The final 1.41 miles (2.27 km) of the line were formally abandoned in 2006, with a new connection completed to the East Junction Branch that year.

[4] The East Providence Branch was authorized in 1870 by the Rhode Island General Assembly, via an amendment to the Providence and Worcester Railroad's charter, with corresponding approval from the Massachusetts General Court for a small portion of the branch that entered South Attleboro, Massachusetts.

[5] It was to connect the tidewater areas of East Providence (at Bold Point) to the P&W main line in Valley Falls, Rhode Island.

[4] The route was relatively flat, with the greatest incline being 37 feet (11 m) to the mile, or approximately 0.7 percent, in the vicinity of the Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery in Pawtucket.

The Providence Evening Press reported that, "The intention is not to construct a road as cheaply as it can be built, but in ballasting, masonry, track and equipments, to make it first-class in every respect.

The Old Colony's president stated the company was happy to allow the Stonington Line to use the southern portion of the branch under the same lease situation as before, but only with a guarantee that the latter would not allow the Old Colony's competition (chiefly the New York and New England Railroad, which connected to Valley Falls) to make use of the branch.

In response, the Stonington attempted to use the P&W's charter authority from 1870 to build a new alignment to Wilkesbarre Pier, over Old Colony land, claiming the P&W had technically not built that part of the branch yet.

Penn Central assumed operations of the P&W, including the East Providence Branch, as ordered by the Interstate Commerce Commission.

[13] The P&W still existed as a company, and convinced the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) that it should be allowed to separate from the Penn Central merger; several years of legal battles ended with a court order in P&W's favor in December 1972.

[14] The Rhode Island Department of Transportation purchased the entire line in 1982 in order to build the Pawtucket Industrial Highway adjacent to the active tracks.