Framingham/Worcester Line

Framingham/Worcester Line
Front facade of Worcester Union Station
Overview
Type	Commuter rail line
System	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Status	Operating
Locale	Central Massachusetts
Termini	Boston South Station Worcester Union Station
Stations	17
Daily ridership	17,382 (2009 daily average)
Operation
Opened	1834 as the Boston and Worcester Railroad
Owner	CSX west of Framingham, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Newton-Back Bay, MBTA elsewhere
Operator(s)	MBCR
Character	Elevated and surface-level
Technical
Line length	44.2 miles
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Legend 0.0 South Station  Red Line  Fairmount, Greenbush, and Old Colony Lines 1.2 Back Bay  Orange Line  Franklin, Needham, and Providence Lines 2.5 Yawkey 4.7 Boston Landing(planned) 8.1 Newtonville 9.1 West Newton 10.2 Auburndale 12.5 Wellesley Farms 13.5 Wellesley Hills 14.7 Wellesley Square 17.7 Natick 19.9 West Natick 21.4 Framingham 25.2 Ashland 27.4 Southborough 34.0 Westborough 36.4 Grafton 44.2 Worcester

The Framingham/Worcester Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts, though some trains terminate at Framingham, Massachusetts. The line serves the cities and towns of Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashland, Southborough, Westborough, Grafton, and Worcester.

History

This 1881-built depot at Auburndale, designed by H. H. Richardson, was torn down in 1961 to make room for the Massachusetts Turnpike

Grafton station, with large ramps and mini-high platforms for handicapped accessibility, is typical of the west-of-Framingham stations built around 2000

Originally built in 1834 as the Boston and Worcester Railroad, the line was later part of the Boston and Albany Railroad and New York Central Railroad systems. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority acquired the tracks from Newton to Back Bay Station in order to construct the Boston Extension of the Massachusetts Turnpike from the Route 128 circumferential highway to the then-elevated Central Artery in downtown Boston. Construction ran from 1962 to 1964, and reduced the railway to two tracks.

The New York Central was merged into Penn Central Transportation in 1968, which went bankrupt in 1970. Amtrak was created in 1971 to run intercity rail service; since 1975, it has operated the Lake Shore Limited on the Boston-to-Albany tracks.

On January 27, 1973 the MBTA acquired the remainder of the tracks east of Framingham, and subsidized passenger transit between Framingham and Boston. Commuter rail service between Worcester and Framingham was discontinued October 27, 1975, as the state did not subsidize it. The trackage on the western segment was inherited by Conrail in 1976, which returned to profitability in the 1980s. After a corporate breakup in 1999, CSX Transportation became the owner of the Worcester-to-Framingham segment.

In the late 1980s, the Orange Line was rerouted into parallel tracks sharing the Framingham Line's right of way between Back Bay Station and the portal to the Washington Street Tunnel.

MBTA commuter rail service expanded to Worcester on September 26, 1994 with limited rush-hour-only service. Off-peak service was added beginning on December 14, 1996. Worcester Union Station underwent a major renovation in 2000, and in 2006 the city's main bus terminal was co-located at the train station. Infill stations at Ashland, Southborough, Westborough, and Grafton were added in 2000 and 2002.

In January 2008, the Framingham/Worcester Line became the first in the MBTA system to offer wi-fi service aboard the trains. The service was expanded system-wide after a test period, but the Worcester Line was chosen for the pilot phase in part to compensate for low on-time performance.

In June 2012, New Balance announced plans to build a new station stop at their new development in Allston-Brighton. In November 2012, they announced plans to open the stop, Boston Landing, in 2014.

Ownership and passenger service performance problems

CSX freight trains in Beacon Park Yard in Allston in 2010

Low platforms, like this one at West Newton, are not handicapped accessible. They cause slow boarding on a large section of the line, as passengers must climb steps to enter train cars.

The line was the first or second worst in the MBTA system for several years. In October 2007, only 48.4% of trains ran on time (no more than 1 minute early or 5 minutes late), improving to 69.3% in January 2008 after CSX and MBCR officials began meeting daily.

