Lowell Line
An outbound train arriving at Anderson RTC in 2023
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Locale	Northeastern Massachusetts
Termini	Lowell North Station
Stations	9
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	MBTA Commuter Rail
Train number(s)	300–393 (weekdays) 5306–5393 (weekends)
Operator(s)	Keolis North America
Daily ridership	6,485 (October 2022)[1]
History
Opened	1835 (Boston and Lowell Railroad)
Technical
Line length	25.4 miles (40.9 km)[2]
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Show interactive map Legend 73.3 mi 118 km toConcord,NH 73.3 mi 118 km Concord  55.5 mi 89.3 km Manchester 46.1 mi 74.2 km Merrimack 39.0 mi 62.8 km Nashua NH MA Stony Brook Branch 25.5 mi 41 km Lowell │Lowell Yard 21.8 mi 35.1 km North Billerica 19.2 mi 30.9 km East Billerica 17.0 mi 27.4 km Silver Lake Wildcat Branch toHaverhill Line 15.2 mi 24.5 km Wilmington 12.7 mi 20.4 km Anderson/Woburn 11.6 mi 18.7 km Mishawum 10.9 mi 17.5 km Lechmere Warehouse 10.5 mi 16.9 km Walnut Hill 9.0 mi 14.5 km Winchester Highlands Woburn Cross Street Woburn Branch 7.8 mi 12.6 km Winchester Center 7.3 mi 11.7 km Wedgemere 5.5 mi 8.9 km West Medford  E Medford/​Tufts 4.0 mi 6.4 km Tufts University 4.0 mi 6.4 km Tufts University Ball Square Magoun Square Gilman Square East Somerville  Haverhill  Newburyport/Rockport   toOak Grove 0.8 mi 1.3 km Maintenance facility  D toUnion Square  Fitchburg  Community College Lechmere Charles River Science Park 0mi North Station  toForest Hills  D toRiverside  E toHeath Street This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

TheLowell Line is acommuter rail service of theMBTA Commuter Rail system, running north–south betweenBoston andLowell, Massachusetts. It is 25.4 miles (40.9 km) long, with nine stations including the terminals atNorth Station andLowell station. All stations areaccessible except forMishawum, which has been indefinitely closed since 2020.

Lowell Line service runs on the New Hampshire Main Line, originally built as theBoston and Lowell Railroad in 1835. It was leased by theBoston and Maine Railroad in 1887. Local service operated between Boston andConcord, New Hampshire, with most trains using theWoburn Loop. The final Concord service ended in 1967 during the transition toMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subsidization, leaving Lowell–Boston and Woburn–Boston service. Concord service briefly resumed in 1980–81; Woburn service ended in 1981.

TheBoston and Lowell Railroad 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 asWells River, Vermont, in 1853. TheBoston & Maine Railroad (B&M) acquired the railroad in 1895.^[3][4] The line served as the route for Boston toMontreal service during the Golden Age of Rail (roughly 1880 to 1940). TheAmbassador, the train from Boston'sNorth Station to Montreal, ran throughConcord, New Hampshire, along this line until 1966.^[5] This line, along with theNew Englander, via Concord,White River Junction,Montpelier, ran through the northwestern section of Vermont prior to enteringQuebec, Canada. TheAlouette andRed Wing trains travelled to Montreal via Concord, Plymouth, Wells River andNewport 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.)^[6] For this itinerary the Montreal route was marketed as anAir-line railroad.

Service cuts effective May 18, 1958, included the end of Stoneham Branch service and the closure of Medford Hillside,Tufts College, andNorth Somerville stations.^[7] Further 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, andSouth Wilmington stations were closed.^[7][8] B&M passenger service to Boston on the line was shortened from Concord, New Hampshire, to Lowell in 1967.^[9]

In 1973, theMBTA 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 itscommuter rail contract under the protection of theUnited States Bankruptcy Court, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when newly formedGuilford 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 inManchester and Nashua. A stop inMerrimack was added later. Service was discontinued when federal funding was withdrawn.^[10]

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.^[9] On December 15, 2001, the AmtrakDowneaster began operating over the line south of Wilmington.^[9] In October 2006, the MBTA added fourshort turn round trips that terminated at Anderson RTC.^[11] The line was shut down on weekends in July through September 2017 for the installation ofPositive Train Control equipment in order to meet a 2020 federal deadline.^[12]

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.^[9] On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Lowell Line.^[9] Weekend service on the seven lines resumed on July 3, 2021.^[13] Until December 2020, a small number ofHaverhill Line trains ran via theWildcat Branch and the inner Lowell Line, making stops between Anderson/Woburn and West Medford.^[14][15] Some Haverhill Line trains resumed using this routing on April 5, 2021, but no longer make stops on the Lowell Line.^[16][17]

