About MCRT Boston
Boston – capital of Massachusetts, financial, educational and cultural center and largest city of New England. Boston is home to many historical, cultural and architectural points of interest – plenty of information here.
The MCRT in Boston
The Mass Central Railroad originally entered Boston as it crossed the Charles River railroad bridge and ended in North Station – a total of less than 1000 feet in Boston.
Visiting the MCRT in Boston
The MCRT trail route enters Boston from Cambridge’s Richard McKinnon Park, traveling on the most visually spectacular shared use bridge in New England: The North Bank Bridge. A stunning, S-curved concrete wave that floats over MBTA railroad tracks and under the massive highway ramps of the Zakim Bridge.
Photo credit RL0919
The bridge deposits you onto the lush lawns of Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. This is the perfect spot to catch your breath. The park offers a softer, greener vantage point of the harbor.
To officially arrive at North Station, you have two distinct options to cross the Charles River. One choice is the Gridley Locks over the Charles River Dam, a narrow, pedestrian-heavy footpath. Watching the massive steel lock gates open and close is a mechanical spectacle worth the wait; but bikes must be walked.
Photo credit ArnoldReinhold
Alternatively, the newly constructed Bill Russell Bridge offers both protected, dedicated bike lanes and wide pedestrian sidewalks; visiting at night offers colorful aesthetic lighting.
Photo credit Benesch website
Your trip ends at North Station / TD Garden, the hub of Boston’s transit network.
A Brief History of the MCRT in Boston
The Mass Central Railroad began service from Boston’s North Station to Hudson in 1881, with great fanfare. The ride took an hour – less time than it takes now to drive the same distance. Mass Central passenger service from North Station to Sudbury ended in 1971. Over the next decade, the former MCRR tracks from Cambridge and Somerville west to Waltham were all removed, and much of the land used for subway or trolley construction.
Explore Other Communities Along the MCRT
Geographical west to east
Northampton Hadley Amherst Palmer Belchertown Ware Hardwick New Braintree Barre Oakham Rutland Holden West Boylston Sterling Clinton Berlin Bolton Hudson Stow Sudbury Wayland Weston Waltham Belmont Somerville Cambridge Boston
For each MCRT town, we’ll connect you with maps, resources, suggested routes and trail status.