The Lowell Line is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
service of the
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...
system, running north–south between
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...
. It is long, with nine stations including the terminals at
North Station
North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtr ...
and
Lowell station. All stations are
accessible except for , which has been indefinitely closed since 2020.
Lowell Line service runs on the New Hampshire Main Line, originally built as the
Boston and Lowell Railroad
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...
in 1835. It was leased by the
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the e ...
in 1887. Local service operated between Boston and
Concord, New Hampshire
Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...
, with most trains using the
Woburn Loop. The final Concord service ended in 1967 during the transition to
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
subsidization, leaving Lowell–Boston and Woburn–Boston service. Concord service briefly resumed in 1980–81; Woburn service ended in 1981.
History
Boston and Lowell Railroad
The
Boston and Lowell Railroad
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...
started freight operations in 1835, with traffic from the Lowell mills to the Boston port. Demand for the express passenger service exceeded expectations, and in 1842 local service was added as well. The line north of Lowell was first owned by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, which was chartered in 1844. Trackage was completed as far as
Wells River, Vermont, in 1853. The
Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M) acquired the railroad in 1895. The line served as the route for Boston to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
service during the Golden Age of Rail (roughly 1880 to 1940). The ''
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
'', the train from Boston's
North Station
North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtr ...
to Montreal, ran through
Concord, New Hampshire
Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...
, along this line until 1966. This line, along with the ''New Englander'', via Concord,
White River Junction,
Montpelier, ran through the northwestern section of Vermont prior to entering
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. The ''
Alouette
Alouette or alouettes may refer to:
Music and literature
* Alouette (song), "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song
* Alouette, a List of The King of Braves GaoGaiGar protagonists#Alouette, character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar' ...
'' and ''Red Wing'' trains travelled to Montreal via Concord, Plymouth, Wells River and
Newport in northeastern Vermont prior to entering Quebec. (The route via Wells River,
St. Johnsbury and Newport was the more direct route of the two itineraries.) For this itinerary the Montreal route was marketed as an
Air-line railroad.
Massive cutbacks on May 18, 1958, included the end of Stoneham Branch service and the closure of Medford Hillside,
Tufts College
Tufts University is a Private university, private research university in Medford, Massachusetts, Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, Massachusetts, Grafton, as well as Talloire ...
, and
North Somerville stations.
Cuts on June 14, 1959, ended service north of Woburn on the Woburn Loop; trains for points north were rerouted via the mainline to the east. Boston–Lowell local service was halved to seven daily round trips; Tyngsboro, Bleachery, and
South Wilmington stations were closed.
B&M passenger service to Boston on the line was shortened from Concord, New Hampshire, to Lowell in 1967.
MBTA era
In 1973, the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
bought the Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other local Greater Boston passenger lines. Along with the sale, the B&M contracted to run the passenger service on the Lowell line for the MBTA. After bankruptcy, the B&M continued to run and fulfill its
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
contract under the protection of the
United States Bankruptcy Court
United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy ...
, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when newly formed
Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) purchased it in 1983.
For approximately thirteen months in 1980–81, daily passenger service was provided to Concord. Two round-trips were operated on each weekday and one on weekend days. Originally, there were intermediate stops in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and Nashua. A stop in
Merrimack was added later. Service was discontinued when federal funding was withdrawn.
Anderson Regional Transportation Center opened on April 28, 2001, replacing Mishawum as the Lowell Line's primary park-and-ride station for Route 128. Mishawum was reduced to limited reverse-peak service.
On December 15, 2001, the Amtrak ''
Downeaster'' began operating over the line south of Wilmington.
In October 2006, the MBTA added four
short turn
In public transport, a short turn, short working or turn-back is a service on a bus route or rail line that does not operate along the full length of the route. Short turn trips are often scheduled and published in a Public transport timetable, ti ...
round trips that terminated at Anderson RTC. The line was shut down on weekends in July through September 2017 for the installation of
Positive Train Control
Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...
equipment in order to meet a 2020 federal deadline.
2020s
Substantially reduced schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020, and from December 14, 2020, to April 5, 2021.
On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Lowell Line.
Weekend service on the seven lines resumed on July 3, 2021. Until December 2020, a small number of
Haverhill Line
The Haverhill Line (formerly the Haverhill/Reading Line) is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts to Haverhill, Massachusetts, Haverhill. The service operates on the Western Route of the form ...
trains ran via the
Wildcat Branch
The Wildcat Branch is a single track railroad branch line which connects the MBTA Lowell Line in Wilmington, Massachusetts to the MBTA Haverhill Line at Wilmington Junction. The total length of the branch line from the connection with the Lowell ...
and the inner Lowell Line, making stops between Anderson/Woburn and West Medford. Some Haverhill Line trains resumed using this routing on April 5, 2021, but no longer make stops on the Lowell Line.
