East Providence Branch

East Providence Branch
The East Providence Branch in East Providence
Overview
Owner	Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Termini	Valley Falls, Rhode Island East Providence, Rhode Island
Continues from	Providence and Worcester Railroad main line
Continues as	East Junction Branch
History
Opened	1874
Technical
Track length	7.0 mi (11.3 km)
Number of tracks	1 (formerly 2)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	10 mph (16 km/h)
Route map The current route of the East Providence Branch

The East Providence Branch is a railroad line in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, in the United States. It connects Valley Falls, Rhode Island, to East Providence, Rhode Island, via South Attleboro, Massachusetts, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The branch was originally built by the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) in 1874, connecting its main line to a coal dock in East Providence, and was 7 miles (11 km) in length. At East Providence, the branch also met the East Junction Branch of the Boston and Providence Railroad and the mainline of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad. Built as a single-track railroad with bridges and the right-of-way prepared for future double-tracking, the line was fully double-tracked from 1892 to 1895; the second track was eventually removed.

The P&W was leased by the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad in 1888; the NYP&B in turn was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven) in 1892. The New Haven operated the branch until its merger into Penn Central Transportation Company at the end of 1968; in February 1973, the P&W broke free of its lease and resumed operations of the branch it had originally built.

The final 1.41 miles (2.27 km) of the line were formally abandoned in 2006, with a new connection completed to the East Junction Branch that year. P&W operates local freight train service on the branch.