The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT) is a partially-completed rail trail in Massachusetts. The path is a 10 ft 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 mi. The trail is named for Bruce Freeman, a state representative from Chelmsford who advocated for the trail in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1985 and 1986 before his death. 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.

Construction status

The trail is divided into several phases of construction:

Proposed connections

The Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside is under construction in Sudbury and estimated to complete in 2025, which will create a connection with the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. The Upper Charles Trail Extension was proposed in 2022 by the Wellesley-based Solomon Foundation. It would connect the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail's southern terminus in Framingham with the existing Upper Charles River Rail Trail (passing through Sherborn, Holliston, Milford, and Hopkinton), as well as the Bay Circuit Trail. A long term vision for the Concord River Greenway Park in progress is to connect to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail in Lowell. The proposed Boston-Worcester Air Line Trail (BWALT) would connect to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail in Framingham.