Newport Secondary

Newport Secondary
Newport Secondary in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Overview
Status	In service (heritage)
Owner	Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Locale	Newport County, Rhode Island, United States
Termini	Newport, Rhode Island Sakonnet River rail bridge in Portsmouth, Rhode Island (former abutment)
Stations	3 former stations
Service
Type	Heritage railway
System	Formerly part of the Old Colony Railroad network
Operator(s)	Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad
Technical
Track length	14 mi (23 km)
Number of tracks	1 (formerly 2)
Track gauge	1435
Electrification	None

The Newport Secondary (also referred as the Newport Line or Newport Branch) is an isolated rail line located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island on Aquidneck Island and is owned by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). The line extends approximately 14 miles (23 km) from Newport to Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It is the southernmost surviving section of the former Old Colony Railroad's Newport Branch. Today, the line is leased to and operated by the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad for heritage railway excursions. The line no longer supports freight service, and the connection to the national rail network was severed in 2007 following the removal of the Sakonnet River rail bridge.

The Newport Secondary begins at the site of the former Newport station in downtown Newport. The line runs in a generally northward direction through the municipalities of Middletown and Portsmouth, ending at the former abutments of the Sakonnet River rail bridge at the northern edge of Portsmouth. Along its route, the line traverses several former station locations, including Newport station, Middletown station, and Portsmouth station. The Melville area within Portsmouth presently serves as the operational base for the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad. Currently, the line is used exclusively for seasonal heritage railway excursions and railbike operations along the southern portion of the corridor.^[1][2][3]

North of the Sakonnet River bridge abutments, the continuation of the former Newport Branch is designated as the Fall River Secondary. The portion between Ferry Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, and the western abutment of the Sakonnet River rail bridge has been formally designated as out of service since 1988, following the embargo of the deteriorating Sakonnet River rail bridge.^[4] Ownership and maintenance responsibilities along the corridor are divided by state. Within Rhode Island, the short segment of track extending from the former western abutment of the Sakonnet River rail bridge in Tiverton to the Massachusetts state line is owned by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation as part of its acquisition of the Newport Secondary and is no longer maintained but not considered abandoned.^[5]

In Massachusetts, from the state line through Fall River to Ferry Street Yard, the line is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). This Massachusetts-owned portion of the Fall River Secondary is leased to the Mass Coastal Railroad for freight operations, while the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates regular commuter rail service to Fall River Depot, the southern terminus of the Fall River Branch of the Fall River/New Bedford Line.^[6]

The Newport Secondary has its origins in the Newport and Fall River Railroad, which was chartered in 1862 and completed in 1864. This railroad connected Newport, Rhode Island to Fall River, Massachusetts, via a swing bridge spanning the Sakonnet River. Shortly after completion, the Newport and Fall River Railroad merged into the Old Colony and Newport Railway, which was subsequently absorbed by the Old Colony Railroad in the 1870s. The Old Colony incorporated the Newport Branch into its extensive southeastern Massachusetts rail network. Under Old Colony ownership, the line supported both passenger and freight service, linking Newport to Boston via Fall River.^[7]

In 1893, the Old Colony Railroad was leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Under New Haven control, the Newport Branch continued to operate passenger and freight services. Regular passenger service was discontinued in 1938, although occasional special trains and seasonal services operated thereafter. Freight service remained active into the 1950s and 1960s, primarily serving industries in Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. Following the New Haven Railroad’s absorption into the Penn Central Transportation Company in 1969, freight service diminished further.^[7] After Penn Central’s bankruptcy in 1970, the Newport Branch was included in the formation of Conrail in 1976. Conrail maintained limited freight operations, although deferred maintenance and declining demand led to further deterioration. In 1982, Conrail conveyed operating rights to the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W), which handled the remaining local freight service during the final years of rail connectivity to Aquidneck Island. P&W operations continued until 1988, when structural concerns led to the embargo of the deteriorated Sakonnet River rail bridge, severing all rail service to Aquidneck Island.^[8] Although the bridge remained physically intact until its removal in 2007, no trains crossed it after the 1988 embargo.^[9]

In 1994, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) purchased the Newport Secondary from Conrail in order to preserve the right-of-way for potential future transportation uses.^[10] Since acquisition, RIDOT has leased the Newport Secondary to various private operators for heritage railway purposes. The Old Colony and Newport Scenic Railway initially operated tourist excursions, later succeeded by the Newport Dinner Train. In 2014, the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad consolidated heritage railway operations on the Newport Secondary and currently operates seasonal tourist train service between Melville and Newport.^[11]

At present, the Newport Secondary functions solely as a heritage railway corridor operated by the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad. Regular freight service has not occurred on the line since the late 20th century, and the removal of the Sakonnet River rail bridge in 2007 has physically severed the line from the mainland rail network, effectively precluding any restoration of conventional freight or passenger rail service to Aquidneck Island. The corridor remains owned by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT), which maintains the right-of-way and infrastructure exclusively for tourist and special event train use.^[12] As of 2025, no proposals exist to reconstruct the Sakonnet River crossing or restore rail service to the island.^[13]

Following reconstruction of the Anthony Road overpass in Portsmouth in 2019, RIDOT conducted additional track rehabilitation work to address longstanding washouts and drainage failures. By June 2021, heritage service had been extended to the northern end of the line at the former Sakonnet River bridge site. On June 15, 2021, the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad operated its first train beyond Hummocks Station (constructed in 2017) to the current bumper post approximately 200 feet from the bridge’s former western pier. This marked the first train movement along that segment since the final revenue run in 1988, establishing a new northern limit for heritage rail operations.^[14]

In parallel with railway improvements, RIDOT began construction of a shared-use path alongside the remaining active mainline in 2021. By 2024, the corridor’s disused second track had been permanently removed to accommodate the new rail-with-trail configuration. This infrastructure project forms part of the Aquidneck Island Bikeway initiative, led by the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, which aims to establish a continuous multi-use trail linking Portsmouth, Middletown, and Newport.^[15] The bikeway’s “First Mile” segment, connecting Newport to the Coddington Highway corridor, was completed and opened to the public in October 2024.^[16] In May 2025, Bike Newport and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) opened a new park-and-bike facility at Newport’s Gateway Center, serving as the southern trailhead of the completed bikeway segment.^[17] The conversion to a rail-with-trail configuration now allows low-speed heritage trains to operate safely alongside separated pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Lawmakers and transit advocates have revisited the idea of reestablishing rail service to Aquidneck Island by proposing a diesel multiple unit (DMU) hybrid rail shuttle operating between Newport and Fall River. A feasibility study conducted by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation between 2002 and 2005 evaluated options for restoring the Sakonnet River rail crossing and operating DMU shuttles with a cross-platform transfer to MBTA commuter rail at Fall River. The study estimated a total cost of approximately $70 million, including $30 million specifically for reconstruction of the rail bridge. However, the proposal was ultimately abandoned due to the high capital costs, limited regional connectivity, and lack of available state or federal funding.^[18][19] As of 2025, no formal proposals to restore the Sakonnet River rail crossing or implement a shuttle service.

• Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad
• Sakonnet River rail bridge

Media related to Newport Secondary at Wikimedia Commons