The first rail line in the US, a 3-mi (5-km) stretch from the Neponset River to the granite quarries in Quincy, was built in 1826. The first steam railroad in New England, connecting Boston and Lowell, was completed seven years later. By the late 1830s, tracks were laid from Boston to Worcester and to Providence, Rhode Island, and during the next two decades, additional railroad lines opened up new cities for industrial expansion.
As of 2000, 10 railroads transported freight through Massachusetts: CSX Transportation, the state's sole Class I railroad; Providence & Worcester and Guilford Rail, the state's regional railroads; and seven other local and switching and terminal railroads. At the end of 2000, the state had 1,233 rail mi (1,984 km) of railroad. Boston is the northern terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, linking New England with Washington, DC, via New York City and Philadelphia.
Commuter service is coordinated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), formed in 1964 to consolidate bus, commuter rail, high-speed trolley, and subway services to the 79 cities and towns in the Greater Boston area. The Boston subway, which began operation in 1897, is the oldest subway system in the US. Boston also is one of the few cities in the US with an operating trolley system. About 40% of all Bostonians commute to work by public transportation, the 2nd-highest percentage in the nation, following New York City.
In 2000, 35,311 mi (56,827 km) of public roadways crisscrossed the state. The major highways, which extend from and through Boston like the spokes of a wheel, include I-95, which runs north–south; the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), which runs west to the New York State border; I-93, which leads north to New Hampshire; State Highway 3 to Cape Cod; and State Highway 24 to Fall River. The other major road in the state is I-91, which runs north–south through the Connecticut River Valley. More than $3 billion was spent by all units of government for highways in 1997. In 2000, 5,372,117 motor vehicles were registered in the state, of which 3,673,638 were automobiles; 1,579,827 were trucks; and 11,934 were buses; there also were 106,718 motorcycles. The state issued 4,489,695 driver's licenses in 2000.
Because it is the major American city closest to Europe, Boston is an important shipping center for both domestic and foreign cargo. In 2000, 20.8 million tons of cargo passed through the Port of Boston. All port activity is under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which also operates Logan International Airport and Hanscom Field in Bedford. Other important ports and their 2000 cargo totals were Fall River, 3.4 million tons, and Salem, 1.2 million tons.
There were 76 airports and 129 heliports in Massachusetts in 2002. Logan International, near Boston, is the busiest airport in the state, with 13,613,507 passengers enplaned in 2000.