Fitchburg Cutoff Path
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The Fitchburg Cutoff Path is a short, unpaved mixed-use path/rail trail in suburban Boston, Massachusetts.
The 0.8 mile (1.2 km) path runs from Blanchard Road in Belmont, Massachusetts to the Alewife station at the northern end of the MBTA Red Line in Cambridge. At its Cambridge terminus, the bikeway connects with two other bike paths - the Minuteman Bikeway and the Cambridge Linear Park which, in turn, leads to the Somerville Community Path. The Fitchburg Cutoff Path largely runs through Alewife Brook Reservation, with several side paths through the reservation leading to the Little River and a nearby industrial park. It follows the right of way of an abandoned rail line that linked what is now the MBTA Fitchburg line with a freight line through Somerville whose right of way became the Red Line extension in the 1980s. The trail heads are marked by small signs: on the east end, across the street from the Alewife station passenger pickup "kiss and ride" area, and, on the west end, just north of where the MBTA rail line crosses Blanchard Road. The west end is served by the MBTA #78 bus, with a stop just south of the railroad tracks.
