The Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside (MCRT—Wayside) is a partially completed, rail trail in Waltham, Weston, Wayland, Sudbury, Marlborough, Hudson, Stow, Bolton, and Berlin, Massachusetts. The trail is a Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) state park along the right-of-way (ROW) of the former Massachusetts Central Railroad and later, former MBTA Central Mass Branch. The MCRT—Wayside currently has open, and the remaining miles are in design. The MCRT—Wayside is part of the Mass Central Rail Trail between Boston and Northampton.

Trail overview All of the MCRT—Wayside, once built, form a state park owned by the MBTA and maintained by the DCR, except for a section owned and maintained by the Town of Hudson, as it is shared with the Assabet River Rail Trail. , the MCRT—Wayside has open—representing 71% of the total route—while the remaining 29% is currently in design. All completed sections of the MCRT—Wayside are paved, and DCR plans to pave both all sections under construction and the only section that is currently stone dust in Wayland. While the MBTA ROW is wide, DCR leased trail sections are wide, known as the "Path Development Corridor", consisting of a paved path, typically wide, with grass shoulders, grading, and additional side clearance.

Trail details

+ Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside segments (east to west) Segment endpoints Municipality Length Surface StatusYear opened Beaver Street to Border Road(Except Linden Street Bridge) Waltham 2.75 miles (4.4 km) Paved Complete 2023 ↳ Linden Street Bridge Waltham 0.02 miles (0.04 km) Paved Complete2025 Border Road to Hillside Road Waltham 0.3 miles (0.48 km) Paved Complete2014 Hillside Road to Jones Road Waltham 0.5 miles (0.80 km) Unimproved In Design Jones Road to Stony Brook Bridge Waltham, Weston 0.3 miles (0.48 km) Paved Complete2025 Stony Brook Bridge to Cochituate Road Weston, Wayland 4.4 miles (7.1 km) Paved Complete2019 Cochituate Road to Route 20 Wayland 0.5 miles (0.80 km) Stone dust Complete (paving in design)2017 Route 20 to Sudbury substation Wayland, Sudbury 1.4 miles (2.3 km) Unimproved In Design Sudbury substation to Wilkins Street Sudbury, Marlborough, Stow, Hudson 7.6 miles (12.2 km) Paved Complete 2026Wilkins Street to Priest Street(Shared with Assabet River Rail Trail) Hudson 0.75 miles (1.2 km) Paved Complete2005 Priest Street to Felton Street Hudson 1.0 mile (1.6 km) Unimproved In Design Felton Street to Central Street Hudson 1.6 miles (2.6 km) Unimproved In Design Central Street to Coburn Road Hudson, Bolton, Berlin 2.3 miles (3.7 km) Unimproved In Design

Waltham Beaver Street to Border Road In Waltham, the MCRT—Wayside begins at Beaver Street, at the location of the former Clemantis Brook Station, and this paved section is . Waltham funded the approximately $9 million cost of construction of its section from City revenues. Construction began in 2022 and was substantially complete by September 2023. The timber trestle bridge over Clemantis Brook was rehabilitated with new decking and timber bridge railings, stone abutments, and concrete piles. This section passes by Waltham Highlands station. From Beaver Street to the Linden Street bridge, it is an example of rails with trails with the MBTA Fitchburg Line.

Linden Street Bridge

The Linden Street Bridge rehabilitation, in-between the Waltham section above, is and . Waltham received matching MassTrails grants in 2022 and 2023 to fund construction, however DCR eventually funded reconstruction of the bridge. The bridge was built in 1894 and is a lattice truss bridge on granite abutments. In 2002, the Wayside Rail Trail Committee held the Golden Spike 2002 event adjacent to the bridge, where statewide advocates unified on the Mass Central Rail Trail name for the greater project between Boston and Northampton. Construction began in December 2024 and completed in December 2025.

Border Road to Hillside Road This paved Waltham section from slightly east of Border Road to Hillside Road was the first section of the MCRT—Wayside. It was built in 2014 in partnership with the 1265 Main Street Phase 1 development.

Hillside Road to Jones Road This Waltham section is unimproved and , but a timeline for construction is undetermined. This section will rehabilitate the existing railroad bridge over Route 128/I-95. The bridge was built in 1960 and is a two-span plate girder bridge on concrete abutments and pier. This section had reached 25% design, combined with the Jones Road to Stony Brook Bridge section completed in 2025. However, the two trail projects were split, so the major, planned roadway infrastructure projects delaying the Hillside Road to Jones Road section would not further delay the Jones Road to Stony Brook Bridge section. These roadway projects notably include new shared use paths that will create an alternative route for much of this eastern MCRT—Wayside gap, from Hillside Road to Green Street: Green Street Connector The Green Street Connector project will extend Green Street parallel to I-95 on its western side, from Route 117 / Main Street to Weston Street. This roadway project includes a new shared use path. Construction is estimated to begin in July 2026 and complete sometime in 2028 or 2029, as a public/private partnership, a component of a mixed use development in the area. The concept was previously described by the Route 128/I-95 Land Use & Transportation Study created for MassDOT. In the future, these projects may consider relocating the Kendal Green MBTA commuter rail station to Jones Road to create a multi-modal center integrated with the trail. Route 117 / Main Street Bridge Replacement The Route 117 / Main Street bridge replacement will replace the existing roadway bridge over Route 128/I-95. It is a MassDOT roadway project, and it also includes a new shared use path between the Green Street Connector and the MCRT—Wayside at Hillside Road. It is scheduled to begin construction in 2030, with a projected completion date in 2031 or 2032. The completion of this project will also allow for improvements of pedestrian infrastructure at the Green Street intersection.

