| Franklin/Foxboro Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 An outbound train atWindsor Gardens in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Southeastern Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Commuter rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train number(s) | 704–793, 1708–1788 (weekdays) 5706–5793, 5806–5893 (weekends) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Keolis North America | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily ridership | 8,771 (October 2022)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 27.4 miles (44.1 km)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheFranklin/Foxboro Line (formerly theFranklin Line) is part of theMBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs fromBoston'sSouth Station in a southwesterly direction towardFranklin, Massachusetts. Most weekday trains use theNortheast Corridor before splitting off onto the namesakeFranklin Branch atReadville, though some weekday trains and all weekend trains use the Dorchester Branch (Fairmount Line) between Boston and Readville.
Foxboro station is located onthe Framingham Secondary branch line, which connects with the Franklin Line at Walpole. Previously, trains only served the station during special events atGillette Stadium. Pilot weekday service to Foxboro ran from October 2019 to November 2020; it resumed in May 2022 and was made permanent in October 2023.
The earliest predecessor to the Franklin Line began in 1835 when theBoston and Providence Railroad built a branch fromDedham toReadville, connecting with the main line fromBoston toProvidence. This was followed, in 1848, by the Norfolk County Railroad, which ran from Dedham toWalpole.[3] After various mergers and acquisitions, the line become part of theNew York and New England Railroad until 1898, theNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad until 1968, and, ultimately,Penn Central until its 1970 bankruptcy.
What is today's Franklin Branch was a portion of the Midland Line of the New Haven'sMidland Division, the New Haven's secondary route between Boston and New York; the MBTA's Dorchester Branch and the abandoned segments from Franklin toWillimantic, Connecticut viaBlackstone were the remaining components of the Midland Line. In 1910, the passenger route on the Midland Line was aregional inter-city train that continued to New York via the Highland Line segment of theHighland Division between Willimantic andWaterbury, Connecticut, then continuing down theHousatonic Railroad to theNew Haven Line.[4] Service was eventually shortened to Waterbury in 1937.[5]
However, in the 1940s and early 1950s service, including the New Haven'sNutmeg and several unnamed trains from Boston to Hartford and Waterbury continued.[6] It was shortened to Blackstone when the two southern spans of the bridge crossing theQuinebaug River inPutnam, Connecticut washed out duringHurricane Diane in1955. The bridge was never repaired, and the line was abandoned between Willimantic and Putnam in 1959.
Service to Blackstone was discontinued in April 1966 when the MBTA began subsidizing the line; Franklin and beyond were not in the MBTA district, meaning that the towns themselves had to subsidize service, and only Franklin agreed to do so.[7] The easternmost bridge over the Blackstone River was washed out in the March 17-19th flooding of the river in 1968; the line beyond Franklin was abandoned 3 years later,[8] and is now preserved in full as theSouthern New England Trunkline Trail. Between 1973 and 1976, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts bought almost all track assets in Southeastern Massachusetts, including the Franklin Branch, from the Penn Central's bankruptcy trustees. Ridership on the line tripled from 1982 to 1990.[9]
From the start of MBTA operations,Franklin was the terminus of the line. Service was extended toForge Park/495 station on June 2, 1988, although the line retained its original name.[10][7] Forge Park/495 is not on the former NY&NE main line to Woonsocket, but instead on the formerMilford and Woonsocket Railroad, which last saw passenger service in 1938.[11] The MBTA leased the branch fromConrail for the extension, with the possibility of future purchase.[7] In February 2020, the MBTA voted to purchase the line from Franklin to Milford for $13 million.[12]
In early 2019, the MBTA begin installation of an additional 3.8 miles (6.1 km) of double track - 3.3 miles (5.3 km) of new track plus the conversion of an existing siding) - betweenWalpole andNorfolk.[13] Major construction was completed in April 2020.[14] The $30 million construction of an additional phase and preliminary design of a third were announced in November 2019. Phase 2 will add 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of double track betweenFranklin and Norfolk; it will allow headways to drop from 45 to 35 minutes. Phase 3 is planned to complete double-tracking between just north ofFranklin/Dean College station and just south ofReadville station, including the modification of several stations.[15][13] Total cost of the projects was expected to be $68 million.[16] As of November 2024[update], Phase 2 is expected to be completed in January 2026, while design work for Phase 3 is expected to be completed in 2025.[17]
