Editing MBTA Commuter Rail (section)

==== Freight service ====
[[File:CSX L010 at Framingham station 1.jpg|thumb|left|A CSX freight train at Framingham station]]
Freight service is operated over most of the MBTA Commuter Rail system by several private railroads. [[CSX Transportation]] operates freight on most southside lines, of which the outer portion of the Worcester Line has the most freight traffic. [[Massachusetts Coastal Railroad]] operates south of Middleborough on the Fall River/New Bedford Line. The [[Fore River Railroad]] operates between Braintree Yard and East Braintree on the Old Colony mainline and the Greenbush Line. The [[Providence and Worcester Railroad]] shares tracks with Providence/Stoughton Line trains between Providence and Wickford Junction; it uses a freight-only track between Providence and Central Falls.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hartley |first=Scott A. |date=April 2016 |title=The key to Providence & Worcester's success: Reinvention |magazine=[[Trains Magazine]] |pages=50–57}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rhode Island Department of Administration |date=March 13, 2014 |title=Rhode Island State Rail Plan 2014 |url=https://planning.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur826/files/documents/trans/Rail/RI_State_Rail_Plan_2014.pdf |access-date=October 18, 2022 |pages=74–75}}</ref> No freight operates on the Needham Line, the Northeast Corridor between Readville and Back Bay, the Old Colony mainline between Boston and the Greenbush Line junction in Braintree, the Kingston Line, and most of the Greenbush Line.<ref name=2018railplan>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2018/01/26/2018PubComm_1.pdf |pages=31–43 |title=Massachusetts State Rail Plan |date=January 2018 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref>

CSX also operates on most northside lines; prior to its 2022 purchase by CSX, [[Pan Am Railways]] operated over these lines. The [[Berkshire and Eastern Railroad]] (formerly [[Pan Am Southern]]) operates over the Fitchburg Line west of Ayer. Their combined Freight Main Line between [[Mechanicville, New York]], and [[Mattawamkeag, Maine]], shares tracks with sections of the Fitchburg, Lowell, and Haverhill lines. No freight service is operated over the Newburyport/Rockport Line north of {{bts|Salem}}.<ref name=2018railplan />

Weight limits and [[loading gauge]] vary across the system. The full Framingham/Worcester line is rated for car weights of {{convert|315000|lb}}, sections of lines that are part of the Freight Main Line for {{convert|286000|lb}}, and other lines for lower weights. The western portion of the Framingham/Worcester Line and the southern section of the Providence/Stoughton line can accommodate cars up to {{convert|20|ft|8|in}} ([[Loading gauge#North America|AAR Plate H or Plate K]]). The Fitchburg Line west of Ayer can accommodate cars up to {{convert|19|ft|0|in}} (AAR Plate J), while most of the other northside lines can accommodate up to {{convert|17|ft|0|in}} (AAR Plate F). The inner Fitchburg and Newburyport/Rockport Lines, and the southside except for the outer Framingham/Worcester Line, have height restrictions smaller than Plate F.<ref name=2018railplan />
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