page_title: Providence and Worcester Railroad
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Providence and Worcester Railroad / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Providence and Worcester GE Locomotive #4006 seen in Plainfield, CT with the Northbound portion of the Mass Bay Rail Enthuiasts Excursion Train "Advance Willimantic Special" on Saturday, October 13, 2012 at about 3:30 PM
context_page_description: The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. The railroad connects from Gardner in central Massachusetts, south through its namesake cities of Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island, and west from Rhode Island through Connecticut and into New York City. The railroad's connection between New Haven, Connecticut through New York City to Long Island is via trackage rights over the Hell Gate Bridge.
context_section_description: The P&W was incorporated in Massachusetts as the Providence and Worcester Railway on March 12, 1844, and as the Providence and Worcester Railroad in Rhode Island in May 1844. The two companies were merged November 25, 1845 as the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The company bought the Blackstone Canal, also running between Providence and Worcester, and began construction, partly on its banks, in 1845.
  The line opened in two sections, the part south of Millville on September 27, 1847, and the rest on October 20. The line from Providence to Central Falls was shared with the Boston and Providence Railroad, which at the same time built a connection from its old line (ending in East Providence) over to the P&W. On July 1, 1892, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH) leased the P&W for 99 years.  
  Long distance passenger trains, pooled by the NH and the Boston and Maine Railroad, the Bar Harbor Express and the State of Maine Express, bound for Maine on Boston-bypassing routes, traveled on the line until 1960. 
  The New Haven merged into Penn Central on January 1, 1969.  On April 6, 1970, the P&W announced its intention to separate from the merger.  After a legal battle, the Interstate Commerce Commission approved the request on August 25, 1972, and, on November 2, Penn Central signed the agreement, effective December 30.  The P&W cancelled the lease on February 3, 1973.  Since then, the P&W has taken over many other lines from the former Penn Central in addition to several from the Boston and Maine Railroad.  
  On March 17, 2013, a freight derailed in New Haven, Connecticut, blocking Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
  On August 15, 2016, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) announced that it will buy Providence and Worcester Railroad Company for $25.00 per share, or approximately $126 Million. The acquisition was completed on November 1, 2016, and the Surface Transportation Board approved the acquisition on December 16, 2016.
caption: Providence and Worcester GE Locomotive #4006 seen in Plainfield, CT
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