetts ,
USA . The main line was originally built by the '''Boston and Providence Rail Road''', and now carries service during the week between Boston and
Providence, Rhode Island , and weekend service to
South Attleboro . The '''Stoughton Branch''', built as the '''Stoughton Branch Railroad''', splits at
Canton Junction and runs for two more stations to
Stoughton, Massachusetts .
The Boston and Providence Rail Road was incorporated , when
South Station opened, the Boston terminal was at
Park Square , with a crossing at-grade of the
Boston And Worcester Railroad at the current merge at
Back Bay station (also opened in
1899 , only serving the B&P). The original Providence terminal was at
Fox Point , from which it ran east along the
Seekonk River shore and over the river into
East Providence (then part of
Seekonk, Massachusetts ) before turning north towards Boston. A ferry across the
Providence River connected Fox Point to the
South Providence terminal of the
New York, Providence And Boston Railroad (opened
1837 ).
In
1847 the
Providence And Worcester Railroad opened its line between downtown Providence and
Worcester, Massachusetts . At the same time, the B&P built a connection west from its main line in southern
Attleboro to the P&W in
Central Falls . The B&P and P&W jointly owned the line south of Central Falls into downtown Providence. (In
1848 the NYP&B connected its line south of downtown Providence to downtown, removing the gap through Providence.)
On
April 1 ,
1888 , the
Old Colony Railroad leased the B&P for 99 years. The
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad leased the Old Colony on
March 1 ,
1893 and assumed the lease. The New Haven used the B&P as part of its main Boston-
New York ''Shore Line'', and it still has that status, as part of the route of
Amtrak 's
Acela Express .
When Boston's new
South Station Union Station opened in
1899 , a new line was built along the south side of the
Boston And Albany Railroad to the new station, located near the B&A's old terminal. The old line to Park Square was abandoned.
The
East Side Railroad Tunnel opened in
1908 between
East Providence and downtown
Providence . This provided a second route into Providence, using the old alignment to East Providence and then running through the tunnel. The tunnel is no longer in use, having been disconnected on the downtown side, with its entrance located underneath What Cheer building owned by
RISD .
On
December 31 ,
1968 the recently-formed
Penn Central bought the failing New Haven. The MBTA bought the section of the Providence-Boston line in Massachusetts, as well as many other lines including the Stoughton Branch, from Penn Central on
January 27 ,
1973 . On
April 1 ,
1976 Conrail took over Penn Central and the commuter rail equipment was sold to the MBTA, though operation continued to be done by Conrail. Full subsidies by the MBTA for the Providence and Stoughton lines began on
September 28 ,
1976 , before which the Federal government helped. On
March 31 ,
1977 the
Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority and
Rhode Island Department Of Transportation began to subsidize service beyond the
MBTA district, and
Stoughton began to pay to keep its station open, that cost later going to the
Brockton Area Transit Authority .
On
November 3 ,
1979 the line was closed north of Readville for long-term reconstruction as part of the
Southwest Corridor project. All trains began using what is now the
Fairmount Line , and special shuttle trains connected South Station to Back Bay. The new line, rebuilt below grade with space for three tracks (the old one had been above grade with room for four tracks), opened on
October 5 ,
1987 .
On
February 20 ,
1981 the MBTA stopped serving Rhode Island, as funding from the state stopped.
Rush-hour service was restored on
February 1 ,
1988 . Some off-peak weekday trains were extended to Providence starting on
December 11 ,
2000 .
;Dedham
The first branch was the
Dedham Branch to
Dedham from
Readville , opened in
1834 with the first section of the railroad. The
Norfolk County Railroad opened in
1849 , continuing from Dedham to the southwest. In
1850 a second branch to Dedham opened from
Forest Hills , forming a loop through Dedham. Another outlet for the Dedham Branch opened in
1906 , with a connection west to the
New England Railroad at
Needham Junction . The Dedham Branch from Forest Hills to that connection is still in use as the
Needham Branch of the
MBTA Commuter Rail , but the rest of the Dedham loop has been abandoned.
;Stoughton
The was incorporated
April 16 ,
1844 as a branch of the B&P from
Canton Junction to
Stoughton . It opened in early
1845 , and is still in use for passenger service as a branch of the main line to Attleboro and Providence.
;Easton
The
Easton Branch Railroad was incorporated in
1854 and opened in
1855 as a continuation of the Stoughton Branch beyond Stoughton. In
1865 the
Old Colony And Newport Railroad bought the line and incorporated the majority of it into its main line.
;Taunton
The
Taunton Branch Railroad was incorporated in
1835 to build a branch from the B&P in
Mansfield to
Taunton , opening in
1836 . The branch was operated by the B&P until
1840 , when the
New Bedford And Taunton Railroad opened, continuing the line past Taunton.
In
1870 the
Mansfield And Framingham Railroad opened, continuing the Taunton Branch northwest on the other side of the B&P. A connection between the Taunton Branch northwest of Taunton and the B&P in
Attleboro opened in
1871 , having been built by the Taunton Branch.
;Attleborough
The
Attleborough Branch Railroad also opened in
1870 , running from the B&P in
Attleboro northwest to
North Attleborough . It was leased to the B&P, and was later connected to a branch of the
Old Colony Railroad system in
1890 .
;Moshassuck Valley
The
Moshassuck Valley Railroad was chartered in
1874 and opened in
1876 as a branch from the joint B&P/P&W at
Woodlawn, Rhode Island north to
Saylesville . The company remained independent until
1981 , when it was bought by the P&W.
;Seekonk
The
Seekonk Branch Railroad was a short spur on the east side of the
Seekonk River , running from the B&P south to a dock on the river. It was incorporated in
1836 and opened soon after, with the hope that the company would be able to run its own trains over the B&P as with a highway. As a result of this, the
Massachusetts State Legislature passed a law that a railroad company could refuse any traffic on its road, and the company was a failure. The B&P bought it in
1839 , and the
Providence, Warren And Bristol Railroad built a line beginning from it in
1855 .
;Warren, Bristol and Fall River
The
Providence And Bristol Railroad was incorporated in
1850 and
1851 , and reorganized in
1852 as the
Providence, Warren And Bristol Railroad . That line opened in
1855 from the old Seekonk Branch in
East Providence southeast to
Warren and south to
Bristol . It was owned by the B&P through a majority of stock, and directly leased the
Old Colony Railroad in
1891 .
The
Warren And Fall River Railroad was incorporated in
Rhode Island in
1856 , and the
Fall River And Warren Railroad in
Massachusetts in
1857 . In
1860 the two were merged to form the
Fall River, Warren And Providence Railroad , opening later in
1860 from
Warren east to
Somerset , across the
Taunton River from
Fall River . In
1875 a new bridge opened, connecting to the
Old Colony Railroad in Fall River. At that time, the company was leased by the Old Colony; before that it had been controlled by the B&P.
All stations but Sharon are
Handicapped Accessible . See also
MBTA Accessibility .
South of Providence, the
T. F. Green Airport station is planned on the old
New York, Providence And Boston Railroad in
Warwick .
