It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a more direct route into Providence built in 1847.

The rapid transit MBTA Orange Line shares the right-of-way for several miles in the 1987-built Southwest Corridor section in Boston.

Double track was built between Sharon and Mansfield in 1846–47; it was extended north to Readville in 1860 and south to Providence in 1865.

[10][11] It was completed between Mount Hope and Hyde Park in 1882, finishing triple-tracking between Boston and Readville.

[14] Until 1899, when South Station opened, the Boston terminal was at Park Square, with a crossing at grade of the Boston and Worcester Railroad at the current merge at Back Bay station (also opened in 1899, serving only the B&P).

The original Providence terminal was at Fox Point, from which it ran east along the Seekonk River shore and over the river via the India Point Railroad Bridge into East Providence (then part of Seekonk, Massachusetts) before turning north towards Boston.

At the same time, the B&P built a connection west from its main line in southern Attleboro to the P&W in Central Falls.

The tunnel is no longer in use, having been disconnected on the downtown side, with its entrance underneath the What Cheer Building, owned by RISD.

In 1939, the railroad filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission for reorganization in the New Haven rail system or operation as an independent line.

[17] The Penn Central Transportation Company was created in 1968 through a merger that included the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The New Haven's former B&P Boston-New York City main line was included with the former Pennsylvania Railroad's New York City-Washington, D.C. main line as a new high-speed passenger route for Amtrak, the Northeast Corridor.

Another outlet for the Dedham Branch opened in 1906, with a connection west to the New England Railroad at Needham Junction.

In 1870, the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad opened, continuing the Taunton Branch northwest on the other side of the B&P.

The Moshassuck Valley Railroad was chartered in 1874 and opened in 1876 as a branch from the joint B&P/P&W at Woodlawn, Rhode Island north to Saylesville.

It opened in 1855 from the old Seekonk Branch in East Providence southeast to Warren and south to Bristol.

This listing includes all stations that have existed along the post-1847 B&P alignment from Park Square, Boston, to Providence.