WORCESTER, Mass. - State leaders overseeing a project aimed at connecting Springfield, Worcester and Boston with faster passenger train service met Monday to discuss progress made in the early stages of the project.

The West/East Rail Project will eventually feature stops in Pittsfield, Springfield, Palmer, Worcester and Boston, but it isn’t expected to be ready until 2029.

What You Need To Know

  • Richard Neal says the West/East rail is a 'number one priority for economic growth'

  • It will eventually feature stops in Pittsfield, Springfield, Palmer, Worcester and Boston

  • The project isn't expected to be completed until 2029

  • West/East rail is part of MassDOT's larger 'Compass Rail' vision

Current work includes a reconfiguration project at Springfield’s Union Station, where Rep. Richard Neal met with Massachusetts Department of Transportation leaders on Monday.

“You’re already starting to see some of the traffic congestion in places because the money has now moved a bit beyond the planning stage and onto implementation,” Neal said. “We are in broad agreement here. The delegation that showed today, and it was a terrific turnout, as to making this our number one priority for economic growth here across Central and Western Massachusetts.”

Andy Kozoil was recently named as MassDOT’s director of the West/East Rail Project, and when asked about the project’s lengthy timeline, he said changes this massive to rail infrastructure should be expected to take some time.

“Typically a plan like this that talks about the frequency of service, the capital project is a multi-year effort,” Kozoil said. “We have done so much pre-planning work, and this testament to my colleagues that came before me, that we believe that we're going to be able to advance much quicker than some of the other states that are in the program.”

Other ongoing work includes planning and design for the Palmer train station, and design and construction for track capacity improvements in Pittsfield.

The project is part of MassDOT’s larger ‘Compass Rail’ vision, which would be comprised of West-East and North-South services to increase transportation options, support economic development, improve the freight network and lessen the amount of cars on the road.

The entirety of the ‘Compass Rail’ project wouldn’t be complete until 2045, and would also include three daily round trips from Albany to Springfield, eight daily round trips from New Haven, Connecticut to Springfield, and six daily round trips from Boston to Springfield.