The
Fall River Branch Railroad completed the line from Myricks south to Fall River in 1845. The
Old Colony and Newport Railway extended the line to
Newport, Rhode Island, in 1864. The line later became part of the
NYNH&H until 1958.
Penn Central then took over in 1968, followed by
Conrail, who took over in 1976. The Fall River Subdivision was assigned to
CSX in 1999 after the breakup of
Conrail. On October 2, 2008, the state government announced an agreement with
CSX Transportation for the purchase and upgrade of several of CSX's freight lines in the state. CSX agreed to sell the Fall River Secondary and
New Bedford Secondary for use by the South Coast Rail project, as well as the
Grand Junction Branch, the Framingham-to-Worcester section of the
Worcester Line, and the
South Boston Running Track. Other parts of the agreement included plans for
double-stack freights west of Worcester and the abandonment of
Beacon Park Yard. The agreement was signed on September 23, 2009. On June 11, 2010, the state and CSX completed the first phase of the agreement, including the transfer of the South Coast Rail lines to MassDOT; the
Massachusetts Coastal Railroad assumed freight rights on the two lines. The two lines were sold for $21.5 million. In May 2020, MassDOT issued a construction contract for the Fall River Secondary. The work included construction of
Freetown station and
Fall River station, of track work, rehabilitation of 10 grade crossings and 8 bridges, and construction of Weaver's Cove layover yard in northern Fall River. Construction was estimated to take 30 months.
Fall River/New Bedford Line service began using the route on March 24, 2025. ==See also==