By February 2022, the line had21+1⁄2 round trips on weekdays and nine on weekends.^[18] By October 2022, the line had 6,485 daily riders – 59% of pre-COVID ridership.^[1] 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.^[19] The Medford Branch of theGreen Line Extension, 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.^[9]

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.^[20] 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 theInner Belt District.^[21][22] 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.^[23][24][25] Regular midday service on the Lowell Line resumed on June 2, 2025.^[26][27]

MBTA Commuter Rail service connectingConcord,Manchester andNashua from the Lowell Line used to exist in New Hampshire until subsidies were ceased in 1967.^[10] The service came back in 1980 for a quick 13 month return, but the program grant was cut by theReagan administration in 1981, and commuter rail service has remained not available.^[10] In October 2010, theNew Hampshire Department of Transportation received a $2.24 million federal grant to study an extension of the Lowell Line to Concord.^[28] 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.^[29] The MBTA acquiredtrackage rights from Pan Am in May 2011 as part of a larger transaction.^[30]

The project was estimated to cost $246 million in a 2014 NHDOT report.^[31] 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.^[32][33] 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.^[34][35]

In December 2020, a $5.5 million contract was awarded toAECOM 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.^[36] The project called for the extension of the Lowell Line up through Nashua and Manchester along an existing rail alignment.^[33][37][31] The proposed expansion would include four new stops: South Nashua, Crown Street in Nashua,Bedford, and Manchester.^[33] 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.^[38]

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.^{[39][40][41][42]} As of 2025, corridor planning for the extension has been indefinitely postponed.^[43][44][45]

North of Wilmington, the line is authorized for a maximum of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). South of Wilmington, the line has an unusual asymmetrical speed limit. The northbound track supports up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) where curvature allows, while the southbound track has a maximum of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Additional speed restrictions are in place at Wilmington, through the grade crossings in West Medford, and in the North Station terminal area.^[46]

Amtrak'sDowneaster service to Maine, along with someHaverhill Line express trains, run on the Lowell Line from North Station to Wilmington, then follow theWildcat Branch 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 havemini-high platforms or a freight passing track.Pan Am Railways runs freight on the line, including local freights based out of Lawrence Yard and DOBO (a Dover to Boston through freight).

State	Fare zone	Location	Miles (km)[2][47][48]	Station	Connections and notes
MA	1A	Boston	0.0 (0.0)	North Station	Amtrak:Downeaster MBTA Commuter Rail:Fitchburg Line,Haverhill Line,Newburyport/Rockport Line MBTA subway:Orange Line,Green Line (D andE branches) MBTA bus:4 EZRide
		Somerville	0.8 (1.3)	Boston Engine Terminal	Flag stop for MBTA employees only
		Medford	4.0 (6.4)	Tufts University	Open September 1977 to October 1979
			5.5 (8.9)	West Medford	MBTA bus:94, 95
	1	Winchester	7.3 (11.7)	Wedgemere
			7.8 (12.6)	Winchester Center	MBTA bus:134 Former junction with Woburn Branch (closed 1981)
			9.0 (14.5)	Winchester Highlands	Closed June 1978[9]
		Woburn	10.5 (16.9)	Walnut Hill	Closed January 18, 1965[9]
			10.9 (17.5)	Lechmere Warehouse	Open 1979 to 1996[9]
	2		11.6 (18.7)	Mishawum	Flag stop with limitedreverse commute service. Indefinitely closed on December 14, 2020.
			12.7 (20.4)	Anderson/Woburn	Amtrak:Downeaster Logan Express
	3	Wilmington	15.2 (24.5)	Wilmington	LRTA: 12 Junction with theWildcat Branch
			17.0 (27.4)	Silver Lake	Closed January 18, 1965[9]
		Billerica	19.2 (30.9)	East Billerica	Closed January 18, 1965[9]
	5		21.8 (35.1)	North Billerica	LRTA: 3, 13
	6	Lowell	25.5 (41.0)	Lowell	LRTA: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 MVRTA: 24
		Chelmsford	28.7 (46.2)	North Chelmsford	Closed June 30, 1967
NH		Nashua	39.0 (62.8)	Nashua	Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9]
		Merrimack	46.1 (74.2)	Merrimack	Open from April 1980 to March 1, 1981[9]
		Manchester	55.5 (89.3)	Manchester	Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9]
		Concord	73.3 (118.0)	Concord	Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9]
Closed station

Location	Miles (km)[2][47][48]	Station	Connections and notes
Winchester	7.8 (12.6)	Winchester Center	Junction with mainline
Woburn	9.0 (14.5)	Cross Street	Closed February 1, 1981[49]
	9.8 (15.8)	Woburn	Closed February 1, 1981[49]
Closed station

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