Berkshire Subdivision

The Berkshire Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and New York. The line runs from near Springfield, Massachusetts west to Schodack, New York, (near Albany)[1] along a former New York Central Railroad line. Its east end is in Wilbraham, east of Springfield, at the west end of the Boston Subdivision. Its west end is just east of the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge, at a junction with the Castleton Subdivision and Schodack Subdivision. Along the way, the line junctions Amtrak's Post Road Branch (over which CSX has trackage rights) in Schodack.[2][3]

Berkshire Subdivision
Berkshire Subdivision tracks in Hinsdale, Massachusetts
Looking south from Route 8 in Hinsdale, Massachusetts
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerCSX Transportation
LocaleBerkshires
Termini
Stations2[1]
Service
SystemAmtrak
CSX Transportation
ServicesBerkshire Flyer, Lake Shore Limited
History
Opened1839 (1839)
Technical
Line length99.9 miles (160.8 km)[1]
Number of tracks1-2[1]
CharacterAt-grade except one tunnel[1]
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
91.9 mi
147.9 km
Boston Subdivision
96.1 mi
154.7 km
Athol Industrial Track
98.4 mi
158.4 km
 Springfield
98.6 mi
158.7 km
Connecticut River Line
New Haven–Springfield Line
98.8 mi
159 km
Connecticut River
100.0 mi
160.9 km
West Springfield Yard
107.9 mi
173.6 km
Pioneer Valley Railroad
148.5 mi
239 km
Pittsfield Yard
150.5 mi
242.2 km
 Pittsfield
150.6 mi
242.4 km
Housatonic Railroad
162.0 mi
260.7 km
MA
NY
164.8 mi
265.2 km
State Line Tunnel
177.2 mi
285.2 km
Chatham
187.4 mi
301.6 km
Post Road Branch
191.8 mi
308.7 km
Schodack Subdivision
Amtrak Hudson Line
Castleton Subdivision

Amtrak operates trains over the Berkshire Subdivision east of the junction with the Post Road Branch. The seasonal Berkshire Flyer runs as far as Pittsfield, while the Boston section of the long-distance Lake Shore Limited follows the line through to its eastern terminus.

History

The Western Railroad opened east of Springfield in 1839, and from Springfield west to the New York state line in 1841.[4] In 1842, the portion of the Boston-Albany line in New York was completed by the Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad.[5] The Hudson River Connecting Railroad opened the piece of the current Berkshire Subdivision west of the Post Road Branch junction in 1924.[6] The line became part of the Boston and Albany Railroad, New York Central, and Conrail through leases, mergers, and takeovers, and was assigned to CSX in the 1999 breakup of Conrail.

See also

References
  1. "CSX Timetables: Berkshire Subdivision". Archived from the original on November 26, 2002.
  2. "CSX Berkshire Sub". The RadioReference Wiki.
  3. "CSX Albany Division Timetable" (PDF).
  4. Appleton, Edward (1871). "History of the Railways of Massachusetts". Archived from the original on August 3, 2009.
  5. "PRR Chronology, 1842" (PDF). (70.6 KiB), May 2004 Edition
  6. "PRR Chronology, 1924" (PDF). (83.2 KiB), July 2004 Edition
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