MBTA Wins $140M to Double-Track Haverhill Line

USA: The MBTA’s most single-tracked commuter line — long blamed for some of its worst delays — is getting nearly $140 million to fix exactly that, eight months after the agency walked away from a different, more contested plan for the same corridor.

The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $139.6 million to double-track the Haverhill Line between Reading and Andover, Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced Aug. 14, according to the Boston Globe. The MBTA estimated the total project cost at $180 million, according to a June report from MassINC.

Don’t miss…MBTA Fairmount Line Battery-Electric Trains Move Ahead

A plan that replaced a rejected one

In December 2025, the MBTA withdrew a separate proposal for a turnback track near Vine Street after opposition from residents and elected officials, while telling the community it would keep pursuing rail modernization on the corridor through other means, according to Reading Recap. This grant is that alternative path: work will modernize signals at 15 rail crossings, eliminate the Tewksbury Street crossing in Andover entirely, and add roughly 10 miles of fencing along the corridor between Reading and Andover.

What double-tracking actually fixes

The Haverhill Line has the most single track in the MBTA system, forcing trains moving in opposite directions to wait for each other at bottlenecks — a structural cause of delay that predates any one incident. The line also shares tracks with daily freight trains and Amtrak’s Downeaster service, and MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said improving freight movement “helps to control costs for the public.” The announcement does not specify a construction start date or completion timeline for the double-tracking work itself.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed:

Don’t miss…South Coast Rail Line Connects Boston