The East Junction Branch is part of the original main line of the
Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P), opened in 1835. To reach Providence from Boston, the B&P chose a largely straight route that avoided curves; it was a straight shot southwest from
Mansfield, Massachusetts to what was then part of
Seekonk, Massachusetts, (later transferred to Rhode Island as
East Providence). Seekonk was just across the
Seekonk River from Providence, and a ferry initially made the final leg of the trip into the city until a wooden drawbridge, the first of several incarnations of the
India Point Railroad Bridge, was completed and allowed trains to enter
India Point. The B&P was joined in Providence by the
New York, Providence and Boston Railroad in 1837, but the two lines did not directly meet. Ferries ran from India Point to the
South Side of Providence to allow passengers to transfer trains. Once the railroad bridge was completed, the B&P found itself in conflict with another company: the Seekonk Branch Railroad, chartered in 1836 to build a railroad between the B&P in Seekonk and a wharf on the Seekonk River. The Seekonk Branch Railroad intended to use the B&P bridge to run its own trains into Providence, treating the route much like a
toll road. However, the B&P objected to this for safety reasons, and upon litigation the
Massachusetts General Court refused to permit the practice, requiring Seekonk Branch Railroad trains be hauled by Boston and Providence Railroad locomotives into Providence. In 1839, the Boston and Providence Railroad absorbed the Seekonk Branch Railroad. Providence's third railroad, the
Providence and Worcester Railroad, opened between its namesake cities in 1847. The P&W and B&P collaborated on a new joint line out of Providence which split in
Central Falls, Rhode Island; the B&P built a new mainline from that point to its original main line in
Attleboro. The new route became the primary line out of Boston, while the original route into Providence was retained as a branch line, named the East Junction Branch for the point where the new route split from the old one. Made largely redundant by the new route into Providence, most passenger service was dropped at this time apart from trains meeting steamboats at India Point. The
Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad was completed in 1855, connecting to the East Junction Branch in Seekonk (today East Providence). The bridge across the Seekonk River was initially used by the PW&B to reach Providence via trackage rights. Per the PW&B charter, the railroad also had the right to connect with Boston and Providence Railroad passenger trains in Seekonk to provide service to Boston, but this was not taken advantage of. Upon its completion in 1874, the P&W's
East Providence Branch connected with the East Junction Branch in East Providence, then followed the PW&B right of way to
Bold Point. Passenger train service resumed on the East Junction Branch circa 1880.
Operations under Old Colony and New Haven The B&P was leased by the
Old Colony Railroad in 1888 and the line was labeled as the India Point Branch. The
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Old Colony in 1893. By 1903, passenger service was provided by a single combination baggage/passenger car pulled by a steam locomotive, which ran two round trips daily between East Providence and East Junction. The only regular stop was at Rumford, while a flag stop was also maintained at Perrin's. Passenger numbers averaged in the single digits per trip, and sometimes the train ran with no passengers at all; tickets could not be purchased in Providence and the
Providence Journal attested that most local residents were unaware the passenger train was available. This train continued running to fulfil the New Haven's requirement to provide passenger service on the line, which held far more value as a route for freight trains. The electrification of the Providence, Warren & Bristol in 1900 increased the feasibility of a mile-long (1.6 km) tunnel under College Hill to provide a way of getting trains from the east bay to Union Station in the center of Providence and an alternate route to Boston. The
Crook Point Bascule Bridge along with the
East Side Tunnel and a downtown viaduct were put into service on November 15, 1908, adding a new connection between the East Junction Branch and downtown Providence. The New Haven sought to double-track the branch between East Providence and East Junction, and approval for this work along with the elimination of several grade crossings came in October 1912. This was intended to allow for a continuous double-tracked route from East Junction to the Crook Point Bridge. As part of the construction, Rumford station was to be moved approximately east. Pawtucket Avenue (
Rhode Island Route 114 /
U.S. Route 1A) was to be grade-separated with a new bridge. Regular passenger service was discontinued by 1914. While regular passenger service never returned to the branch, dedicated passenger trains connecting to
Narragansett Park were introduced by 1937 and continued until the end of the New Haven Railroad in 1968.
After the New Haven The bankrupt New Haven was absorbed by
Penn Central at the end of 1968; this was the end of all remaining passenger service on the line. The
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) acquired the piece in Massachusetts on January 27, 1973, despite it not seeing any passenger service; Penn Central continued to provide freight service via trackage rights. During Penn Central's tenure, trains ceased using the full length of the branch, with only local freight trains remaining. The newly independent
Providence and Worcester Railroad assumed operations on the Rhode Island portion of the branch in 1976, while PC successor
Conrail inherited freight rights on the Massachusetts portion. By 1976, the India Point Railroad Bridge and the associated trackage in Providence were also abandoned, though the bridge remained intact until the removal of the swing portion from 2001 to 2002. The remainder of the bridge was removed in 2023. The Crook Point Bascule Bridge was closed to rail traffic in 1981 following its purchase by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, removing the last connection across the Seekonk River to Providence. After assuming Conrail's operations on the branch, CSX formally placed the Massachusetts portion out of service in 2001 excluding the first in Attleboro where an active customer remained. The remainder of Massachusetts section had not seen trains since Conrail suspended service in the 1980s. In 2006, the remaining tracks of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad were abandoned; the following year, the final half of a mile (0.8 km) of the East Junction Branch within East Providence was abandoned by the P&W, with a new connection built to the East Providence Branch. P&W continued to serve only the Rhode Island portion of the East Junction Branch until 2007, when a metals customer north of Newman Avenue in Seekonk asked for renewed rail service. P&W returned the line to service into Seekonk for the new customer that year. The remainder of the branch from Seekonk to Attleboro remains out of service as of 2017, but it has not been formally abandoned and the tracks have not been removed.
MBTA Commuter Rail maintained a layover facility for passenger trains at East Junction until 2006.
Current operations |alt=black and white map showing Providence and East Providence, Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island portion of the East Junction Branch moving northeast or southwest The P&W portion of the branch is served by local freight trains based out of
Valley Falls Yard via the East Providence Branch. The branch is single-track and has a speed limit of . == Former stations ==