Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is a partially-completed rail trail in Massachusetts. The path is a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) paved multi-use trail, available for walking, running, biking, rollerblading, and other non-motorized uses. It follows the right-of-way of the disused Framingham and Lowell Line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The constructed route connects with the Bay Circuit Trail, and Phase 2D will connect with the Mass Central Rail Trail - Wayside. The total planned length of the trail—which will eventually run continuously between Lowell and Framingham—is just under 25 miles (40 km). The trail is named for Bruce Freeman, a state representative from Chelmsford who was an early political supporter of the project. The trail is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation from Lowell to South Sudbury. In July 2020, MassTrails awarded Sudbury $300,000 to purchase the right-of-way from South Sudbury to the Framingham line, and Sudbury became the railbanking trail sponsor for this section in December 2020. In December 2022, Framingham signed a purchase-and-sale agreement with CSX to purchase the right-of-way in Framingham, and Framingham became the railbanking trail sponsor for this section in December 2023. The trail is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the communities through which the trail runs.