Foxboro station on the MBTA Commuter Rail system is currently only used for special events (primarily New England Patriots football games) at nearby Gillette Stadium. It lies on a freight line between Mansfield and Framingham, known as the Framingham Secondary. The line was part of the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad, Old Colony Railroad, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, Penn Central, and, finally, Conrail, until 1999, when it passed to CSX. The line connects to the MBTA's Franklin Line at Walpole and the Providence/Stoughton Line at Mansfield.
Trains come from Boston's South Station via the Franklin Line and from T. F. Green Airport station in Warwick, Rhode Island via the Providence/Stoughton Line. Franklin Line trains make stops at Back Bay, Dedham Corporate Center/128, and Norwood Central. Providence/Stoughton Line trains make stops at Providence, South Attleboro, Attleboro, and Mansfield. The service started with the opening of Foxboro Stadium in August 1971; Providence service ended soon but was brought back in 1994.
Video Foxboro (MBTA station)
Expansion plans
In September 2010, the MBTA completed a study to determine the feasibility of extending full-time commuter rail service to Foxboro via the Franklin Line. The study looked at extending some Fairmount Line service to Foxboro, running shuttle trains from Foxboro to Walpole, or a combination of both. No determination was made as to if or when this service would begin.
A proposal for the MBTA to purchase the track and restore full service met with some local opposition, although the state purchased the line in June 2015. Passenger service gained new momentum when Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium, agreed to help subsidize the costs of a pilot program, up to $200,000/year.
In August 2017, the MBTA Fiscal Board approved an 11-month pilot program to test commuter rail service to Foxboro, with service planned to begin sometime in late 2018 or early 2019. In October 2017, the MBTA indicated that service would begin on May 20, 2019.
Maps Foxboro (MBTA station)
References
External links
- MBTA - Football Trains to Gillette Stadium
- MBTA - Foxborough Commuter Rail Feasibility Analysis
- Media related to Foxboro (MBTA station) at Wikimedia Commons
Source of article : Wikipedia
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