Providence/Stoughton Line

Providence/Stoughton Line
An inbound Providence/Stoughton Line train approaching Canton Junction in April 2016
Overview
Owner	MBTA (within Massachusetts) Amtrak (within Rhode Island)
Locale	Southeastern Massachusetts Rhode Island
Termini	South Station Wickford Junction, Stoughton
Stations	18
Website	www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Providence
Service
System	MBTA Commuter Rail
Train number(s)	800–841, 860–893 (weekday) 1800-1819 (Saturday) 2800-2819 (Sunday)
Operator(s)	Keolis North America
Daily ridership	17,648[1]
Technical
Line length	62.9 miles (101.2 km) (South Station–Wickford Junction) 18.9 miles (30.4 km) (South Station–Stoughton)[2]
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Legend 0.0 mi 0 km South Station Greenbush Old Colony Fairmount  Orange   to Oak Grove 1.2 mi 1.9 km Back Bay  Framingham/Worcester  Massachusetts Avenue 2.2 mi 3.5 km Ruggles Roxbury Crossing Jackson Square Stony Brook Green Street Forest Hills Needham 6.5 mi 10.5 km Mount Hope (closed 1979) 8.4 mi 13.5 km Hyde Park Fairmount 9.5 mi 15.3 km Readville Dedham Branch Franklin/Foxboro 11.4 mi 18.3 km Route 128 14.8 mi 23.8 km Canton Junction Stoughton Branch 15.6 mi 25.1 km Canton Center 18.9 mi 30.4 km Stoughton Stoughton Layover South Coast Rail (Phase 2) 17.9 mi 28.8 km Sharon 24.7 mi 39.8 km Mansfield 31.8 mi 51.2 km Attleboro Attleboro Layover 36.8 mi 59.2 km South Attleboro MA RI 39.5 mi 63.6 km Pawtucket/​Central Falls Pawtucket Layover 43.6 mi 70.2 km Providence 51.9 mi 83.5 km T. F. Green Airport 62.9 mi 101.2 km Wickford Junction Northeast Corridor to Washington, D.C. This diagram: view talk edit

The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Providence station or Wickford Junction station in Rhode Island, while the Stoughton Branch splits at Canton Junction and terminates at Stoughton. It is the longest MBTA Commuter Rail line, and the only one that operates outside Massachusetts. The line is the busiest on the MBTA Commuter Rail system, with 17,648 daily boardings in an October 2022 count.

The portion between Boston and Providence was originally built by the Boston and Providence Railroad between 1834 and 1847. The portion south of Providence was built by the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad in 1837, while the Stoughton Branch was built by the Stoughton Branch Railroad in 1845. The lines were acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in the 1890s.

The MBTA began subsidizing service in the 1960s, and purchased the infrastructure and rolling stock from Penn Central in 1973. Service was cut back to Attleboro in 1981, but rush-hour service returned as far as Providence in 1988 under an agreement with the state of Rhode Island. Off-peak service to Rhode Island resumed in 2000. An extension south from Providence opened to T. F. Green Airport in 2010 and to Wickford Junction in 2012. All stations have been made accessible with high-level platforms. Newer stations like T.F. Green Airport, as well as stations shared with Amtrak, largely have full-length high level platforms; older stations have mostly been retrofitted with "mini-high" platforms one car length long.