The Saugus Branch Railroad, bought by the Eastern April 30, 1852, was realigned in 1855 at its south end to feed into the Grand Junction rather than the B&M.

[9][10] The second closing on October 4, 2012, transferred ownership of the Grand Junction and several other important lines to the state, completing the $100 million deal.

While emergency repairs were under way, trains moving between the north and south sides of Boston had to be routed via Pan Am Railways trackage between Ayer and Worcester, a lengthy detour.

[13] The "locally preferred alternative" [citation needed] for the Urban Ring project as of June 2008 calls for routing bus rapid transit along the Grand Junction right-of-way, from George Washington Park in Cambridgeport, over the Charles River.

In 2010, Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray publicly discussed branching the Framingham/Worcester Line over the Grand Junction to provide MBTA Commuter Rail service from Worcester to North Station.

Should the need for increased Commuter Rail capacity become overwhelming in the period prior to the expansion of South Station, MassDOT might reopen the Grand Junction discussion.

The use of Grand Junction for Commuter Rail service could meet some of the needs to be provided by an expanded South Station, at much lower cost and with much less time and complexity.

"[16][17] The Grand Junction would have been used to carry ethanol by rail to a tank farm in Revere as one of three route options considered in a proposal that underwent state safety and environmental review in 2013.

[18] In the face of community opposition and pressure from the state legislature, the company withdrew its proposal on July 2, 2013,[19] days before the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster.

[20] In October 2024, the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA) released a detailed engineering feasibility study of such a transit connection.

[21] "The study provides a review of existing conditions and previously published studies, identifies feasible vehicle technology and frequency options for future commercial service, and outlines a conceptual two-tracked rail alignment compatible with the future multi-use path along the corridor.

The study also identifies conceptual station locations for future service within the City of Cambridge, and concludes with a summary of operational alternatives with approximate “order of magnitude” costs for each option.

The study also explores ridership projections and travel times, and found that transit service between North Station and future West Station would not only attract a substantial amount of existing ridership, but attract a great deal more travelers with the future growth planned in Kendall Square and Allston.

This service would offer time savings for numerous existing commuters and also provide a vital cross-system connection within Boston's largely radial rapid transit network."

In October 2013, after several months of planning, MassDOT announced funding to convert the section from Eastern Avenue to Sixth Street into a Silver Line busway and a parallel $3 million multi-use greenway.

In 1989, the Massachusetts Highway Department began proceedings to acquire the land by eminent domain as part of the Big Dig project.