Providence/Stoughton Line

PROVIDENCE / STOUGHTON LINE
A outbound Providence/Stoughton Line train at Route 128
Overview
System	MBTA Commuter Rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Southeastern Massachusetts Rhode Island
Termini	Boston South Station Main line: Wickford Junction Stoughton Branch: Stoughton
Stations	15
Daily ridership	Providence Line: 19,634 (2014 weekday boardings)[1] Stoughton Line: 6,831 (2014 weekday boardings)
Operation
Owner	MBTA (within Massachusetts) Amtrak (within Rhode Island)
Operator(s)	Keolis North America
Character	Elevated and surface-level
Technical
Line length	62.9 miles (South Station to Wickford Junction) 4 miles (Stoughton branch)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	25kV 60Hz AC (only used by Amtrak trains)
Route map 0.0 mi  0 km  South Station Greenbush and Old Colony Lines 1.2 mi  1.9 km  Back Bay Framingham/Worcester Line Some former service via Fairmount Line (ended 2004)     Uphams Corner Morton Street Neponset River Fairmount Neponset River 2.2 mi  3.5 km  Ruggles 5.0 mi  8 km  Forest Hills (Needham Line only) Needham Line 6.1 mi  9.8 km  Mount Hope closed 1979 8.4 mi  13.5 km  Hyde Park 9.5 mi  15.3 km  Readville (Franklin and Fairmount Lines only) Dedham Branch closed 1967 Franklin Line 11.4 mi  18.3 km  Route 128 14.8 mi  23.8 km  Canton Junction 15.6 mi  25.1 km  Canton Center 18.9 mi  30.4 km  Stoughton South Coast Rail under construction 17.9 mi  28.8 km  Sharon 22.4 mi  36 km  East Foxboro closed 1977 Franklin Line Foxboro special events only 24.7 mi  39.8 km  Mansfield 31.8 mi  51.2 km  Attleboro 36.8 mi  59.2 km  South Attleboro Blackstone River Massachusetts Rhode Island 39.0 mi  62.8 km  Pawtucket-Central Falls closed 1981 39.5 mi  63.6 km  Pawtucket/Central Falls proposed 43.6 mi  70.2 km  Providence 51.9 mi  83.5 km  T. F. Green Airport 62.9 mi  101.2 km  Wickford Junction ↓ proposed extension Kingston

The Providence/Stoughton Line 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 Railroad, and now carries service between South Station in Boston and Wickford Junction stations in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The Stoughton Branch, built as the Stoughton Branch Railroad, splits at Canton Junction and runs for two more stations to Stoughton station in Stoughton, Massachusetts.

An extension of the Providence section of the line to T. F. Green Airport and Wickford Junction opened in stages in 2010 and 2012, making the Providence/Stoughton Line the longest of the MBTA's commuter rail lines (surpassing the Fitchburg Line), while an extension of the Stoughton Branch to New Bedford and Fall River is under construction.

All stations are handicapped accessible with short or full-length high level platforms. Newer stations like T.F. Green Airport, and Amtrak stations like Providence, usually have full-length high level platforms; older stations have mostly been retrofitted with high-level platforms one car length long.

History

The Stoughton station dates to 1888

On December 31, 1968, the recently formed Penn Central bought the failing New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. 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.^[2] The Orange Line shares the corridor between Back Bay and Forest Hills.

In 1990, a northbound commuter train was involved in a collision with a northbound Night Owl train. The accident, which occurred to the west of Back Bay station, injured over four hundred people, although there were no fatalities.^[3]

On February 20, 1981, the MBTA stopped serving Rhode Island, as funding from the state had ended. Rush-hour service was restored on February 1, 1988. On June 20, 1990, a new stop opened in South Attleboro and most trains were extended to the station; regular Sunday service returned in 1992.^[2] Some off-peak weekday trains were extended to Providence starting on December 11, 2000. Weekend service to Providence resumed on July 29, 2006.

Extensions

Map of South County Commuter Rail project, showing the extension to T.F. Green Airport and Wickford Junction

As part of the South County Commuter Rail initiative, a 20-mile extension past Providence to T. F. Green Airport and Wickford Junction in Rhode Island is now fully open. The T. F. Green Airport part of the extension opened in December 2010, with Wickford Junction service beginning in April 2012.^[4]

A further 24-mile extension is under consideration by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Possible stops include Cranston and East Greenwich, and existing Amtrak stations in Kingston, Westerly as well as a possible revival of the Pawtucket/Central Falls Railroad Station. Rhode Island eventually plans to have its own statewide commuter service along the Northeast Corridor that would connect with MBTA service and an extension of Shore Line East.^[5] This would be the first commuter service to Westerly since the last state-sponsored train was run in December 1979.^[2] A passing siding (currently under construction) and new platforms (planned) at Kingston may enable extension of some trains there in the near term.^[6]

The Stoughton branch is currently being extended to Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford under a project called South Coast Rail, under which would operate as a separate line rather than a branch of the Providence Line. Track has been bought from CSX, but construction has not yet begun on stations.

