Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside

The Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) is a partially completed rail trail between Northampton, Massachusetts and Boston along the right-of-way (ROW) of the former Massachusetts Central Railroad and former Central Massachusetts Railroad. It currently has over open, and are open or protected for trail development. When complete, it will be long through Central Massachusetts and Greater Boston, forming the longest rail trail in New England. Many sections of the trail, including the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail and the Somerville Community Path, have been developed as separate projects but serve as part of the complete Mass Central Rail Trail. The Norwottuck Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the build and operation of the MCRT, maintains an interactive map of the MCRT and other Massachusetts trails.

History

The Massachusetts Central Railroad was formed in 1869 and envisioned a railroad from Boston to Northampton. By 1882 it was providing passenger service from Boston to Jefferson, but went bankrupt in 1883. It was succeeded by the Central Massachusetts Railroad, which was leased by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1887, naming it the Central Massachusetts Branch. Later that year, the route was completed from Boston to Northampton. The railroad faced various challenges over its history, including a fatal blow to the complete route by the Hurricane of 1938 which severed the middle from Oakdale to Wheelright. This reduced the Central Mass Branch to the eastern side and created the Wheelright Branch to the west, and over time both branches continued to reduce service. In 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created, partly to subsidize struggling commuter rail routes including the Central Mass Branch. However, ridership continued to decline and the MBTA closed the Central Mass Branch in 1971, although freight rail continued for a few more years.

The first attempt to convert the former Central Massachusetts Railroad into a rail trail occurred in 1980 when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired the westernmost of the Wheelright Branch, and developed it into what was then known as the Norwottuck Rail Trail in 1993. In 1995, community leaders and volunteers formed the Wachusett Greenways, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed to create trails and greenways in the communities between Barre and Sterling, and began to build a hard packed stone dust trail over the rail ROW, naming it the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail to promote the idea of a state-wide trail network. In 1996, the first plans to build out the MCRT from Berlin to Belmont on the MBTA's ROW emerged, but stalled until 2010, when the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) executed a lease with the MBTA to build the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside from Berlin to Waltham. This work inspired other communities and land trusts to begin to build out their own sections of the MCRT.

Efforts to complete the MCRT

In 1999, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management produced " Commonwealth Connections, A Greenway Vision for Massachusetts", including a call for a cross state multi-use trail reaching from Boston to the Berkshires. Since 1999, Wachusett Greenways, the Wayside Rail Trail Committee, or the Norwottuck Network have held Golden Spike conferences during various years to promote the MCRT and other regional trails. By 2002, every community along the corridor agreed to the unified Mass Central Rail Trail name to promote the idea of a state-wide trail. Since 2017, the Norwottuck Network has been issuing a monthly newsletter regarding MCRT development, as well as trail development in the region. In 2021, MassTrails produced "Shared Use Path Benefits Primer", which featured the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail as one of the case studies. In 2021, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation produced a feasibility study of the mid-state section of the MCRT between Belchertown and Berlin. In 2023, MassTrails produced an interactive Priority Trails Network vision map for current and future shared-use path projects throughout the Commonwealth that will be prioritized, including all of the MCRT. In 2023, the Norwottuck Network produced "Envisioning a Statewide Connection Massachusetts Central Rail Trail Benefits Study", a report highlighting the benefits of completing all of the MCRT.

Trail sections

Northampton and Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail

Norwottuck details

The trail is fully complete and paved through Northampton, Hadley, Amherst, and a short section in Belchertown.

The Mass Central Rail Trail's western terminus is at Northampton Union Station, maintained by the City of Northampton. It continues parallel with the Connecticut River Line, an example of rails with trails, to Woodmont Road. Next, the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail runs from downtown Northampton through Hadley and Amherst going into Belchertown; it is a state park maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The connection from Northampton to Hadley is made by the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge, a , 8 span, steel lattice truss bridge first built over the Connecticut River in 1887. The trail was built in 1993, first known as the Norwottuck Rail Trail, and was one of the last US formal paved bikeways at wide; in 2015 the trail was widened to in line with newer MassDOT guidance for minimum shared use path width.

Norwottuck connecting trails

All rail trails in Northampton, including the MCRT, are considered to be a part of the Northampton Rail Trail System. Except for the Norwottuck Branch of the MCRT, Northampton maintains the Northampton Rail Trail System. The Friends of Northampton Trails, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the City's trails and greenways, does not name individual rail trails in the City. The section of the Northampton Rail Trail System west of downtown, towards Look Park and Williamsburg, is sometimes known as the Francis P. Ryan Bikeway. It was formerly the New Haven & Northampton Company Williamsburg Branch Railroad, not part of the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and is not included in the tally. The section of the Northampton Rail Trail System towards the Easthampton border is the northernmost section of the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway, which continues in Easthampton as the Manhan Rail Trail. The entire Mass Central Rail Trail is a part of the greater New England Rail-Trail Network, which also continues south with the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway. Along the Norwottuck Branch MCRT, the Arthur R. Swift Amherst/UMass Bike Connector connects to UMass Amherst, and the New England National Scenic Trail crosses the eastern terminus.

Belchertown Greenway

Belchertown history

By 1983, the Boston and Maine Railroad had taken up all tracks of the Wheelright Branch in Belchertown. In 1997, Belchertown held an unofficial straw poll against further study of the trail. At that time, Massachusetts was the only state that required paving of trails if using federal funds, which was cited as a concern. Over the following years, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation generated updated guidelines allowing for non-paved surfaces on shared use paths and greenways. Other sections of the MCRT were built with a hard packed stone dust surface, such as the Wachussett Greenways sections. From 2000 to 2017, the Belchertown Land Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, purchased (72%) of the former ROW land as it became available and donated it to the Town of Belchertown for public use and to protect from development. In 2017 the Friends of the Belchertown Greenway was formed with the goal of building and maintaining the trail. In 2025, Belchertown officially endorsed the completion of the entire Mass Central Rail Trail.

Belchertown details

The rail ROW heads roughly southeast through Belchertown. Most sections are cleared but unimproved but protected and used by pedestrians and snowmobiles.

From Warren Wright Road in Belchertown to Federal Street, the rail ROW is privately owned and has been largely obliterated by development. From Federal Street to Route 181, the trail ROW is owned by the Town of Belchertown and is open for pedestrians and snowmobiles. The sections north of the US 202 overpass are more overgrown, with the southern sections clearer and better maintained. There is a timber trestle bridge over Jabish Brook in this section, and a report by the Friends of the Belchertown Greenway was commissioned as a first step before rehabilitation of the bridge. As of 2025, the town has a grant to design a section of the Greenway which includes the bridge. The trail just after Station Road in Amherst to after North Washington Street in Belchertown section runs parallel with the New England Central Railroad, an example of rails with trails. From Route 181 to the Palmer Town line, the rail ROW is privately owned and not accessible to the public.

Belchertown connecting trails

The New England National Scenic Trail crosses the proposed western terminus of the Belchertown Greenway. Additionally, there is a short on-road connection from the MCRT at Route 181 to the Chickadee Trail, with the southern terminus at Depot Street, a hiking trail following the rail ROW of the former Boston and Albany Railroad Athol Branch, roughly following the Swift River north.

Quabbin Valley and East Quabbin Land Trust

From the Belchertown border in Palmer, the rail ROW continues roughly southeast until reaching the Ware River, then continues through the Quabbin Valley