The Boston & Albany Corridor is a rail line between Boston and Albany, and it is also a passenger rail route that MassDOT Rail & Transit is advancing towards implementation. The Boston & Albany Corridor is a component of West-East Rail, and it represents part of the expansion of intercity passenger rail services within the Compass Rail vision. At present, it is assumed station stops will include South Station and Back Bay in Boston, Framingham, Worcester, Palmer (proposed station), Springfield, and Albany-Rensselaer.
In December 2023, the Boston & Albany Corridor was accepted into the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Corridor ID Program and MassDOT was awarded $500,000 to scope a Service Development Plan (SDP). This scoping effort is Step 1 in the multi-step program:
Step 1: Scoping a Service Development Plan (current step)
Step 2: Service Development Planning
Step 3: Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Review
Through Step 2 Service Development Planning, MassDOT will conduct stakeholder outreach, propose appropriate service levels, identify necessary infrastructure improvements, and establish a governance structure for service.
Step 3 will begin design and environmental review for capital projects which will position projects to seek construction funding.