CSX dispatches (controls signals) on the line from Selkirk, New York. Conflicts with freight trains, track work, and an increase of passenger load of about 40% since opening have all been blamed for affecting on-time performance. New federal speed regulations that went into effect in 2005 were also cited for slow service. On February 18, 2008, a new schedule went into effect, intended to more accurately reflect the run time on the line. By August 2009, actual on-time performance was at 82%.

In September 2009, after several years of negotiations, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts completed an agreement to purchase the tracks from Framingham to Worcester, with the actual transfer originally expected in 2011. Earlier phases of the agreement had allowed the addition of five weekday trains to Worcester.

In July 2012, the MBTA announced plans to add additional service on the line as CSX moves freight transload operations from Beacon Park Yard in Allston to a new yard in East Worcester that does not interfere with passenger operations. Three additional weekday Boston-Worcester round trips were added on October 29, 2012 after the October 4 signing of the deed that transferred ownership of the Framingham-Worcester section to the MBTA. A rush-hour express serving Worcester will be added on April 29, 2013, and an additional pair later in 2013 when the MBTA receives its new MPI HSP46 locomotives and bilevel passenger cars. The ultimate goal is for 20 Worcester round trips by October 2013, up from 12.5 round trips before the service increases.

The MBTA is also planning improvements to speed travel times on the line, including the possibility of adding a second main track through Beacon Park Yard - the only single-track section of the line. The former second track through the yard was turned into a yard lead with no through service in the 1950s.

Accessibility

All stations from Yawkey east and West Natick west are handicapped accessible; the ones in between are not. See also MBTA accessibility.

Station listing

This listing shows only those stations which have seen service since the MBTA was formed in 1964. For previously closed stations, see the full list of Boston & Albany Railroad stations.

Miles	City	Station	Opening date	Connections and notes
0.0	Boston	South Station	1899	Red Line and all south side Commuter Rail lines Amtrak Acela Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Northeast Regional replaced older terminal
1.2		Back Bay	1899	originally Trinity Place Orange Line splits from Attleboro/Stoughton Line/Franklin Line/Needham Line Amtrak Acela Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Northeast Regional
2.4		Brookline Junction		not a station Former junction with Highland Branch (original Brookline Branch)
2.5		Yawkey	April 29, 1988	Only operated during games at Fenway Park until January 2, 2001, when it opened to daily commuter traffic. Currently being rebuilt with full-length high-level platforms and accessible street-level connections
3.5		Beacon Park Yard		Not a station. Connection with Grand Junction Branch
4.7		Boston Landing		Planned to open in 2014
8.1	Newton	Newtonville		MBTA Bus: 59, 553, 554, 556
9.1		West Newton		MBTA Bus: 553, 554
10.2		Auburndale		MBTA Bus: 505, 558
10.9		Riverside		closed October 27, 1977; separate from Green Line station split with Highland Branch and abandoned Newton Lower Falls Branch
12.5	Wellesley	Wellesley Farms		Originally Rice's Crossing
13.5		Wellesley Hills
14.7		Wellesley Square		originally Wellesley
17.7	Natick	Natick		Former junction with abandoned Saxonville Branch
19.9		West Natick	August 23, 1982
21.4	Framingham	Framingham		Amtrak Lake Shore Limited junction with Milford Branch and Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad (NYNH&H, includes original Framingham Branch)
25.2	Ashland	Ashland	August 24, 2002	Former junction with abandoned Hopkinton Railway (NYNH&H)
27.4	Southborough	Southborough	June 22, 2002	originally Cordaville
34.0	Westborough	Westborough	June 22, 2002
36.4	Grafton	Grafton	February 23, 2000	originally North Grafton junction with Grafton and Upton Railroad
44.2	Worcester	Worcester		Amtrak Lake Shore Limited replaced older terminal temporarily closed October 26, 1975, reopened September 26, 1994 junction with Providence and Worcester Railroad (NYNH&H), Norwich and Worcester Railroad (NYNH&H), Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad (B&M) and Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad (B&M)

External links

• The Framingham/Worcester Line
• B&A Track Charts
• The Boston & Albany Railroad Webpage
• Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district
• Railroad History Database