Fitchburg Line

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Fitchburg Line
Train #465 entering Porter, bound for South Acton.
Info
Type	Commuter rail
System	MBTA Commuter Rail
Locale	Greater Boston
Terminals	Fitchburg North Station
No. of stations	18
Operation
Owner	MBTA
Operator(s)	MBCR
Character	Commuter rail line
Rolling stock	Commuter rail cars
Technical
Line length	49.55 mi (79.44 km)
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)

The Fitchburg Line is an MBTA line that runs from Boston's North Station to Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. It is one of the more scenic commuter rail lines, passing by Walden Pond between Lincoln and Concord.

Contents 1 History 2 Planned Improvements 3 Accessibility 4 Station listing 5 External links 6 References

[edit] History

The Fitchburg Line opened between 1840 and 1845 from Boston to Fitchburg. The Boston and Maine Railroad leased the Fitchburg Railroad in 1900 and bought it finally in 1919. It was sold to the MBTA on December 27, 1976.

Passenger service ran only to Fitchburg after 1960, when the through trains to Troy on the former Fitchburg Railroad were abandoned. On January 18, 1965 service was cut back to West Concord, but was restored to Ayer on June 28, 1965. On March 1, 1975 it was cut back to South Acton, but was restored to Fitchburg and beyond to Gardner on January 13, 1980. Gardner service was ended on January 1, 1987 when Amtrak took over the MBTA contract, due to a dispute between Amtrak and Guilford; the MBTA only owned the trackage to Fitchburg.

The Fitchburg Line west of the old Stony Brook Railroad, which now junctions east of the old Ayer Junction, now serves as part of Guilford's main line between Mattawamkeag, Maine and Mechanicville, New York.

[edit] Planned Improvements

There is a plan to upgrade the Fitchburg Line to have cab signaling and to construct a second track along a seven mile stretch near Acton which is shared with freight traffic, so that the Fitchburg to Boston trip will be able to take only about an hour.[1]

[edit] Accessibility

Only five of the stations, including both terminals, are wheelchair accessible (see below). See also MBTA accessibility.

[edit] Station listing

Milepost	City	Station	Opening date	Connections and notes
	Boston	North Station		Orange Line, Green Line and all north side Commuter Rail lines Amtrak Downeaster
		Boston Engine Terminal		A flag stop with a wooden platform for MBTA employees only
				MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line, Haverhill/Reading Line and Newburyport/Rockport Line split
	Somerville	Union Square		closed
		Somerville		closed
	Cambridge	Porter Square		Red Line, originally Porters
		West Cambridge		closed
5.52	Belmont	Hill Crossing		closed
6.43		Belmont Center		74/75 bus, temporarily closed 1958, reopened March 4, 1974
7.39		Waverley		73 trackless trolley, temporarily closed 1958, reopened March 4, 1974
8.31	Waltham	Clematis Brook		closed June 1978
9.26		Beaver Brook		closed June 1978
9.86		Waltham		70, 70A, 505, 553, 554, 556, 558 buses
10.55		Riverview		closed January 17, 1965
11.49		Brandeis/Roberts		originally Roberts
12.23	Weston	Stony Brook		closed
13.16		Kendal Green
13.72		Hastings		limited service, five inbound trains and six outbound trains on weekdays.
14.71		Silver Hill		limited service, two inbound trains and three outbound trains on weekdays.
16.66	Lincoln	Lincoln		originally South Lincoln
17.76		Baker Bridge		closed
20.05	Concord	Concord
21.89		West Concord
25.06	Acton	South Acton		Clock Tower Shuttle; terminal station for some trains; temporarily closed January 17, 1965, reopened June 28, 1965
26.77		West Acton		closed January 17, 1965, reopened June 28, 1965, closed April 30, 1975
28.93	Boxborough	Boxboro		closed
31.47	Littleton	Littleton/Route 495		originally Littleton temporarily closed January 17, 1965, reopened June 28, 1965, temporarily closed April 30, 1975, reopened January 13, 1980 (as Littleton/Route 495)
33.72 313.77	Ayer	Willows		closed
36.07 316.07		Ayer		temporarily closed January 17, 1965, reopened June 28, 1965, temporarily closed April 30, 1975, reopened January 13, 1980
39.43 319.43	Shirley	Shirley		temporarily closed January 17, 1965, reopened May 1981
42.14 322.14	Lunenburg	Lunenburg		closed
45.34 325.34	Leominster	North Leominster		temporarily closed January 17, 1965, reopened January 13, 1980
49.55 329.55	Fitchburg	Fitchburg		MRTA Buses to Gardner, temporarily closed January 17, 1965, reopened January 13, 1980
	Gardner	Gardner		opened January 13, 1980, closed January 1, 1987

v • d • e Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Subway lines      Green Line ("B" Branch · "C" Branch · "D" Branch · "E" Branch) •      Red Line (Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line) •      Orange Line •      Blue Line •      Silver Line Commuter Rail lines Greenbush • Old Colony Lines • Fairmount • Providence/Stoughton • Franklin • Needham • Framingham/Worcester • Fitchburg • Lowell • Haverhill/Reading • Newburyport/Rockport • North-South Rail Link Bus routes List of bus routes • Crosstown routes • Trackless trolleys • Key routes • Buses in East Boston, Chelsea, and Revere • Buses in South Boston Former lines Charlestown Elevated • Atlantic Avenue Elevated • Washington Street Elevated • Boston Elevated Railway • Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway • Middlesex and Boston Street Railway • Green Line "A" Branch • Boston-area streetcar lines Miscellaneous Accessibility • CharlieCard • Commuter Boat • MBTA Police • Nomenclature • List of subway stations

[edit] External links

• MBTA - The Fitchburg Line

[edit] References

• Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district (PDF)
• Mileposts from FRA Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory Files and Guilford District 3