The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has received an additional $3.5 million in federal funding to explore the possibility of connecting train routes in the state to Albany, New York, as part of a larger West-East Rail initiative that has been gaining steam in recent years.
It’s the third such major federal grant the state has received in the last two years, beginning in 2023 with a $108 million grant followed by $37 million following year. The grants are awarded from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The previous grants have gone toward exploring how to better connect Springfield to Boston, via construction of a new track from Springfield to Worcester, offering daily services to Boston via both Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s commuter rail services. The $37 million awarded in 2024 also allowed work for significant improvement to the Springfield’s Union Station.
With the latest grant announced on Monday, the state will now look how to connect the western part of the state with Albany, the capital of the state of New York and located 35 minutes from the Massachusetts border. The $3.5 million received from the FRA will allow MassDOT to support a “Service Development Plan,” or SDP, for a proposed corridor. The route would begin in Albany and end at South Station in Boston, with stops in Springfield, Palmer, Worcester, Framingham and Boston’s Back Bay station.
According to the MassDOT, the SDP phase allows the department to “conduct stakeholder outreach, propose appropriate service levels, identify necessary infrastructure improvements, and establish a governance structure for service.” In 2023, MassDOT also received $500,000 to begin to develop the plan.
Following the completion of the SDP, the next step would be to begin designing and conducting an environmental review that would then allow the state to seek funding for construction. The MassDOT has not released any estimation on how long the SDP process for the Albany line would take.
“Every investment we make in our transportation network is an investment in people, in their families, their futures, and their ability to stay connected to the places and opportunities that matter most,” said MassDOT CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt in a statement. “This is more than a route between two cities. It is a lifeline for the communities in between, opening doors to economic opportunity, environmental progress, and a stronger, more united Massachusetts.”
State Sen. Jake Oliveira, D-Ludlow, praised the funding as helping to develop the local economy in the western part of the state.
“West-East Rail is about more than what’s fair; it’s about equity and opportunity,” Oliveira said. “This federal funding will help ensure that families and businesses from Palmer to Springfield have the same access to jobs, housing, and economic growth as those in Boston.”
Currently, the only rail service that connects western Massachusetts to the city of Albany is the Berkshire Flyer, which leaves from the city of Pittsfield. But that line has been temporarily replaced with a bus route after a sinkhole appeared along the tracks in East Greenbush, New York, as reported by the Berkshire Eagle.
In Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden counties, Amtrak service includes the Vermonter and Valley Flyer lines, both which pass through Northampton, Greenfield, Holyoke and Springfield. Both lines also provide services to New York City via connecting tracks at New Haven, Connecticut.