Officials Inspect Massachusetts Route That May See Additional Boston-Albany Amtrak Trains

Amtrak and Massachusetts officials recently inspected the passenger carrier’s route between Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts as part of a study of possible expansion of intercity rail service.

Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s CEO, said the passenger carrier is considering increasing service in the corridor, which now has just one pair of trains, the Chicago-Boston Lake Shore Limited.

Gardner and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Massachusetts Transportation Secretary James Tesler, and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Springfield) inspected the route from aboard an Amtrak business car.

In interviews with local news media, Gardner said the trip’s purpose was to see what work needs to be done to upgrade the route.

Gardner said Amtrak is considering continuing some trains that now terminate in Springfield eastward to Boston.

Massachusetts officials want to see Amtrak add two new trains between Boston and Albany-Rensselaer, New York.

CSX owns most of that route but as part of its acquisition of Pan Am Railways pledged to cooperate with Amtrak and the state in making line improvements.

Those would include building additional track and station platforms among other work.

The Massachusetts state legislature has approved a $275 million bond authorization to be used to fund route infrastructure work.

Lawmakers also created a commission to create a passenger rail authority by March 2023.

CSX Track Work Disrupts Boston LSL Section

The second phase of a CSX track work program that began this week is affecting operations of the Boston section of Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited.

Nos. 448 and 449 will not operate between Albany-Rensselaer and Boston on Monday through Thursday through July 21.

Trains will operate as normal on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the construction period. The trains also will operate as normal on July 4.

Alternative transportation is being provided by bus to the Massachusetts stations of Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Boston South Station. No alternate transportation is being provided to the missed stop of Framingham.

Passengers ticketed to Back Bay will be bused to Boston  South Station and take an Amtrak or MBTA commuter train to Back Bay.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said passengers at Boston South Station should go to the Amtrak Information Desk for instructions on boarding the buses.

Passengers at Worcester will board the bus at the main entrance in front of the station. Boarding will not occur at the Bus Terminal.

Tracks Works Disrupts Boston LSL Section

Track work being performed by CSX in Massachusetts is disrupting operations of the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited through June 26.

The disruptions are occurring Monday through Thursday and seeing Nos. 448 and 449 originate and terminate at Albany-Rensselaer, New York.

Alternative transportation is being provided to Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Boston South Station.

No alternate transportation is being provided to Framingham and passengers going to or from Boston Back Bay station are being advised to take another Amtrak train or an MBTA commuter train between Back Bay and South Station.

Passengers boarding at South Station should go to the Amtrak Information Desk for instructions on boarding the buses.

Passengers boarding at Worcester will board their bus at the main entrance in front of the station. Boarding will not occur at the Bus Terminal

Berkshire Flyer to Begin July 8

The experimental Berkshire Flyer will begin its run on July 8 between New York and Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

The seasonal service will operate on weekends during the summer months.

The train is expected to depart Penn Station in New York at 3:16 p.m. on Fridays and arrive at the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center in Pittsfield at 7:12 p.m.

It will make all intermediate New York State station stops in the Empire Corridor including Yonkers, Croton-Harmon, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff, Hudson, and Albany-Rensselaer.

The return trip is scheduled to leave Pittsfield at 3 p.m. and arrive in New York at 7:05 p.m. Tickets will be placed on sale beginning in May.

Amtrak said in a news release that during the trial run it will evaluate the route’s potential, and identify infrastructure and service changes that may be needed.

Efforts to start New York-to-the Berkshires passenger rail began in 2018 and were promoted by various Berkshire County groups, municipal officials and elected officials.

Eventually, Massachusetts officials want to extend the Berkshire Flyer to Worcester via Springfield.

That would put it on the route now used by Amtrak’s Chicago-Boston Lake Shore Limited.

Massachusetts officials are pushing for the creation of a new rail authority that could seek funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that has been allocated for development of new Amtrak routes.

CSX agreed to provide the train the use of its track between Pittsfield and Springfield as a condition of state support for its efforts to acquire Pan Am Railways.

Officials said extending the Flyer eastward needs more work, including establishing a budget and a timeline for when service might begin.

A 2021 report estimated costs for three alternatives for the project ranging from $2.4 billion to $4.6 billion, and suggested ridership would not be enough to qualify for federal funding.

Platform Work Disrupts LSL in Worcester

The installation of a temporary boarding platform this weekend (March 12-13) will affect operations of Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Nos. 448 and 449 will bypass Worcester on Track 2 while the temporary platform is being built.

The temporary platform will be used by Amtrak during the center platform project, which is expected to be completed in 2025.

Amtrak is not providing alternative transportation on March 12 or 13. Passengers are instead being encouraged to board or disembark in Springfield or Framingham.

Buses to Replace Boston LSL Section

Track work being performed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will result in service disruptions to the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited between July 23 and 26.

During that period, Train 448 will terminate at Albany-Rensselaer, New York, with alternate bus transportation provided to the missed stops of Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Boston South Station.