By February 2022, the line had round trips on weekdays and nine on weekends. By October 2022, the line had 6,485 daily riders – 59% of pre-COVID ridership.
In June 2022, the MBTA indicated it was considering improvements to a siding in Woburn, which would have allowed 30-minute headways between Boston and Anderson/Woburn by 2024.
The Medford Branch of the
Green Line Extension
The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line (MBTA), Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville, Massachusetts, Somerville and Medford, Massac ...
, which opened on December 12, 2022, runs along the Lowell Line through Somerville and part of Medford. There are five Green Line stations on the branch, but no additional commuter rail stops were added.
From September 9 to November 5, 2023, all outer Haverhill Line service was routed over the Wildcat Branch during signal work on the inner part of the Haverhill Line. The diverted trains stopped only at Anderson/Woburn. On March 25, 2024, weekday midday service was reduced to two-hour headways to accommodate construction including reconstruction of Winchester Center station, fiber optic cable work, and replacement of a bridge on the High Line in the
Inner Belt District. From May 20 to September 29, 2024, weekday midday inbound Haverhill Line trains were temporarily routed over the Wildcat Branch during construction work on the inner Haverhill Line, again stopping only at Anderson/Woburn. Regular midday service on the Lowell Line resumed on June 2, 2025.
Proposed expansion to New Hampshire
MBTA Commuter Rail service connecting
Concord,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and
Nashua from the Lowell Line used to exist in New Hampshire until subsidies were ceased in 1967.
The service came back in 1980 for a quick 13 month return, but the program grant was cut by the
Reagan administration
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...
in 1981, and commuter rail service has remained not available.
In October 2010, the
New Hampshire Department of Transportation
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Commissioner of NHDOT is Victoria Sheehan. The main office of the NHDOT is located in the J. O. Morton Building in Concord, N ...
received a $2.24 million federal grant to study an extension of the Lowell Line to Concord. In January 2011, a bill was introduced into the New Hampshire legislature to end the proposed extension and give up a potential $4.1 million grant into its planning. The MBTA acquired
trackage rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...
from Pan Am in May 2011 as part of a larger transaction.
The project was estimated to cost $246 million in a 2014 NHDOT report.
Extending service to NH was projected to provide an expected 34 trains a day to Nashua and 16 a day to Manchester, connecting commuters from Nashua to Boston as low as 54 minutes and commuters from Manchester to Boston in as low as 1 hour and 25 minutes with 3,120 passengers a day.
Proponents of the extension see expanded rail services as a link to Boston’s growing economy while opponents consider the project to be extraneous and expensive.
In December 2020, a $5.5 million contract was awarded to
AECOM
AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...
for preliminary engineering and design work, environmental and public engagement services, and final design, for the project to extend MBTA commuter rail service to southern New Hampshire. The project called for the extension of the Lowell Line up through Nashua and Manchester along an existing rail alignment.
The proposed expansion would include four new stops: South Nashua, Crown Street in Nashua,
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
, and Manchester.
In January of 2022, the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the location for new facilities to house layover trains adjacent to the Manchester Transit Authority facilities.
By autumn 2022, the study was being carried out by AECOM and the State of New Hampshire to design and make a financial plan for the project by 2023. In December 2022, the New Hampshire Executive Council voted to cease state funding for an extension of the AECOM study; the study reported an updated project cost of $782 million. As of , corridor planning for the extension has been indefinitely postponed.
Operations
Track speeds
North of Wilmington, the line is authorized for a maximum of . South of Wilmington, the line has an unusual asymmetrical speed limit. The northbound track supports up to where curvature allows, while the southbound track has a maximum of . Additional speed restrictions are in place at Wilmington, through the grade crossings in West Medford, and in the North Station terminal area.
Other services
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's ''
Downeaster'' service to Maine, along with some
Haverhill Line
The Haverhill Line (formerly the Haverhill/Reading Line) is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts to Haverhill, Massachusetts, Haverhill. The service operates on the Western Route of the form ...
express trains, run on the Lowell Line from North Station to Wilmington, then follow the
Wildcat Branch
The Wildcat Branch is a single track railroad branch line which connects the MBTA Lowell Line in Wilmington, Massachusetts to the MBTA Haverhill Line at Wilmington Junction. The total length of the branch line from the connection with the Lowell ...
to the Haverhill Line. This routing is used to avoid the inner Haverhill Line, which has a number of single-track sections.
The line is the designated freight clearance route into Boston from the north; all stations with high-level platforms must either have
mini-high platforms or a freight passing track.
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former C ...
runs freight on the line, including local freights based out of Lawrence Yard and DOBO (a Dover to Boston through freight).
Station listing
Woburn Branch
References
External links
MBTA - Lowell Line, New Hampshire DOT
{{Massachusetts-Rhode Island transit agencies
MBTA Commuter Rail