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From 1971 to 1973 and 1986 to 1988, Boston–Foxboro service forFoxboro Stadium events ran over the Franklin Line to Walpole, then over theFramingham Secondary to Foxboro.[18][19] Intermediate stops for the 1980s iteration were atReadville andNorwood Central (plusBack Bay in 1988).[20][21] The service ran over theProvidence/Stoughton Line from 1989 to 1994, with a reverse move atMansfield. It was routed back to the Franklin Line in 1995, with intermediate stops atBack Bay,Dedham Corporate Center, and Norwood Central.[22][23] Norwood Central was dropped from these trains beginning with the 2011 season.[24][25]
In September 2010, the MBTA completed a study to determine the feasibility of extending regular commuter rail service to Foxboro station via the Franklin Line. The study looked at extending some Fairmount Line service to Foxboro, running shuttle trains from Foxboro toWalpole, or a combination of both.[26] The MBTA planned to purchase trackage prior to restoring service; theFramingham Secondary, which provides access to Foxboro station, was acquired by the MBTA effective June 17, 2015. (CSX Transportation, the former owner of the branch, retained trackage rights over it.)[27]
In August 2017, the MBTA Fiscal Control Board approved an 11-month pilot program to test commuter rail service to Foxboro, with service planned to begin sometime in late 2018 or early 2019, although Fairmount Line advocates warned it might reduce service quality to existing Fairmount Line stations.[28] In October 2017, the MBTA indicated that service would begin on May 20, 2019.[29] Service during the trial period will consist of seven daily round trips - three during the morning peak period, three in the evening peak, and one midday.[30] The launch date was later delayed to October 21, 2019.[31][7] By December 2019, daily boardings at Foxboro averaged 70 - one-third of the projected ridership.[32]
Substantially reduced schedules were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020.[7] Foxboro pilot service was suspended on November 2, 2020, with the intention for it to resume in Spring 2021.[33] In November 2020, as part of service cuts during the pandemic, the MBTA proposed to closePlimptonville along with five other low-ridership stations on other lines.[34] On December 14, the MBTA Board voted to enact a more limited set of cuts, including indefinitely closing Plimptonville and four of the other five stations.[35][36] That day, temporary reduced schedules were again put into place.[37]
On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Franklin Line.[7] Service changes on April 5, 2021, added midday service as part of a transition to aregional rail model, with hourly service between Walpole and Boston and less frequent service south of Walpole. Foxboro service was not resumed at that time.[38][39] As part of that schedule change, all Franklin Line trains operating via the Southwest Corridor began stopping at Ruggles station after an additional platform there was completed.[40][39] Weekend service on the Franklin Line and the six other lines resumed on July 3, 2021.[41]
Four midday Foxboro round trips – but no peak Foxboro service – resumed on May 23, 2022. The line was renamed the Franklin/Foxboro Line at that time.[42][43] Some Franklin/Foxboro Line trains began stopping atForest Hills on September 3, 2022, to provide alternate service during a closure of the Orange Line.[44] Some peak-hour trains continued to stop after end of the closure on September 19.[45] A new one-year Foxboro pilot began on September 12, 2022.[46] As of September 2022[update], weekday service consists of10+1⁄2 Boston–Foxboro round trips and11+1⁄2 Boston–Forge Park round trips; weekend service has nine Boston–Forge Park round trips, with no Foxboro service.[47] By October 2022, daily ridership was 8,711 – 75% of pre-COVID ridership.[1] Foxboro service and the line's renaming were made permanent effective October 2, 2023.[48] Effective May 20, 2024, all weekend Franklin/Foxboro Line trains began operating over the Fairmount Line, with timed transfers to Providence/Stoughton Line trains at Readville station for connections to Ruggles and Back Bay.[49][50] Beginning on June 2, 2025, most weekend Fairmount Line service was temporarily diverted back to the Northeast Corridor during track work on the Fairmount Line.[51][52]
In July 2011, the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization began studying the viability of extending Franklin Line commuter rail service toHopedale andMilford. The study would update a 1997 MBTA evaluation that concluded costs outweighed the benefits of a possible expansion. Local officials believe increased population and track upgrades to theGrafton and Upton Railroad may increase the viability of an extension.[53] 8 miles of track from Franklin Junction to Milford were leased by the MBTA from Conrail for the Forge Park/495 extension and to establish the possibility of future service to Milford.[7] A 2004 analysis determined that the extension would cost $70.5 million and attract about 1,800 additional riders per weekday.[54]
Media related toMBTA Franklin/Foxboro Line at Wikimedia Commons
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