No alternate transportation will be provided to the missed stop of Framingham or Boston Back Bay. Those traveling to Back Bay will ride the bus to South Station and take an Amtrak or MBTA commuter train to Back Bay.

Train 449 will originate at Albany with alternate bus transportation provided from Boston South Station, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield.

 No alternate transportation will be provided from Boston Back Bay or Framingham.

Back Bay passengers will be given the option of boarding at Boston South Station or traveling on alternate dates.

Passengers at Boston South Station should go to the Amtrak information desk for instructions on boarding the buses.

Passengers at Worcester will board the bus at the main entrance in front of the station. Boarding will not occur at the bus terminal.

Boston LSL Section Disrupted by Track Work

Track work being performed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will disrupt operations of the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited through June 17 east of Albany-Rensselaer, New York.

On Monday through Thursday Train 448 will terminate at Albany. Alternate transportation will be provided to the missed stops of Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Boston South Station. No alternate transportation will be provided to the missed stop of Framingham.

Passengers bound for Boston Back Bay station will be bused to Boston South Station and then take an Amtrak or MBTA commuter train between South Station and Back Bay.

Train 448 also will observe these schedule changes on June 5 and 12, both Sundays.

Train 449 will originate in Albany with alternate transportation provided to the missed stops of Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield.

 No alternate transportation will be provided for the missed stops of Back Bay and Framingham.

Passengers traveling from Back Bay have the option of boarding at Boston South or traveling on alternate dates.

At Boston South Station passengers should go to the Amtrak Information Desk for instructions on boarding the buses.

At Worcester, passengers will board the bus at the main entrance in front of the station. Boarding will not occur at the bus terminal.

Track Work to Disrupt Boston LSL Section

Track work being performed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will affect operations of the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited on March 28.

Train 448 will terminate at Albany-Rensselaer, New York. Alternate transportation will be provided to Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Boston South Station but no alternate transportation is being provided to Framingham.

Passengers traveling to Boston Back Bay station will be bused to Boston South and take an Amtrak or MBTA commuter train to Back Bay.

Train 449 will originate in Albany with alternate transportation being provided from Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield.

No alternate transportation will be provided from Back Bay or Framingham.

Passengers originating at Back Bay have the option of boarding at Boston South or traveling another date.

Passengers boarding at Boston South Station should go to the Amtrak Information Desk for instructions on boarding the buses.

Passengers boarding at Worcester will board the bus at the main entrance in front of the station. Boarding will not take place at the bus terminal.

There will be no business class or sleeping car between Boston and Albany on the affected date.

3 Options Laid Out for Mass. East-West Service

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has listed three options for creating a rail passenger service between Boston and Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

The options have price tags of between $2.4 billion and $4.6 billion.

MassDOT’s report concluded that all three alternatives face obstacles in qualifying for federal funding.

In an executive summary, the report said the project would likely require “a combination of many different funding sources and strategies, but that, under current federal methodology, the project would “likely not qualify for federal funding.”

Aside from cost, the variables among the three options are how much track work would be needed, the travel time of the service and projected ridership. The latter would be affected by the projected travel time.

The least expensive option of $2.4 billion would have a travel times of 1 hour, 57 minutes between Boston and Springfield, and 3 hours, nine minutes between Boston and Pittsfield.

Projected ridership would be 922 to 1,188 passengers on weekdays by 2040.

The $3.9 billion, would take 1:47 between Springfield and Boston and 2:59 between Pittsfield and Boston, with projected ridership of 1,157 to 1,379 passengers.

The $4.6 billion option would result in travel times of 1:37 between Springfield and Boston and 2:49 between Pittsfield and Boston, and would be used by 1,296 to 1,557 passengers per weekday.

Boston and Pittsfield are currently linked by the Boston section of Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited.

Track Work to Disrupt LSL Boston Section

Track work being performed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will disrupt operations of the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited starting July 29.

Nos. 448 and 449 will not operate between Boston and Albany-Rensselaer, New York, and passengers will instead travel on a chartered bus.

Between July 29 and Aug. 1, passengers aboard No. 448 bound for points east of Albany will disembark at the Albany-Rensselaer station and board the bus.

Buses will stop at all stations except Framingham, Massachusetts. In a service advisory, Amtrak said that during the period there will be no alternative transportation to Framingham.

The buses also will not stop at Boston Back Bay station. Those bound for Back Bay are advised to disembark at South Station and ride an MBTA or Amtrak commuter train to Back Bay.

Between July 31 and Aug. 3, No. 449 will not originate in Boston. Instead, passengers will board a bus to catch their train at Albany-Rensseleaer.

However, the buses will not serve Boston Back Bay or Framingham.

Passengers boarding at Boston South Station should go to the Amtrak Information Desk for instructions on boarding the buses.

Passengers boarding at Worcester, Massachusetts, will board the bus at the main entrance in front of the station. The buses will not board at the bus terminal.

During the service disruption period, there will be no business class or sleeping car service on Nos. 448 or 449.