Trinnau wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:33 am
This is nothing new, it's called "inland route" service and used to exist before. New York to Boston via New Haven-Springfield-Worcester. There is a rather lengthy thread on the topic in this forum.
There are a lot of hurdles to overcome to make it happen, several of them in just changing from BOS to BON.
Money can solve anything.
Bring a Downeaster down the Western Route with a stop at Malden. Then, via the wye behind BET and on over to Swift and the Grand Junction. Add a stop at Boston Landing, then go west on the Inland Route. Slow going in Boston, but connectivity between cities should be the goal, not speed. Qualify Amtrak T&E through to Worcester where there's a change.
This avoids a hassle with Pan Am [or CSX] to run one of those "nasty" [!] passenger trains on the Lowell and Stony Brook branches, and the Worcester Main. It also gives customers a one-seat ride, always a better option than a transfer, even a cross-platform one. Where the train would terminate is up for discussion.