Bay Colony Millis Line

Is the Globe article correct that Mass Coastal operates to Framingham? I'm under the impression that Mass Coastal handles the dispatching of the Commonwealth-owned Framingham Secondary but CSX has the rights to operate freight service over the line; not Mass Coastal.

CSX has the freight rights on the Framingham Branch and the Attleboro to Middleboro line . The track is owned by the Commonwealth who contracted the dispatching and maintenance to Mass Coastal . The only Mass Coastal trains you will see would be work trains and light engine moves on the Middleboro line .

One interesting thing about that map - I didn't think the Bay Colony (or anyone, for that matter) still had freight rights on the line between Braintree and Kingston/Plymouth to sell to Mass Coastal - as far as I was aware, that line had been passenger-only since the Old Colony commuter rail lines were rebuilt in the first place.

That Mass Coastal has freight rights on an MBTA line that hasn't seen freight activity in 20 years is provocative. A Google Earth exam of the line doesn't even show any potential shippers. The Bay Colony RR NEARS presentation of April 2017 at the link below indicates that BCRR had freight rights on many state-owned Old Colony lines such as the Plymouth Branch from 1980 (start of Staggers Act dereg) until BCRR lost the lease in 2007. So Mass Coastal apparently did not acquire Plymouth Branch freight rights from its recent acquisition of the remains of BCRR.

https://nears.org/presentations/NEARS_S ... Colony.pdf

I don't understand why Mass Coastal advertises the Plymouth line as an "Operating Line" with Braintree interchange on its corporate website given there are no shippers on the line unless something is brewing (eg, a new C&D or municipal waste transload facility). Having said that, given that MBTA trains no longer operate between Kingston and N Plymouth, a couple miles of excellent quality track might be re-purposable if residents are willing.

Strategically, I wonder why CSX doesn't cede its SE Mass freight rights to Mass Coastal and establish interchange at Framingham?

I believe the biggest stumbling block north of Attleboro is the corridor. Many are called but few are chosen.

johnpbarlow wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:48 am That Mass Coastal has freight rights on an MBTA line that hasn't seen freight activity in 20 years is provocative. A Google Earth exam of the line doesn't even show any potential shippers. The Bay Colony RR NEARS presentation of April 2017 at the link below indicates that BCRR had freight rights on many state-owned Old Colony lines such as the Plymouth Branch from 1980 (start of Staggers Act dereg) until BCRR lost the lease in 2007. So Mass Coastal apparently did not acquire Plymouth Branch freight rights from its recent acquisition of the remains of BCRR.

Ive always thought either Alvin Hollis or the buoy place in S. Weymouth would be a good fit for the occasional freight. Im not sure further down the line tho

Infact i think there used to be a siding that went into Weymouth NAS. I'm sure there's no remnants of that anymore.