Why was a commuter train on the Grafton & Upton line?

Residents near the Grafton & Upton Railroad line this afternoon saw an odd sight: a purple MBTA Commuter Rail rumbling down tracks normally reserved for freight cars.

It was “at least seven cars and CRAZY LOUD” reported Snow Road resident Wendy Allen, who snapped a photo as the train chugged by.

Did Grafton somehow manage to get a new commuter line?

Not quite.

“The train you saw needed to get into Boston for some maintenance,” the MBTA said in response to an inquiry on Twitter. “It was in Worcester but couldn’t operate all the way to Boston on that line due to PTC work that’s currently going on. So it had to operate along those tracks to get to Boston via the Franklin Line.”

Mystery solved!

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