As of February 2022, a total of five

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s operate in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Freight services are largely operated by the

Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build a railroad between Providence ...

, which interchanges with the state's only other freight railroad, the Seaview Transportation Company, a

switching and terminal railroad A switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard. It genera ...

serving the Port of Davisville. Passenger service is provided along Rhode Island's portion of the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, supplemented by

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...

service from Wickford Junction northbound towards

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Rhode Island is also home to one heritage railroad, the

Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad The Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates on Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. It was formed in 2014-15 from the merger of the for-profit Newport Dinner Train and the nonprofit Old Colony and Newport Scenic Rail ...

, which operates excursions on a segment of track on

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. T ...

which is disconnected from the rest of the United States rail network.

Freight carriers

Passenger carriers

Defunct railroads

;Electric *

Bay State Street Railway The Bay State Street Railway Company was a horse-drawn and electric streetcar railroad operated on the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and communities directly north (stretching into New Hampshire) and south (extending into Rhode Island) of the ...

* Fall River and Stone Bridge Street Railway * Groton and Stonington Street Railway * Middletown and Portsmouth Street Railway * Newport and Fall River Street Railway * Newport and Providence Railway * Newport Street Railway * Norwich and Westerly Railway *

Old Colony Street Railway The Old Colony Street Railway Company (Old Colony St. Ry.) was a Horsecar, horse-drawn and Tram, electric streetcar railroad operated on the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and communities south of the city. Founded in 1881 as the Brockton Stre ...

* Pawcatuck Valley Railway * Pawtucket Street Railway *

Providence Cable Tramway Company The Providence Cable Tramway Company built and operated a cable car line in Providence, Rhode Island. It was incorporated in 1884 and eventually absorbed into the Union Railroad. Construction began in late 1888 and revenue service began on January ...

(also a cable-car line) * Providence and Danielson Railway * Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad *

Rhode Island Company The United Electric Railways Company (UER) was the Providence-based operator of the system of interurban streetcars, trolleybuses, and trolley freight in the state of Rhode Island in the early- to mid-twentieth century. The UER was chartered in ...

* Rhode Island Suburban Railway * Sea View Railroad * Union Railroad *

United Electric Railways The United Electric Railways Company (UER) was the Providence-based operator of the system of interurban streetcars, trolleybuses, and trolley freight in the state of Rhode Island in the early- to mid-twentieth century. The UER was chartered in ...

Warwick Railway The Warwick Railway (reporting mark WRWK) was a railroad in Rhode Island, United States. It was originally chartered in 1873 under the name Warwick Railroad, with a route connecting Cranston to Oakland Beach, away. Opened in 1875, the company ...

;Not completed *

Southern New England Railway The Southern New England Railway was a project of the Grand Trunk Railway (GT) to build a railroad from the GT-owned Central Vermont Railway at Palmer, Massachusetts south and east to the all-weather port of Providence, Rhode Island. Much grading ...

Freight carriers

Passenger carriers

Defunct railroads

Bibliography

Notes

References

See also