The MBTA Commuter Rail is the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The line's characteristic purple-trimmed coaches run as far south as Providence, Rhode Island and as far north as Newburyport. Due to this coloring, locals occasionally call it the Purple Line to match the colored subway lines. The trains have two terminal stops in Boston, South Station and North Station. Both of these stations link with Amtrak and the local bus and subway lines. (See Boston transportation).

The seven lines of the Commuter Rail leaving from South Station are, from southeast to west:

• Plymouth/Kingston Line to Plymouth and Kingston/Route 3
• Middleborough/Lakeville Line to Middleborough/Lakeville
• Fairmount Line to Readville , with trains continuing along the Attleboro/Stoughton and Franklin Lines
• Attleboro/Stoughton Line to Stoughton and Providence, Rhode Island
• Franklin Line to Forge Park-495
• Needham Line to Needham Heights
• Framingham/Worcester Line to Worcester

Trains run to Foxboro for special events at Gillette Stadium via a spur off the Attleboro/Stoughton Line.

The four lines of the Commuter Rail leaving from North Station are, from west to northeast:

• Fitchburg Line to Fitchburg
• Lowell Line to Lowell
• Haverhill/Reading Line to Haverhill
• Newburyport/Rockport Line to Newburyport and Rockport

MBTA commuter rail service from both stations is provided by push-pull trains powered by diesel locomotives. (This is true even though some of the lines run on the electrified Northeast Corridor.) EMD F40PH locomotives and double-level passenger cars are typically used for trains that originate from South Station with EMD GP40MC locomotives and single-level passenger cars used from North Station. No direct connection exists between the two stations and there are no current plans to remedy this deficit; passengers wishing to travel from one station to the other must use the MBTA subways and change subway trains at either Park Street or Downtown Crossing stations. See also North-South Rail Link.

Several extensions of the MBTA commuter rail network are either on-going or currently being debated: As of 2004, the Greenbush Line is being restored and a service extension of the Lowell Line to Nashua, New Hampshire is being considered. An extension of the Stoughton Line is proposed to Fall River, Massachusetts and New Bedford, Massachusetts, and the Attleboro Line is planned for extension to T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island.

See also

• Big Dig
• Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
• North-South Rail Link

External links

Commuter rail website