Massachusetts
State Details
See Wikipedia; also see United States for information relating to the country as a whole, and the national operator Amtrak.
Maps
Massachusetts is covered by the SPV "North America Railroad Atlas" volume New England & Maritime Canada.
Rail Operators
Amtrak provides the following services:
- inter-city service on the Northeast Corridor, between Boston, New York, and Washington DC
- regional service between Boston and Brunswick (Maine), under the "Downeaster" brand. The Downeaster website has detailed information, including a PDF schedule at Schedules and Fares.
- long-distance service: the Lake Shore Limited between Boston and Chicago, and the Vermonter between St. Albans and Washington DC. Both services run via Springfield in western Massachusetts.
MBTA
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates public transport services in the Boston city area, including metro and light rail lines, and also "Commuter Rail" main-line rail services extending considerably further from the city. Various website pages provide information for all transport modes:
- Trip Planner
- Schedules and Maps
- Alerts - lists both service disruptions and planned engineering works
An unofficial but highly detailed geographical track plan of MBTA Subway lines, and all main-line routes in the same area, is available at vanshnookenraggen.com - use the "three lines" drop-down menu to access it.
Real-time Information
Like many US public transport agencies, MBTA provides a GTFS data feed, including real-time information on rail and other services. Various non-MBTA websites use this to provide real-time maps and other views, including the following:
- Pantograph includes multiple operators and routes - use the filters to select the desired services.
- MBTAInfo
- TransitMatters - subway lines only.
- Stefan Wuensch's real-time maps: commuter rail, subway
MBTA Commuter Rail
Most lines are within Massachusetts; the Providence Line extends into Rhode Island, through Providence itself to Wickford Junction.
- Infrastructure: see national details. The Providence Line is electrified at 25kV 60Hz AC as part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, but MBTA operates all its trains with diesel power.
- Map: map page. The timetable pages for individual lines have interactive maps.
- Timetables: on the schedules page, follow the links for individual lines, then click the link under "PDF Schedules".
- Disruptions: the Alerts page
- Real-time Info: see MBTA above
Note that parts of some MBTA Commuter Rail routes are also used by Amtrak services.
CapeFlyer
CapeFlyer is a summer-only service operated by MBTA, between Boston and Hyannis (on Cape Cod). The service uses the Commuter Rail Middleborough/Lakeville line.
Tourist Lines
See Wikipedia
Metro and light rail systems
Boston
MBTA operates the "Subway" network, comprising both metro and light rail routes. The Blue, Orange and Red Lines are metro services. The Green Line is a light rail service, with a mix of street-running, reserved right-of-way, and tunnel. The "Ashmont-Mattapan High-Speed Line" is a light rail service, operated with historic PCC vehicles
Infrastructure
- Gauge: standard
- Electrification: 600V DC third rail (Blue Line (tunnel section), Orange Line, Red Line); 600V DC overhead (Blue Line (surface section), Green Line, Ashmont-Mattapan)
- Rule of the road: right
Copies of official MBTA Subway track plans are available at the Internet Archive: Blue Line, Green Line, Orange Line, Red Line.
Information
- Map: map page
- Timetables: schedules page
- Real-time Info: see MBTA above
See also UrbanRail.
Note: "Silver Line" routes are shown on the Subway map, but these are operated with dual-mode (diesel/electric) buses running partly on reserved routes.
Obscure and Sparse Passenger Services
See PSUL: World Beyond Europe entries with 'MA' numbers - note that these entries are in the United States section, not the 'MA' numbers used for Morocco.