Waltham, Weston, Wayland, Sudbury Jones Road to Stony Brook Bridge

The section from Jones Road, Waltham to slightly west of the Stony Brook Bridge over the MBTA Fitchburg Line in Weston, is paved and . This section rehabilitated the existing Stony Brook bridge over the MBTA Fitchburg Line. The Stony Brook bridge was built in 1896 and is a riveted lattice truss bridge on stone abutments. The design of the bridge was based on the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge along with the Linden Street Bridge, and the three are the only remaining examples of riveted lattice truss bridges in Massachusetts. In December 2023, Governor Maura Healy announced leftover American Rescue Plan Act funding would be used for construction, and DCR issued a notice to proceed in 2024. Construction completed in August 2025.

Stony Brook Bridge to Cochituate Road

The paved section from slightly west of the Stony Brook Bridge in Weston to Cochituate Road, Wayland is . DCR paved the access road and installed safe road crossings in 2019, in partnership with Eversource and Weston. This section passes by the historic Wayland Freight House and Weston Depot.

Cochituate Road to Route 20

This Wayland section is with a stone dust surface, and a paved surface improvement is . The stone dust surface was installed by the Town of Wayland in 2017. The trail includes a historic railway turntable. The improvement project is scheduled to begin construction in Winter 2027. This section passes by Wayland station.

Route 20 to Sudbury substation The section from Route 20 in Wayland to the Eversource Sudbury substation to is unimproved and . This project additionally includes paving the stone dust trail in Wayland to Cochituate Road. This build received State funding for construction in 2021, and as of 2026 is at 100% design to construct a paved trail. The ETA for the start of construction is Winter 2027. DCR once hoped to move the date forward to better align with the Sudbury-Hudson section's construction and completion. There is a timber trestle bridge over the Sudbury River. The trail will offer scenic views of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge including a planned timber lookout, but the Great Meadows hiking trails will not directly connect to the MCRT.

Sudbury, Marlborough, Stow, Hudson Sudbury substation to Wilkins Street

The section from the Eversource Sudbury substation to Wilkins Street in Hudson was paved and in 2025, passing through Sudbury-Marlborough-Hudson-Stow-Hudson in east to west order. Eversource's buried power line construction, which included the pedestrian bridges and a gravel access road, was completed in November 2024. Bridge 127 in Sudbury was a riveted plate deck girder bridge, built in 1881. Over time, it had submerged into Hop Brook, damaging the piers and steel, and making it unsafe for the MCRT. Bridge 130 over Fort Meadow Brook in Hudson was a timber trestle bridge, destroyed by fire in 2019. Both bridges were replaced by prefabricated structural steel truss bridges in 2024. Bridge 128, also over Hop Brook in Sudbury, was built in 1881. It is a riveted plate deck girder bridge with granite abutments and timber piers. It received a new timber deck and railing, preserving the girders, piers, cross frames, and the majority of the abutments. A new precast arch pedestrian tunnel was installed under Chestnut Street in Hudson. This section passes by South Sudbury station adjacent to the former railroad crossing, with tracks forming a diamond that was preserved inside a new trail roundabout, and the historic Sudbury Section Tool House. The Stow section is between Wilkins Street, Hudson and Chestnut Street, Hudson. The Marlborough section is several feet to the center of the trail, forming a tripoint with the Hudson and Sudbury borders. It is accessible from Marlborough by the Old Concord Road hiking path. The Wayside Inn Railroad Waiting Room was a B&M station at the Dutton Road crossing for which the MCRT—Wayside is named. DCR acquired American Rescue Plan Act funding for construction which began in February 2025 and paved the trail. While completed in 2025, additional roadway crossing improvements pushed the official opening to July 2026.

Hudson Wilkins Street to Priest Street

This Hudson section was paved and as part of the Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT) built by 2005, except for the MA-62 bridge over the Assabet River which was rebuilt in 2010. Hudson designated this ARRT section to be shared with the MCRT—Wayside by 2023. This arrangement is a cost saving measure, including eliminating the cost of rehabilitating a timber trestle bridge over the Assabet River to the northwest of the section. The unimproved ROW, intersecting the completed trail at the former Gleason Junction, runs northwest and southeast.

Priest Street to Felton Street The downtown Hudson section is unimproved and . This section includes a timber trestle bridge over Bruce's Pond used by pedestrians, despite the unimproved state. In 2023 and 2025, MassTrails grants were awarded for design of this section and the west Hudson section. In June 2025, Hudson announced full funding for 100% design of this section.

Felton Street to Central Street The west Hudson section is unimproved and . In 2023 and 2025, MassTrails grants were awarded for design of this section and the downtown Hudson section. Design work for this section will proceed following design for the downtown Hudson section.

Hudson, Bolton, Berlin Central Street to Coburn Road