Ownership and financing

The MBTA owns the track from Boston to the Rhode Island border. Track in Rhode Island is owned by Amtrak. The entire line is part of the Northeast Corridor.

As part of the 1988^[7] Pilgrim Partnership Agreement, Rhode Island provides capital funding (including some of its federal formula funds) for MBTA expansion in the state. Massachusetts (through the MBTA) provides the operating subsidy for MBTA Commuter Rail service in return.^[8] Rhode Island also pays Amtrak to allow the MBTA to use its tracks.^[9]

Station listing

Shore Line (Northeast Corridor)

Commuter rail platform at Ruggles station

Platforms and station building at Mansfield

Crumbling station at Pawtucket/Central Falls, last used in 1981

A commuter train at Providence in 2007

State	Amtrak Milepost[10]	MBTA Milepost	Zone fare	City	Station	Opening date	Connections and notes
MA	228.7	0	1A	Boston	South Station	1899	Silver Line service to Logan Airport, Red Line, and all south side Commuter Rail lines Amtrak Acela Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Northeast Regional
	227.6	1.2	1A		Back Bay	1987 (modern station)	Orange Line splits from Framingham/Worcester Line Amtrak Acela Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Northeast Regional original line continued northeast from here to a terminal at Park Square
	226.5	2.2	1A		Ruggles	October 5, 1987	Orange Line
	223.7				Forest Hills		Orange Line; only served by Needham Line trains Needham Line (old Dedham Branch) splits
					Mount Hope		closed November 2, 1979
	220.3	8.4	1		Hyde Park	October 5, 1987	temporarily closed November 2, 1979
	219.2	9.5	2		Readville		only served by trains using the Fairmount Line Franklin Line splits and Fairmount Line joins (both part of the Midland Railroad (NYNH&H)) split with Dedham Branch
	217.3	11.4	2	Westwood	Route 128		Amtrak Acela Express and Northeast Regional originally Green Lodge
	213.9	14.8	3	Canton	Canton Junction		split with Stoughton Branch
	210.8	17.9	4	Sharon	Sharon
				Foxborough	East Foxboro		closed November 1977
	204.0	24.7	6	Mansfield	Mansfield		junction with Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad (NYNH&H), now the line to Foxboro (special events)
	196.9	31.8	7	Attleboro	Attleboro		junction with Attleborough Branch and Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad Attleborough Branch (NYNH&H)
	191.9	36.8	7		South Attleboro	June 20, 1990[2]
RI	188.5			Pawtucket	Pawtucket-Central Falls		Closed February 19, 1981; currently considered for reopening
	185.1	43.6	8	Providence	Providence	February 1, 1988[2]	Amtrak Acela Express and Northeast Regional temporarily closed February 19, 1981 (but still served by Amtrak)
	176.8		9	Warwick	T.F. Green Airport	December 6, 2010[2]
	165.8[11]		10	North Kingstown	Wickford Junction	April 23, 2012[4]

Stoughton Branch

State	Milepost[10]	City	Station	Opening date	Connections and notes
MA	15.0 (0.0) (213.9 on NEC)	Canton	Canton Junction		splits from Northeast Corridor
	15.6 (0.6)		Canton Center
	18.9 (3.9)	Stoughton	Stoughton	1888	continued as Easton Branch

References

1. "2014 Bluebook 14th Edition" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
2. Belcher, Jonathan (20 July 2011). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA District" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
3. "Railroad Accident Report RAR-92-01: Derailment and Collision of Amtrak Passenger Train 66 with MBTA Commuter Train 906 at Back Bay Station, Boston, Massachusetts, December 12, 1990" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board, Washington, DC. 25 February 1992.
4. Samantha, Turner (4 November 2010). "Commuter Rail Station To Open In 2012". North Kingston Patch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
5. Edwards and Kelcey, Inc (July 2001). "South County Commuter Rail Service: Operations Plan" (PDF). Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
6. Barrett, Chris (31 December 2009). "Kingston MBTA stop project proposed". Providence Business News. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
7. "COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE TO WARWICK’S T.F. GREEN STATION UNDERWAY". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
8. "South County Commuter Rail". Federal Transit Administration. 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
9. Bierman, Noah (10 September 2009). "Vote set on T link to R.I. airport". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
10. Held, Patrick R. (2010). "Massachusetts Bay Colony Railroad Track Charts" (PDF). Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
11. "South County Commuter Rail Environmental Assessment" (PDF). Rhode Island Department of Transportation. February 2003. Retrieved 14 April 2012.

External links

• MBTA - Providence/Stoughton Line schedule