Salem station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station served by the Newburyport/Rockport Line. The station is located off Bridge Street near its interchange with North Street at the north end of downtown Salem, Massachusetts. The station has a single accessible full-length high-level platform serving the single track of the Eastern Route. Just south of the station is the Salem Tunnel, which carries the line under Washington Street. Salem is a major park and ride center, with a 700-space parking garage, as well as an MBTA bus terminal. It is the busiest commuter rail station in the MBTA system outside of the central Boston stations, with an average of 2,326 daily boardings in a 2018 count.

The Newburyport/Rockport Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running northeast from downtown Boston, Massachusetts towards Cape Ann and the Merrimack Valley, serving the North Shore. The first leg, operating via the Eastern Route of the former Boston and Maine Railroad, serves Chelsea, Lynn, Swampscott, Salem, and Beverly. From there, a northern branch continues via the Eastern Route to serve Hamilton, Ipswich, Rowley, and Newburyport, while other trains operate east from Beverly via the Gloucester Branch, serving Manchester, Gloucester, and Rockport. A bicycle coach is offered on the Rockport branch during the summer. With over 11,000 daily riders in October 2022, the line is the second-busiest on the system.