For current service on this route, see Green Line D branch.
Highland branch
Newton Centre station after the 1905–1907 grade crossing project lowered the right-of-way
Overview
Status
Closed
Locale
Boston, Massachusetts
Service
System
Boston and Albany Railroad
History
Opened
1886 (1886)
Closed
1958 (1958)
Technical
Line length
12.25 mi (19.71 km)
Character
Grade-separated double track
Track gauge
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
Legend
0 mi
0 km
Boston South Station
1.2 mi
1.9 km
Trinity Place/Huntington Avenue
Brookline Junction
3.02 mi
4.86 km
Chapel
(closed 1893)
3.16 mi
5.09 km
Longwood
3.89 mi
6.26 km
Brookline
4.43 mi
7.13 km
Brookline Hills
5.20 mi
8.37 km
Beaconsfield
5.20 mi
8.37 km
Reservoir
6.65 mi
10.7 km
Chestnut Hill
8.11 mi
13.05 km
Newton Centre
8.94 mi
14.39 km
Newton Highlands
Cook Street Junction
Charles River Branch
to Woonsocket
9.70 mi
15.61 km
Eliot
10.54 mi
16.96 km
Waban
11.56 mi
18.6 km
Woodland
12.25 mi
19.71 km
Riverside
Riverside Junction
Charles River
Newton Lower Falls Branch
to Newton Lower Falls
Boston and Albany Railroad
to Albany
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The Highland branch, also known as the Newton Highlands branch, was a suburban railway line in Boston, Massachusetts. It was opened by the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1886 to serve the growing community of Newton, Massachusetts. The line was closed in 1958 and sold to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), the predecessor of the current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which reopened it in 1959 as a light rail line, now known as the D branch of the Green Line.
The first section of what became the Highland branch was built by the Boston and Worcester Railroad between Boston and Brookline in 1848. The Charles River Branch Railroad, a forerunner of the New York and New England Railroad, extended the line to Newton Upper Falls in 1852. The B&A bought the line in 1883 and extended to Riverside, rejoining its main line there. The MTA electrified the line when it rebuilt it for light rail use.
The conversion of the Highland branch into a light rail line was pioneering in several ways. Amid a backdrop of failing private passenger service in the United States, it was the first time a government entity in that country had assumed full responsibility for losses on a route. It was also the only example of converting an extant commuter rail line to light rail use.
The Highlandbranch, also known as the Newton Highlands branch, was a suburban railway line in Boston, Massachusetts. It was opened by the Boston and Albany...
The Green Line D branch (also referred to as the Highlandbranch or Riverside Line) is a light rail line in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Newton, and...
Charles River Branch, and in 1884 they built a line from Riverside to the branch, forming the Highlandbranch, Newton Highlands branch, or "Newton circuit"...
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originally a commuter rail station on the Boston and Albany Railroad's Highlandbranch; it closed with the rest of the line in 1958 and reopened on July 4...
Massachusetts. It opened along with the rest of the D branch on July 4, 1959, when trolleys replaced Highlandbranch commuter rail service. The station is fully...
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The Highland Railway W class were four small 0-4-4T locomotives built by the Highland Railway in 1905–1906 to the design of locomotive superintendent...
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the line was lowered below grade to eliminate street crossings. The Highlandbranch was closed in 1958 and quickly converted for streetcar use; streetcar...
Hills – was added after 1858. After 1886, loop service was run on the Highlandbranch via what is now the Framingham/Worcester Line, and later via the Needham...
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