Capitol Corridor (Nashua–Manchester Commuter Rail)

Alignment

The Capitol Corridor would extend MBTA Lowell Line commuter rail roughly 30 miles north from Lowell, Massachusetts, to Nashua and Manchester, New Hampshire. It would use about 9 miles of MBTA-owned track in Massachusetts and about 21 miles of the New Hampshire Main Line, a freight line now owned by CSX (formerly Pan Am Railways). The state’s 2022–23 study planned four new stations: South Nashua (behind Pheasant Lane Mall), Nashua Crown Street (downtown), Bedford/MHT (serving Manchester-Boston Regional Airport), and Manchester (south of Granite Street), plus a train layover facility in Manchester. That study assumed 16 weekday trips each way, a Manchester–North Station travel time of about 1 hour 25 minutes, and service beginning in 2030. A further 18 miles from Manchester to Concord, the corridor’s namesake, was left for a separate future study.

The state’s work stopped in December 2022, when the Executive Council declined to extend the consultant contract. Since then the City of Nashua has led a scaled-down “Nashua initial operating segment”: about 13 miles from Lowell to Nashua with two stops, South Nashua and Crown Street. Preliminary figures put it at $250–300M to build and $9–11M a year to operate, with 1,600–2,000 weekday riders, which officials say is roughly 60–65% of the full corridor’s ridership at under half the cost. A planned MBTA layover facility at Iron Horse Park in Billerica, MA, could remove the need for a layover yard in New Hampshire.

Updates

2026-11 — Democrats win all five Executive Council seats

The Executive Council has repeatedly blocked the project, including in 2022. It will flip from 4–1 Republican to 5–0 Democratic, which observers say could revive passenger rail. Weak federal support for passenger rail under the Trump administration may limit what the Council can do.

2026-08 — Nashua secures $250K federal earmark for an updated study

Rep. Maggie Goodlander secured $250,000 in FY2026 congressionally directed spending to update ridership forecasts and construction, operating, and maintenance cost estimates for the Nashua segment. South Nashua near Pheasant Lane Mall is the preferred station site. Officials say the MBTA identified a Nashua extension as a leading expansion priority, but they still need to negotiate with the MBTA and CSX.

2026-05 — Preliminary Nashua-only figures reported

AECOM’s preliminary work for the city estimates $250–300M in construction, $9–11M a year to operate, and 1,600–2,000 weekday riders, with fares covering most operating costs. City officials say Nashua could apply for federal construction funds within five years.

2026-01 — Bill banning state passenger rail funding shelved

HB 100 would have barred NHDOT from spending state funds to plan, build, or operate new passenger rail, naming the Nashua–Manchester–Concord project specifically. The House sent it to interim study, so it did not become law.

2024-12 — Nashua weighs funding its own Lowell–Nashua study

The Nashua Board of Aldermen considered $225,000 for a feasibility study of extending MBTA service to Nashua only. City staff said it was the first time anyone had studied an extension that stopped just across the state line.

2023-03 — Draft state study puts cost at $782M

NHDOT’s draft study estimated $782M to build and about $17M a year to operate, with fares covering roughly 82% of operating costs. It proposed splitting costs among federal grants (at least 55%), New Hampshire (up to $185M), Massachusetts (about $125M), and the host cities (up to $63M). The 2014 estimate had been $246M capital and $10.8M a year. Critics also pointed to lower post-COVID ridership forecasts.

2022-12 — Executive Council halts project development

On December 21, 2022, the Republican-controlled Executive Council voted 3–2 against extending AECOM’s federally funded ~$5.5M contract to September 2023. The work was about 72% complete, with more than $1.5M in federal funds left unspent.

2020-12 — Preliminary engineering contract approved

The Governor and Executive Council approved a $5.45M contract, paid entirely with federal funds, for AECOM to carry out preliminary engineering, environmental review, public engagement, and a financial plan. In 2019 the legislature had added the project to the state’s 10-year plan through SB 241, which became law without Gov. Chris Sununu’s signature.

2014 — Alternatives analysis recommends commuter rail

The NH Capitol Corridor Rail & Transit Alternatives Analysis, approved by the Executive Council in 2013, recommended extending commuter rail to Manchester. It projected about 3,100 weekday riders.