Franklin Line

For the lines in New York City, see Franklin Avenue Line (disambiguation).

FRANKLIN LINE
350px Norwood Central station
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Status	Operating
Locale	Southeastern Massachusetts
Termini	Boston South Station Franklin
Stations	16
Daily ridership	12,480
Operation
Owner	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Operator(s)	Keolis North America
Character	Elevated and surface-level
Technical
Line length	27.4 miles (44.1 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map South Station Some service via Fairmount Line Back Bay Greenbush and Old Colony Lines Framingham/Worcester Line Newmarket Uphams Corner Ruggles Four Corners/Geneva Ave Talbot Ave Forest Hills (Needham Line only) Morton Street Needham Line Blue Hill Avenue(opening 2017) Neponset River (closed 1979)Mount Hope Fairmount Neponset River (limited service)Hyde Park Readville Interim Repair Facility x20px Readville Dedham Branch x20px Providence/Stoughton Line Endicott Dedham Corporate Center Islington Norwood Depot Norwood Central Windsor Gardens Plimptonville(limited service) Walpole Framingham Secondary ( freight only ) x20px File:BSicon KRZxl.svg to Providence/Stoughton Line Foxboro(special events only) Norfolk Franklin/Dean College Blackstone(closed 1966) Forge Park/495

The Franklin Line, part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts, utilizing the Northeast Corridor before splitting off onto the namesake Franklin Branch. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville, though some weekday trains use the Dorchester Branch (Fairmount Line) to access South Station. Most weekday trains bypass Hyde Park or Plimptonville (there is no weekend service at these stations). Several weekday trains originate at Norwood Central. Trains only serve Foxboro from Boston during special events at Gillette Stadium.

History

File:Walpole Union Station, Walpole MA.jpg

Historic Union Station in Walpole

File:Forge Park - 495 MBTA station, Franklin MA.jpg

The line was extended to Forge Park/495 station in 1988

The earliest predecessor to the Franklin Line began in 1835 when the Boston and Providence Railroad built a branch from Dedham to Readville, connecting with the main line from Boston to Providence. This was followed, in 1848, by the Norfolk County Railroad, which ran from Dedham to Walpole. After various mergers and acquisitions the line become part of the New York and New England Railroad until 1898, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad until 1968, and ultimately Penn Central until its bankruptcy. What is today's Franklin Branch was a portion of the Midland Line of the New Haven's Midland Division, the New Haven's secondary route between Boston and New York; the MBTA's Dorchester Branch as well as the abandoned segments between Franklin to Willimantic, Connecticut via Blackstone were the remaining components of the Midland Line. In 1910, the passenger route on the Midland Line was an regional inter-city train that continued to New York via the segment Highland Line of the Highland Division between Willimantic and Waterbury, Connecticut, then continuing down the Housatonic Railroad to the New Haven Line. Service was eventually shortened to Waterbury, then to Hartford, Connecticut, before being shortened to Blackstone when the two southern spans of the bridge crossing the Quinebaug River in Putnam, Connecticut washed out during Hurricane Diane in 1955. The bridge was never repaired, and 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 the towns themselves had to subsidize service, and only Franklin agreed to do so. The easternmost bridge over the Blackstone River in the March 17-19th flooding of the river; the line beyond Franklin was abandoned 3 years later, and is now preserved in full as the Southern 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.

From the start of MBTA operations, Franklin/Dean College was the terminus of the line. Service was extended to Forge Park/495 Station on June 2, 1988, although the line retained its original name. Forge Park/495 is not on the former NY&NE main line to Woonsocket, but instead on the former Milford & Woonsocket Railroad, which last saw service in 1938.

Proposed expansions

Foxboro station, the terminus of a proposed branch of the Franklin Line

In September 2010, the MBTA completed a study to determine the feasibility of extending regular commuter rail service to Foxboro via the Franklin Line. The study looked at extending some Fairmount Line service to Foxboro, running shuttle trains from Foxboro to Walpole, or a combination of both. No determination has been made as to if or when this service would begin. The MBTA plans to purchase trackage prior to restoring service.

In July 2011, the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization began studying the viability of extending Franklin Line commuter rail service to Hopedale and Milford. 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 the Grafton and Upton Railroad may increase the viability of an extension. 8 miles of track from Franklin Junction to Milford were leased by the MBTA from Conrail for the extension and to establish the possibility of future service to Milford. A 2004 analysis determined that the extension would cost $70.5 million and attract about 1,800 additional riders per weekday.

Station listing

Miles	City	Station	Fare zone	Opening date	Connections and notes
0.0	Boston	South Station	1A	1899	Red Line and all south side Commuter Rail lines Amtrak Acela Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Northeast Regional
1.2		Back Bay	1A	1899	Orange Line splits from Framingham/Worcester Line
2.2		Ruggles	1A	May 4, 1987	MBTA Orange Line
8.4		Hyde Park	1	circa 1850	temporarily closed November 2, 1979 - May 4, 1987
9.2		Readville	2	1834	Fairmount Line connects; splits from Providence/Stoughton Line
10.9	Dedham	Endicott	2
11.8		Dedham Corporate Center	2	January 15, 1990
12.5	Westwood	Islington	3
14.3	Norwood	Norwood Depot	3
14.8		Norwood Central	3	1899
16.6		Windsor Gardens	4
17.7	Walpole	Plimptonville	4	circa 1849
19.1		Walpole	4	1883
23.0	Norfolk	Norfolk	5
27.5	Franklin	Franklin/Dean College	6
30.3		Forge Park/495	6	1988

External links

• MBTA - Franklin Line