The current Middleborough Subdivision is formed from sections of four different railroads built in the 19th century. The oldest section is from northwestern Taunton into downtown Taunton, opened in April 1836 as part of the
Mansfield-Taunton
Taunton Branch Railroad - one of the first railroad lines in New England. The
New Bedford and Taunton Railroad completed an extension from Taunton south to
New Bedford in 1840, including the current Middleboro Subdivision southeast of downtown Taunton. The
Middleboro and Taunton Railroad opened a line from southeastern Taunton east to Middleborough in July 1856. In August 1871, the
New Bedford and Taunton Railroad built a branch from Attleboro Junction in northwest Taunton to Attleboro. under construction in 2022 The
New Haven Railroad folded into
Penn Central in 1969, and the line became part of
Conrail in 1976. The station purchased the line from Conrail, along with several other branch lines in Southeastern Massachusetts, for $1.2 million in December 1982. The Attleboro–Middleborough route was used by Amtrak's seasonal
Cape Codder service from 1986 to 1996, and by the
Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad in 1988, both with a stop at . In 2017, the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced that Phase 1 of the
South Coast Rail project would use the Middleborough Secondary for
MBTA Commuter Rail use between Cotley Junction and Middleborough. The MBTA issued a $403.5 million contract for the Middleborough Secondary and
New Bedford Main Line portions of the project on August 24, 2020. The work included reconstruction of the Middleborough Secondary for passenger service and construction of the new
Middleborough station.
Fall River/New Bedford Line service began using the route on March 24, 2025. ==See also==