Investments Overview

$105 billion to build a 21st century high speed passenger rail for the seven-state North Atlantic region.

 

These investments will revolutionize the way people travel about the region, increase access to economic opportunity, and significantly reduce carbon emissions in the seven-state region.

Investment & Improvement Categories

High Speed Rail

  • Reduced travel time between Boston and NYC from 3 hours 50 minutes down to 1 hour 40 minutes

  • Internationally competitive speeds up to 225 miles per hour

Infrastructure

  • Bridge replacements to address clearance and other issues

  • Modernization of interlocking, signal, and power systems

  • Selective realignments to improve speed and capacity

  • Addition of tracks and selective double tracking

  • Electrification to decarbonize and increase speed on the system

Equipment Acquisition

  • Modernization of rolling stock with high-performance railcars including antiquated Shoreline East train sets

Operational Improvements

  • Reduction in travel times by increasing speeds

  • Implementation of Regional Rail standards with current commuter rail systems

    • Frequent, local, bi-directional rail service arriving at least every 30 minutes all day and every 15 minutes or better closer to cities

    • Clock-face schedules that simplify schedules for riders (ex. trains leave on the hour and at the half hour mark)

Service Expansion

  • Addition of infill stations to serve more communities in existing urban areas

  • Construction of high-level platforms to speed travel by reducing dwell time at stations and increase system accessibility

  • Restoration or implementation of new rail service throughout New England

    • Springfield, MA to Worcester & Boston, MA

    • Boston, MA to Fall River & New Bedford, MA

    • Danbury, CT to Pittsfield, MA

    • Lowell, MA to Nashua & Manchester, NH

    • Springfield, MA to Northampton, MA

    • Greenfield, MA to Brattleboro, VT

    • Worcester, MA to Woonsocket & Providence, RI

    • Boston, MA to Bangor, ME

    • Burlington, VT to Montreal, Canada

  •  Possible development of select bus rapid transit (BRT) or light rail transit (LRT) corridors that connect to rail corridors should be studied