This page focuses on the part of the MassDOT Capital Investment Plan (CIP) that relates to rail investments in the Pioneer Valley region of western Massachusetts. For general information about the CIP, please visit the official MassDOT CIP web page.

Overview

The MassDOT Capital Investment Plan (CIP) is used to program and define MassDOT’s capital spending over a five-year period.

The chart below includes CIP projects directly related to rail projects in the Pioneer Valley region of western Massachusetts for the five-year period FY2026 through FY2030.

Note that the state fiscal year starts on July 1st, so FY2026 runs from July 1, 2025 until June 30, 2026.

---

CIP funding for rail projects in the Pioneer Valley

The source data for this chart can be found at this link.

On June 2, 2025 the Western Mass Rail Coalition submitted this letter to MassDOT with a request that construction funding for the planned station platform in Palmer, MA, be included in the final CIP.

On June 12, 2025 Trains In The Valley submitted these three comments to MassDOT regarding the planned rail investments in western Massachusetts:

Northampton station platform extension (PDF)

Conn River Line – Fiber optic cable project funding (PDF)

Conn River Line – Track and right-of-way project funding (PDF)

---

A few of the projects funded by the CIP in our region

Ongoing maintenance of the MassDOT-owned Connecticut River Main Line, which runs between Springfield and the Vermont state line, is funded by the CIP.

Construction of the new high-level boarding platform in Springfield was funded by the CIP.

Renovation of this bridge — which is used for freight rail service — was also funded in part through MassDOT’s Industrial Rail Access Program, which is funded by the CIP.

---

See also

• Infrastructure | Current projects

• Infrastructure | Completed projects

• MassDOT Industrial Rail Access Program

---

Further reading

Capital Investment Plan (CIP)
MassDOT

Page last updated: June 22, 2025
Page last reviewed: June 12, 2025