Foxboro station


Foxboro station, also known as Gillette Stadium station, is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It was originally used only for special events at nearby Gillette Stadium, primarily New England Patriots games, but now has weekday service on a pilot basis to test demand. It lies on a freight line between Mansfield and Framingham, known as the Framingham Secondary. The line was part of the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad, Old Colony Railroad, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, Penn Central, and, finally, Conrail, until 1999, when it passed to CSX. The line connects to the MBTA's Franklin Line at and the Providence/Stoughton Line at.
Trains come from Boston's South Station via the Franklin Line and from in Providence, Rhode Island via the Providence/Stoughton Line. Franklin Line trains make stops at and. Providence/Stoughton Line trains make stops at,, and. The service started with the opening of Foxboro Stadium in August 1971; Providence service ended soon but was brought back in 1994. By 2005, ridership per event averaged 1,567.
The station has a single side platform serving the line's main track, with a mini-high section for accessibility; a passing siding allows freight trains to pass stopped passenger trains at the station.

Expansion plans

In September 2010, the MBTA completed a study to determine the feasibility of extending full-time commuter rail service to Foxboro via the Franklin Line. The study looked at extending some Fairmount Line service to Foxboro, running shuttle trains from Foxboro to Walpole, or a combination of both. No determination was made as to if or when this service would begin.
A proposal for the MBTA to purchase the track and restore full service met with some local opposition, although the state purchased the line in June 2015. Passenger service gained new momentum when Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium, agreed to help subsidize the costs of a pilot program, up to $200,000/year.
In August 2017, the MBTA Fiscal Board approved an 11-month pilot program to test commuter rail service to Foxborough, with service planned to begin sometime in late 2018 or early 2019. In October 2017, the MBTA indicated that service would begin on May 20, 2019. Service during the trial period will consist of seven daily round trips - three during the morning peak period, three in the evening peak, and one midday. The launch date was delayed again, with regular service ultimately starting on October 21, 2019.
By December 2019, daily boardings at Foxboro averaged 70 - one-third of the projected ridership.