Alrighty, so now that I’ve covered the two stations on the Stoughton Branch, now it’s time to look at the line itself.
The line is a 4 mile branch coming off the Northeast Corridor mainline at Canton, Massachusetts. Among the places it stops at, aside from Canton Junction, are Canton Center and Stoughton. Service here is weekdays only, with hourly trains. Unfortunately, though, service is only that way because of the fact that the whole line is single-tracked. Also, every station has mini-high platforms, and the branch is also riddled with grade crossings, so bear that in mind. In terms of “how scenic is this?”, not very. If you’re into trees, you’d enjoy it.
The good: It regularly serves Stoughton outside the rush hour!
The bad: Trains are seemingly always delayed here for inexplicable reasons, and there’s a lot of grade crossings. It also doesn’t help that the entire line is single-tracked, and operates on weekdays only.
Nearby points of interest: Not much, aside from Canton and Stoughton.
Overall, here’s what I’d change. Hear me out:
Either double track the entire line to Stoughton (the space DOES exist!), and electrify it.
OR: we chuck a bunch of multiple units (diesel or electric? Your choice.) to operate as shuttles between Canton Junction and Stoughton, with rush-hour service using locomotives to South Station.
However, it turns out there ARE plans to electrify the line with the South Coast’s phase 2 extension, also including double tracking and station rebuilds. Thank GOD.
Rating: 4/10
