MBTA Commuter Rail is the commuter rail system for the Greater Boston metropolitan area of Massachusetts. It is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and operated under contract by Keolis. In 2022, it was the fifth-busiest commuter rail system in the United States with an average weekday ridership of 78,800.[1] The system's routes span 394miles and cover roughly the eastern third of Massachusetts plus central Rhode Island.[2] They stretch from Newburyport in the north to North Kingstown, Rhode Island, in the south, and reach as far west as Worcester and Fitchburg. The system is split into two parts, with lines north of Boston having a terminus at North Station and lines south of Boston having a terminus at South Station.
, there are 137 active stations on twelve lines, two of which have branches. 110 active stations are accessible; 27 are not. One additional station,, is temporarily closed due to reconstruction of an adjacent bridge. Five additional stations (and) are indefinitely closed due to service cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six new stations are under construction as part of the South Coast Rail project; several other stations are planned.
The MBTA was formed in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad, New York Central Railroad, and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Subsidies began in stages from 1965 to 1973; a number of stations closed in 1965–1967 before service to them was subsidized, of which 26 have not reopened. Contraction continued into the early 1980s; 42 additional stations closed between 1967 and 1981 have not reopened. Expansion of the system began in the late 1970s, including extensions of existing lines and the reopening of several lines discontinued before the MBTA era. Three additional low-ridership stations have closed since 1981, while several others have been relocated.
| Station | Indicates the MBTA's official name for the station. | |
| Indicates whether the station is accessible. (See MBTA accessibility for further details.) | ||
| Line | Indicates the lines that stop at the given station. A bold line designation indicates that the station is a terminus for that line. | |
| Connections | Denotes any links to MBTA subway and MBTA bus routes, to other bus systems, to Amtrak trains, or to the CapeFLYER at the station. | |
| City/neighborhood | Identifies the municipality (and for Boston, the neighborhood) in which the station is located. | |
| Fare zone | Identifies which of the eleven fare zones the station is in. The zones are 1A, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, with Zone 1A being the closest to North Station and South Station, and Zone 10 being the farthest. | |
| Daily boardings | Average daily boardings (in both directions) from an April 2018 count. | |
| Station info | A link to the station's information page on the MBTA website. |
Six stations are under construction as part of the South Coast Rail project. All will be in fare zone 8.[4]
| Station | Line | City | Planned opening | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleborough | May 2025 | [5] | |||
| East Taunton | May 2025 | ||||
| New Bedford | May 2025 | ||||
| New Bedford | May 2025 | ||||
| Freetown | May 2025 | ||||
| Fall River | May 2025 |
Five additional stations are planned, but not funded, as part of the second phase of the South Coast Rail project. is planned as part of the redevelopment of the former Beacon Park Yard, while is municipally planned.
| Station | Line | City | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall River | ||||
| North Easton | ||||
| North Easton/Stoughton | [6] | |||
| Raynham | ||||
| Salem | [7] | |||
| Taunton | ||||
| Boston | [8] |
The MBTA was formed in August 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail services. Subsidies for Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) lines north of Boston began in 1965; subsidies for New York Central Railroad and New Haven Railroad lines west and south of Boston began later. If a railroad was given ICC permission to discontinue a service, the MBTA would subsidize operation within its funding district (within about NaNmiles of Boston), while municipalities outside the district could contract with the MBTA to fund continued service.
A number of out-of-district stations (and several in-district stations) were closed in January 1965; most reopened that June, or over the next decades. However, several minor stations were never reopened. In June 1967, the B&M discontinued never-subsidized Boston– and Boston– round trips - the last remains of B&M interstate service. Several out-of-district stations were also closed in April 1966 when the MBTA began subsidizing several New Haven Railroad lines.
This listing includes only stations closed when MBTA or local subsidies began, or on services that were never subsidized. Stations that later reopened are not listed.
| Station | Line | City | data-sort-type=date | Date closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackstone Line | Blackstone | April 24, 1966 | ||
| West Medway Branch | Medway | April 24, 1966 | ||
| West Medway Branch | Medway | April 24, 1966 | ||
| Central Mass Branch | Hudson | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Central Mass Branch | Hudson | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Central Mass Branch | Hudson | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Fitchburg Line | Waltham | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Lowell Line | Woburn | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Lowell Line | Wilmington | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Lowell Line | Billerica | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Boston–Concord | Chelmsford | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Reading Line | Wakefield | January 18, 1965 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Wilmington | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Atkinson, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Plaistow, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Newton, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | East Kingston, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | East Kingston, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Exeter, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Newfields, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Newmarket, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Durham, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Boston–Dover | Dover, NH | June 30, 1967 | ||
| Portsmouth Line | Hampton, NH | January 4, 1965 | ||
| Portsmouth Line | North Hampton, NH | January 4, 1965 | ||
| Portsmouth Line | Portsmouth, NH | January 4, 1965 |
The following stations had MBTA-subsidized service at one point, but are no longer served by the MBTA. Most were closed between 1967 and 1981, as four limited-service lines and a number of low-ridership stations were dropped. Three additional low-ridership stations were dropped in the 1980s and 1990s.
| Station | Line | City | data-sort-type=date | Date closed[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston/Roslindale | November 3, 1979 | |||
| Foxborough | data-sort-value="November 1, 1977" | November 1977 | ||
| Dedham | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Dedham | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Dedham | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Dover | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Dover | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Medfield | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Medfield | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Millis | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Millis | April 21, 1967 | |||
| Newton | October 28, 1977 | |||
| Waltham | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Waltham | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Weston | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Weston | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Wayland | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Wayland | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Sudbury | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Sudbury | November 26, 1971 | |||
| Waltham | data-sort-value="June 1, 1978" | June 1978 | ||
| Waltham | data-sort-value="June 1, 1978" | June 1978 | ||
| Acton | March 1, 1975 | |||
| Littleton | March 1, 1975 | |||
| Gardner | December 31, 1986 | |||
| Arlington | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Arlington | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Lexington | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Lexington | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Lexington | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Lexington | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Lexington | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Bedford | January 10, 1977 | |||
| Medford | data-sort-value="October 1, 1979" | October 1979 | ||
| Woburn | January 30, 1981 | |||
| Woburn | January 30, 1981 | |||
| Winchester | data-sort-value="June 1, 1978" | June 1978 | ||
| Woburn | data-sort-value="January 1, 1996" | 1996 | ||
| Nashua, NH | March 1, 1981 | |||
| Merrimack, NH | March 1, 1981 | |||
| Manchester, NH | March 1, 1981 | |||
| Concord, NH | March 1, 1981 | |||
| Andover | April 27, 1980 | |||
| North Andover | data-sort-value="November 1, 1974" | November 1974 | ||
| Gloucester | January 7, 1985 |
Most stations reconstructed (or closed and reopened) during the MBTA era have been rebuilt on or adjacent to the site of the old station. However, several stations have been substantially relocated.
| Station | Line | City | data-sort-type=date | Date closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 20, 1981 | Pawtucket/Central Falls station opened southwest in 2023. | ||||
| February 20, 1981 | Amtrak service moved to Providence station (on a new alignment north) in 1986; MBTA service to Providence resumed in 1988 using the new station. | ||||
| Lawrence | Moved 0.4miles east | ||||
| Salem | August 10, 1987 | Moved 0.5miles north | |||
| Newburyport | April 2, 1976 | MBTA service resumed in 1998 using a station 1miles south. | |||
| Chelsea | November 15, 2021 | Moved west | |||