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Connecticut River Line
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Connecticut River Line
The Connecticut River Line (colloquially known as the Conn River Line) is a railroad line owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), running between Springfield and East Northfield, Massachusetts.
Freight rail service along the line is operated by Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, and passenger rail service is operated by Amtrak. The line is dispatched and operated on behalf of MassDOT by the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.[citation needed]
The original line between Springfield and Northampton was built by the Northampton and Springfield Railroad (chartered in 1842) during the early 1840s. While the line was under construction, the rail company merged with another company building a line from Greenfield, Massachusetts, south to Northampton. The Connecticut River Railroad (CRRR) was then formed in 1845 by the merger of the Northampton and Springfield Railroad with the Greenfield and Northampton Railroad.
The line opened between Springfield and Northampton in 1845 and by the following summer was extended to Deerfield, and then to Greenfield in November 1846. In 1849, the line was extended further north to the Massachusetts-Vermont state line, where it met the Brattleboro line of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad (which later became part of the Fitchburg Railroad).
The line became part of the Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) in 1893 when the CRRR was acquired by the B&M. In 1983 the line became part of Guilford Rail System (which later became Pan Am Railways). Pan Am Railways sold the line to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in late 2014, but retained an exclusive common carrier freight easement over the line and continued to maintain and dispatch the line under a contract with MassDOT. The Berkshire and Eastern Railroad took over Pan Am's operations on the line in September 2023.
Several local trains were dropped during systemwide cuts on May 18, 1958. Most local service ended on June 14, 1959; stops at Brightwood, Riverside, Mount Tom, Whately, and Deerfield were dropped. Local passengers were allowed to use the four daily through trains for service to Holyoke, Northampton, South Deerfield, and Greenfield; limited Friday and Sunday service to serve college students was also retained. The Springfield–Greenfield sections of two daily through trains were dropped on April 29, 1962, leaving just two daily round trips – the Montrealer/Washingtonian and Ambassador. Those trains were cut on September 6, 1966, ending through passenger service over the line. Limited local service (one southbound Friday trip, and two Sunday round trips) between Springfield and Brattleboro lasted until later that year.
In 1972, Amtrak began running the Montrealer along the line at night, stopping at Northampton but not Holyoke or Greenfield. The Montrealer was discontinued in 1987 due to poor track conditions on the line. Service resumed in 1989 after Amtrak seized control of the line in Vermont from the Boston and Maine Railroad, but the train was rerouted over the Central Vermont Railway through Massachusetts and Connecticut to avoid the still-dilapidated Connecticut River Line, because Guilford Rail System refused to improve poor track conditions. A stop was added at Amherst to replace Northampton. The Montrealer was replaced by the daytime Vermonter in 1995, using the original route through Connecticut but still avoiding the Conn River Line in Massachusetts.
Freight service along the Connecticut River line has for many years been operated by Pan Am Railways. In recent years the line has been operated at FRA Class I levels, with freight trains limited to a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). Due to these conditions, there are only a few remaining online customers. One of the largest potential customers, Yankee Candle, despite being on the other side of the road, receives wax shipments via truck from a competing railroad's depot further south.
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Connecticut River Line
The Connecticut River Line (colloquially known as the Conn River Line) is a railroad line owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), running between Springfield and East Northfield, Massachusetts.
Freight rail service along the line is operated by Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, and passenger rail service is operated by Amtrak. The line is dispatched and operated on behalf of MassDOT by the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.[citation needed]
The original line between Springfield and Northampton was built by the Northampton and Springfield Railroad (chartered in 1842) during the early 1840s. While the line was under construction, the rail company merged with another company building a line from Greenfield, Massachusetts, south to Northampton. The Connecticut River Railroad (CRRR) was then formed in 1845 by the merger of the Northampton and Springfield Railroad with the Greenfield and Northampton Railroad.
The line opened between Springfield and Northampton in 1845 and by the following summer was extended to Deerfield, and then to Greenfield in November 1846. In 1849, the line was extended further north to the Massachusetts-Vermont state line, where it met the Brattleboro line of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad (which later became part of the Fitchburg Railroad).
The line became part of the Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) in 1893 when the CRRR was acquired by the B&M. In 1983 the line became part of Guilford Rail System (which later became Pan Am Railways). Pan Am Railways sold the line to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in late 2014, but retained an exclusive common carrier freight easement over the line and continued to maintain and dispatch the line under a contract with MassDOT. The Berkshire and Eastern Railroad took over Pan Am's operations on the line in September 2023.
Several local trains were dropped during systemwide cuts on May 18, 1958. Most local service ended on June 14, 1959; stops at Brightwood, Riverside, Mount Tom, Whately, and Deerfield were dropped. Local passengers were allowed to use the four daily through trains for service to Holyoke, Northampton, South Deerfield, and Greenfield; limited Friday and Sunday service to serve college students was also retained. The Springfield–Greenfield sections of two daily through trains were dropped on April 29, 1962, leaving just two daily round trips – the Montrealer/Washingtonian and Ambassador. Those trains were cut on September 6, 1966, ending through passenger service over the line. Limited local service (one southbound Friday trip, and two Sunday round trips) between Springfield and Brattleboro lasted until later that year.
In 1972, Amtrak began running the Montrealer along the line at night, stopping at Northampton but not Holyoke or Greenfield. The Montrealer was discontinued in 1987 due to poor track conditions on the line. Service resumed in 1989 after Amtrak seized control of the line in Vermont from the Boston and Maine Railroad, but the train was rerouted over the Central Vermont Railway through Massachusetts and Connecticut to avoid the still-dilapidated Connecticut River Line, because Guilford Rail System refused to improve poor track conditions. A stop was added at Amherst to replace Northampton. The Montrealer was replaced by the daytime Vermonter in 1995, using the original route through Connecticut but still avoiding the Conn River Line in Massachusetts.
Freight service along the Connecticut River line has for many years been operated by Pan Am Railways. In recent years the line has been operated at FRA Class I levels, with freight trains limited to a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). Due to these conditions, there are only a few remaining online customers. One of the largest potential customers, Yankee Candle, despite being on the other side of the road, receives wax shipments via truck from a competing railroad's depot further south.
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