The Fall River Subdivision is a freight
railroad line in the U.S. state of
Massachusetts, owned by the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, with freight operations handled by the
Massachusetts Coastal Railroad;
it was formerly owned and operated by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
. The line runs from the
New Bedford Subdivision at
Myricks (in
Berkley) south to
Fall River
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.
Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
along a former
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line. At its south end, at the
Rhode Island state line in Fall River, it becomes a line of the
Providence and Worcester Railroad.
History
The
Fall River Branch Railroad completed the line from Myricks south to Fall River in 1845. The
Old Colony and Newport Railway extended the line to
Newport, Rhode Island, in 1864. The line later became part of the
NYNH&H until 1958.
Penn Central then took over in 1968, followed by
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
, who took over in 1976. The Fall River Subdivision was assigned to
CSX in 1999 after the breakup of
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
.
On October 2, 2008, the state government announced an agreement with
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
for the purchase and upgrade of several of CSX's freight lines in the state. CSX agreed to sell the Fall River Secondary and
New Bedford Secondary for use by the South Coast Rail project, as well as the
Grand Junction Branch, the Framingham-to-Worcester section of the
Worcester Line, and the
South Boston Running Track. Other parts of the agreement included plans for
double-stack freights west of Worcester and the abandonment of
Beacon Park Yard. The agreement was signed on September 23, 2009. On June 11, 2010, the state and CSX completed the first phase of the agreement, including the transfer of the South Coast Rail lines to MassDOT; the
Massachusetts Coastal Railroad assumed freight rights on the two lines.
The two lines were sold for $21.5 million.
The line is currently used primarily to transport chemicals to Borden & Remington in
Fall River
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.
Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
.
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See also
* List of CSX Transportation lines
References
{{Reflist
Fall River, Massachusetts
CSX Transportation lines
Rail infrastructure in Massachusetts
Old Colony Railroad lines