The Providence Line started as the Boston & Providence Railroad, the second railroad chartered in New England, and was completed in 1835. The B&P was part of the main route from Boston to New York almost from the beginning, a route that became known as the Shore Line. Today the route hosts Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor trains (including the Acela) and MBTA commuter service to Providence (with an extension to TF Green Airport underway). The T’s Needham and Franklin lines and the Stoughton Branch also use parts of the Providence Line.


The Stoughton Branch from Canton Junction to Stoughton started as the Stoughton Branch Railroad, which opened in 1845 and was operated by the B&P under contract. Under the Old Colony Railroad it became part of a through route from Fall River and New Bedford, but the tracks south of Stoughton have been abandoned over the years.