When complete, it will be 104 miles (167 km) long through Central Massachusetts and Greater Boston, forming the longest rail trail in New England.

[4]: 16–17  The railroad faced various challenges over its history, including a fatal blow to the complete route by the Hurricane of 1938 which severed the middle 24 miles (39 km) from Oakdale to Wheelright.

In 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created, partly to subsidize struggling commuter rail routes including the Central Mass Branch.

[12] In 2021, MassTrails produced "Shared Use Path Benefits Primer", which featured the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail as one of the case studies.

[14] In 2023, MassTrails produced an interactive Priority Trails Network vision map for current and future shared-use path projects throughout the Commonwealth that will be prioritized, including all 104 miles (167 km) of the MCRT.

Next, the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail runs 11 miles (18 km) from downtown Northampton through Hadley and Amherst going 1,300 feet (400 m) into Belchertown; it is a state park maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

[16][19] It was formerly the New Haven & Northampton Company Williamsburg Branch, not part of the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and is not included in the 104 miles (167 km) tally.

Over the following years, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation generated updated guidelines allowing for non-paved surfaces on shared use paths and greenways.

[36]: 4 [37] The rail ROW paralleling Route 32 from Gilbertville to Creamery Road is no longer intact and has been lost to development and private ownership.

[41]: 5  From Maple Street, into New Braintree again, to the Barre Town line, the trail ROW is obstructed by a missing bridge and the Tanner-Hiller Airport and is not open to the public.

All of the improved sections are a hard packed stone dust surface suitable for bikes or walkers, which helped accelerate construction dates forward compared to paving.

[62] The trail will connect two Town owned parcels, the Maffei Conservation Area and the Rauscher Farm, and pass through the open space around the Woodlands Development.

[41]: 4  A 2024 MassTrails grant was awarded to construct Phase 1, access points at Rauscher Farm and 447 Berlin Street, and trail development between these two locations.

[69][68] By 1971, passenger service on the Central Mass Branch west of Waltham, subsidized by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) since 1964, had ended due to low ridership.

The final train on the Central Mass Branch ROW, freight in Waltham between Bacon Street and Clematis Brook, ran in 1994.

Commuter Rail Feasibility Study", which advised reactivation of the Central Mass Branch between Berlin and Waltham would not be cost effective.

[5] By 2010, the DCR executed a 99-year lease with the MBTA to build what was finally renamed the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside, combining the Wayside name with the future vision of a trail from Boston to Northampton.

[81] In Wayland and Weston, by 1952, the Boston Edison Company (BECo) acquired an easement along this section of the B&M's ROW and built overhead power lines.

[96] In December 2024, the DCR put out a construction bid to pave the trail surface, install safe road crossings, add signage, and restore selected historical railroad features.

[100]: 6 [105][106] In 2024, Hudson Town meeting voters rejected four citizen petitions to sell or lease the MBTA's Central Mass Branch property.

[107]: 3, 27–28 [108]: 3 In Hudson, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) section of the MCRT—Wayside is shared with the Assabet River Rail Trail along the former Marlborough Branch of the Fitchburg Railroad.

[109] Like this trail section, the predecessor railroads also shared this ROW, as some B&M Central Mass passenger trains were run via the Marlborough Branch starting in 1902.

[9] 🟠 0.3 miles (0.48 km) from before the bridge over MBTA Fitchburg Line, Weston to Jones Road, Waltham is under construction, known as Mass Central Rail Trail Waltham-Weston, Phase 1.

[124][127] The 1265 Main project also considers relocating the Kendal Green MBTA commuter rail station to Jones Road to create a multi-modal center integrated with the trail.

[128]: 9, 17  Construction is estimated to start in 2024 for the Green Street / 117 shared use path, with the 128 Bridge work to be determined, to follow MCRT Waltham-Weston, Phase 1.

[41]: 11 [137] All sections from east Waltham to Boston were, or will be, developed as separate projects but serve as part of the complete Mass Central Rail Trail.

[79] Design is underway, and the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) has committed to pay for the construction cost.

The project includes a new tunnel under the MBTA Fitchburg Line tracks connecting Belmont High School to Alexander Avenue, a safety feature first officially considered in 1983 following a student death.

[143] 🟢 0.8 miles (1.3 km) from Brighton Street, Belmont to the Alewife T Station Access Road, Cambridge is the Fitchburg Cutoff Path, which opened in 2013.

🟢 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from the southwest corner of Russell Field, Cambridge to just east of the red-brick marked Cambridge/Somerville border is the Alewife Linear Park, which opened in 1985.