Thanks to its rich rail heritage, New England benefits from some of the best passenger rail service in the US. Modern services are rooted in some of the nation’s oldest rail lines. In Boston, America’s first subway (1898) has morphed into the nation’s fifth busiest transit system — “The T.” South from Boston, high-speed Acela Express trains race along a Washington, D.C.-bound route that closely mirrors the historic Stonington Line built in 1832.
Amtrak routes serve Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Among Amtrak’s fifty New England destinations are five of the railroad’s busiest stations: Boston South, Boston Back Bay, and Route 128 Stations in Massachusetts; Providence Station in Rhode Island, and Union Station in New Haven, Connecticut. They are the principal stations along the New England portion of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC), the country’s busiest passenger rail route.
Amtrak
The NEC connects New England cities with New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington. Acela Express trains – North America’s only world-class high-speed service – ply the shoreline route with stops at major stations as well as places like New London and Stamford, Connecticut. Northeast Regional trains pickup the slack with stops at all “local” stations including Kingston, Rhode Island (connections for Newport, Martha’s Vineyard, and University of RI), and New Haven State Street and Bridgeport, Connecticut. NEC Shuttle service between New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts is complemented by Connecticut DOT’s new HartfordLine (see below).
New England is also served by three Amtrak long-distance lines. The Lakeshore Limited connects Boston and Springfield with Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago. Vermont trains connect with shuttles to various ski resorts. The Vermonter links New York City and Brattleboro, Vermont via New Haven and Springfield. The Ethan Allen Express runs from Washington to Rutland. Amtrak’s only New England regional service, the Downeaster, connects Boston North Station with Brunswick, Maine via Durham, New Hampshire (connection to the University of NH) and Portland, Maine.
Transit and Commuter Rail
Beyond Amtrak, New England relies upon several independent rail services.
Foremost is Boston, home to North America’s fifth largest transit system. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), known colloquially as “the T,” encompasses city, suburbs and beyond with subways, BRT (Logan Airport) and commuter rail lines stretching into Central Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and border towns abutting New Hampshire. Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Cambridge, Foxboro, Plymouth, Salem, Lexington, and Concord are among the destinations. On summer weekends, the MBTA’s Cape Flyer connects South Station with Hyannis on Cape Cod. When the snow flies, the T’s Winter Ski Train makes weekend and Wednesday runs between North Station with Wachusett Mountain.
Local commuter rail service supplements most of Amtrak’s NEC. MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line service runs from Boston South Station to Providence, and TW Green Airport; Shore Line East runs from New Haven Union Station to Branford, Guilford, New London and Mystic, Connecticut; and the New York MTA’s Metro East connects New Haven, Waterbury, Danbury, Stratford, Norwalk, and Greenwich, Connecticut with New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Branch line service between New Haven and Springfield alternates between Amtrak Northeast Regional and state-funded HartfordLine commuter trains.
