The New Bedford Main Line, also known as the New Bedford 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 Transit 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 ...

. The line runs from Cotley Junction where it meets the Middleboro Secondary near Weir Village (in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

) south to

New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

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. The

Fall River Secondary The Fall River Secondary (also called 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 ...

branches off at Myricks Junction.

History

The

New Bedford and Taunton Railroad The New Bedford and Taunton Railroad was originally incorporated at the Old Colony Railroad Corporation in 1836 as an extension of the Taunton Branch Railroad between Taunton and New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. The name was changed to ...

completed the line from Taunton south to New Bedford in 1840. It became part of the NYNH&H until 1968.

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 ...

took over in 1968, Then

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 ...

took over in 1976. The New Bedford 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

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 ...

for the purchase and upgrade of several of CSX's freight lines in the state. CSX agreed to sell the

and New Bedford Secondary for use by the

South Coast Rail South Coast Rail is a project to expand the MBTA Commuter Rail system into the South Coast region of Massachusetts, United States. The first phase opened on March 24, 2025, becoming part of the Fall River/New Bedford Line. It extended servic ...

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. The MBTA issued a $403.5 million contract for the Middleborough Secondary and New Bedford Main Line portions of the project on August 24, 2020. The work included reconstruction of the New Bedford Main Line for passenger service and construction of stations at , , and .

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

CSX Transportation lines Rail infrastructure in Massachusetts Old Colony Railroad lines {{Massachusetts-transport-stub

History

See also

References