MBTA Opening New Worcester Platform For Commuter Rail

WORCESTER, MA — A new platform for train riders will open at Worcester's Union Station Monday after nearly two years of construction.

The MBTA began building a new center platform at Union State in spring 2022. Until now, Union Station is the only one along the Framingham-Worcester line that could only board one train at a time. The upgrade allows for faster train service along the entire line, according to the T.

Alongside the new center platform, Commuter Rail riders — and Amtrak riders — will now be able to access train platforms either through the main station, or from a new stairway and elevator connected to the Shrewsbury Street parking lot on the other side of I-290. The Shrewsbury Street lot was used as a detour for many train riders during construction over the last two years.

Just as the new platform opens, Worcester is seeing a slowdown in Commuter Rail service. When fall train schedules were released in 2023, the T cut express train service between Worcester and Boston. The T added a single morning express train back with new spring schedules this year, but the train leaves around 8 a.m. Worcester previously had express trains that left between 6 and 7 a.m. to get commuters into Boston.

It's unclear if the T will add or subtract trains when new schedules come out in the fall, but Union Station could become a major train hub with plans to build the West-East Rail passenger line between Springfield, Worcester and Boston — and someday farther west to Pittsfield. That project could begin as soon as this summer with transportation officials designing new rail lines between Worcester and Springfield, with construction possible as soon as 2027.

Amtrak also recently released its ConnectUS plan, which includes a proposed Boston-Albany route with two daily roundtrips, mainly using the West-East Rail improvements. That route right now is served by the Boston-Chicago Lake Shore Limited with only one daily depature.