I-290 Northborough Commuter Rail Extension Feasibility Study

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report coverPosted October 2005

Rail passenger service between Marlborough and Boston via Framingham was last operated in 1937. This service used a combination of the present MBTA Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line, the present CSX Corporation Fitchburg Secondary Track, and a now-abandoned spur track from Marlboro Junction, on the border of Southborough, to a station south of Main Street near Marlborough City Hall. Portions of the right-of-way of this spur are now occupied by new roads. The closest point to downtown Marlborough on an active railroad line is the former Marlboro Junction Station site. Passenger service on the Fitchburg Secondary Track north of Marlboro Junction to Northborough and beyond ended in 1931.

Marlborough city officials and business leaders have recently expressed strong interest in reinstitution of commuter rail service to the Marlborough area via the Fitchburg Secondary Track and have requested that the MBTA examine the feasibility of such service. This report presents the results of the feasibility study, which was performed for the MBTA by the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS).

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