Blue Line Extension to Lynn

Alignment

The Blue Line was built along the old Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn narrow-gauge railroad with the aim of reaching Lynn, but budget limits cut the 1952–54 Revere extension short at Wonderland. Regional transit plans from 1926 through the 1980s repeatedly recommended finishing the job, but the money went to other Red and Orange Line extensions instead. The gap is about 4.5 miles, from Wonderland across Saugus to Lynn station in Central Square, which was rebuilt in 1992 with a future Blue Line terminal in mind.

Two corridors have been studied. The one most often favored, including by Lynn’s state senator, runs beside the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line through the Rumney and Saugus River marshes into downtown Lynn. Its main challenges are building across marshland and planning for rising tides. The alternative follows the rest of the old narrow-gauge right-of-way along Revere Beach through Point of Pines and up the Lynnway (Route 1A). Smaller options studied over the years include more commuter rail or bus service, and a commuter rail stop near Wonderland with a transfer to the Blue Line.

No current project exists. The last full cost estimate is the MBTA’s 2013 figure of $737 million to $1 billion. State and MBTA work in Lynn now centers on bus lanes on the Lynnway, a rebuilt commuter rail station, and eventual electrification of the Newburyport/Rockport Line, which local leaders call the “Environmental Justice Corridor.”

Updates

2026-08 — Electric rail through Lynn still lacks power infrastructure and funding

The MBTA’s commuter rail chief said the T must first install new power infrastructure north of Boston before running electric trains through Lynn, and that there is no funding to expand electric power beyond the Fairmount and Providence lines. In April, A Better City noted that the draft FY2027–31 capital plan funded only planning for a North Station traction power substation that the Lynn corridor would need. Neither source mentions a Blue Line extension.

2026-05 — Draft Lynnway bus-lane design presented

The MBTA, the City of Lynn, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and MassDOT took a draft design for the Lynnway to the public in spring 2026. It includes about 2.6 miles of bus lanes intended to give more frequent and reliable connections to the Blue Line, commuter rail, and downtown Lynn. The project has more than $20 million from a federal RAISE grant, and construction is expected in 2028 or later.

2025-06 — Lynn City Council asks state to prioritize the extension

On June 17 the council adopted a resolution calling on the MBTA, MassDOT, and the legislature to prioritize extending the Blue Line to Lynn “and beyond.” It followed a survey by Thurgood Marshall Middle School eighth graders in which 91% of 324 respondents backed the extension. The students also presented to the MBTA board.

2025-04 — MBTA chair points Lynn toward Regional Rail

MBTA board chair and former Lynn mayor Tom McGee told local business leaders that Lynn is part of the MBTA’s long-term Regional Rail vision but will not be first to get the battery-electric trains due on the Fairmount Line. He said funding was in place to take the new Lynn station’s design to 30%.

2023-07 — Local leaders push electrification “in lieu of” the Blue Line

State Sen. Brendan Crighton and Mayor Jared Nicholson urged the MBTA to speed up electrifying commuter rail through Lynn. Crighton said electrification would allow more frequent service “in lieu of Blue Line expansion to Lynn.”

2020-07 — Lynn Transit Action Plan completed

MassDOT’s Lynn Transit Action Plan, which looked at bus, subway, ferry, and commuter rail options, issued its final report in July 2020. Its near-term recommendations focused on low-cost changes such as bus lanes, service changes, and better walking and cycling access to transit.

2019-07 — State budget orders a new feasibility study

The FY2020 state budget required MassDOT to report by March 31, 2020 on extending rapid transit from Wonderland to Lynn station, covering capital and operating costs, ridership, use of existing rights-of-way, and funding sources. Crighton had filed the study as a bill in January. The last analysis, a 2013 MBTA study, had estimated $737 million to $1 billion.

2009 — Environmental review stalls

A 2004 state bond bill authorized $246.5 million for the extension if matching non-state money could be found, and the project won $25 million in federal earmarks. A draft environmental report expected by the end of 2008 was delayed as the state focused on its legal deadline for the Green Line Extension, and the project then stalled without a funding source.