The Northern New England Corridor is one of ten federally designated higher-speed rail corridors in the United States. The proposed 489 mi corridor would have allowed passenger trains to travel from Boston, Massachusetts, to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in about 4 1/2 hours. In 2004, Congress extended the Northern New England High Speed Rail Corridor from Boston to Springfield, Massachusetts, and Albany, New York, and from Springfield to New Haven, Connecticut. The Boston-Springfield-Albany route would provide a link to the Empire Corridor.

Background

, there is no direct passenger rail service between Boston and Montreal. Service from Boston to Portland takes about 2 hours 30 minutes via the Downeaster. There are no trains to Auburn. Service from Boston to Albany via Springfield takes just over 5 hours on the daily Lake Shore Limited. The New Haven–Springfield Line already allows speeds of up to 110 mph, with end-to-end service taking about 1 hour 20 minutes.