The route from Boston to Braintree was part of the Old Colony Railroad’s original mainline from 1845. The line was very busy for almost a century, with four tracks from Boston to Atlantic (near today’s North Quincy Station) from 1913 onwards, and double track from there to Braintree and beyond. Successor New York, New Haven & Hartford discontinued all passenger service on the Old Colony in 1959, and the following year the bridge over the Neponset River burned, hindering restoration efforts for decades. The MBTA finally restored service on the Middleboro and Plymouth lines in 1997, with the Greenbush line following in 2007.