The Fall River Secondary (also called the Fall River Subdivision) is a freight

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line in the U.S. state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, owned by the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

, with freight operations handled by the

Massachusetts Coastal Railroad The Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is a Class III railroad serving south-eastern Massachusetts. The railroad maintains track from Hyannis to Framingham, operating over 135 miles of track between Hyannis and Fall River/New Bedford. The railroa ...

; it was formerly owned and operated by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

. The line runs from the

New Bedford Subdivision The New Bedford Main Line, also known as the New Bedford Subdivision, is a freight railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, with freight operations handled by the Massachusetts Coastal Ra ...

at Myricks (in Berkley) south to Fall River along a former

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

line. At its south end, at the

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

state line in Fall River, it becomes a line of the

Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W; ) is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York (state), New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build ...

History

The

Fall River Branch Railroad The Fall River Railroad was a railroad that ran between Fall River and Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. It was formed in 1845 as a merger between three railroads, which opened in phases in 1845 and 1846. The railroad merged into the Ol ...

completed the line from Myricks south to Fall River in 1845. The

Old Colony and Newport Railway The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

extended the line to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, in 1864. The line later became part of the NYNH&H until 1958.

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

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 busine ...

, who took over in 1976. The Fall River Subdivision was assigned to

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

in 1999 after the breakup of

. On October 2, 2008, the state government announced an agreement with

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 The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts, to Worcester, Massachusetts, through the MetroWest region, serving 18 station stops in Boston, Newton, Massachusetts, Newton, Wellesley, Massach ...

, 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 Beacon Park Yard was a CSX Transportation rail yard in Allston, Boston, now owned by Harvard University. The yard opened in 1890 on the site of a former horse racing, trotting park, from which it took its name. It was closed in 2013 following the ...

. 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

assumed freight rights on the two lines. The two lines were sold for $21.5 million. In May 2020, MassDOT issued a construction contract for the Fall River Secondary. The work included construction of

Freetown station Freetown station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located in the Assonet village of Freetown, Massachusetts. The station is served by the Fall River Branch of the Fall River/New Bedford Line. It opened on March 24, 2025, as part of the first ...

and

Fall River station Fall River station (signed as Fall River Depot) is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in northern Fall River, Massachusetts. It opened on March 24, 2025, as part of the first phase of the South Coast Rail project. It is the southern terminal of the ...

, of track work, rehabilitation of 10 grade crossings and 8 bridges, and construction of Weaver's Cove layover yard in northern Fall River. Construction was estimated to take 30 months.

Fall River/New Bedford Line The Fall River/New Bedford Line (formerly the Middleborough/Lakeville Line) is a commuter rail line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in southeastern Massachusetts, United States. It runs south from Boston to Taunton, Massachusetts, Taunton, where ...

service began using the route on March 24, 2025.

References

{{Reflist Fall River, Massachusetts CSX Transportation lines Rail infrastructure in Massachusetts Old Colony Railroad lines

History

See also

References