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Nashua Mayor: Proposed Commuter Rail Project Win-Win for City

The Nashua Board of Aldermen gave an initial nod Tuesday night to a plan to bring a commuter rail stop to the city.

The commuter rail line would run from Worcester, Massachusetts to Lowell and then up to Nashua and Bedford. The project would be led and fully paid for by the Boston Surface Railroad Company out of Rhode Island.

The city would only be tapped with building and maintaining the actual train station, which made it an easy sell for Mayor Jim Donchess.

Credit Courtesy of the Boston Surface Railroad Company

“As far as the city of Nashua goes, we do not need to invest any money in the track improvements, there is no ongoing subsidy required of the city, so there is a minimal cost and a lot to be gained by the plan," Donchess told the full board Tuesday.

“I think that getting Nashua people off the road, giving them an alternative other than the stop and go grinding – this would be a great benefit for Nashua people," Donchess added.

The proposal will still have to go before the planning and economic development committee and then get a final approval by the full board before the public-private partnership is finalized. Seven of the city’s 15 aldermen, including the President, are sponsors of the plan.

If all goes well, trains are expected to run as early as 2021.  

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