Fitchburg commuter line to receive $75m from feds

By Jaime Lutz, Globe Correspondent

The Fitchburg line is getting $75 million from the federal government for an upgrade project, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today, improving what LaHood’s office said was the oldest -- and slowest -- active commuter rail line in the MBTA.

The improvements to the 50-mile line are slated to cost $159 million in total, a statement from LaHood’s office said, and are expected to be completed by 2015.

The agreement, signed at a ceremony this morning in Littleton, will give about 260 people construction jobs, the statement estimated. The train passes through 17 communities and 18 stations heading northwest out of Boston to Fitchburg.

The train’s track record -- no pun intended -- is not as good as other commuter rail lines. It has the highest rate of late arrivals in all of the MBTA, the statement said. Nearly 20 percent of the line travels on a single track, and its maximum speed is only 60 miles per hour.

Planned track improvements attempt to address this, raising maximum speeds to 79 miles per hour, the statement said. Additionally, among other improvements, bridges along the line will be repaired and replaced, crossing warnings will be updated or replaced, and platforms will be revamped for improved accessibility.

The line will continue to operate during the construction.

LaHood used the project to promote President Barack Obama’s proposed jobs plan, the American Jobs Act.

“Congress needs to pass the transportation portion of the American Jobs Act as quickly as possible so we can continue to invest in critically needed projects like this one,” LaHood said in the statement. “Repairing and rebuilding our nation’s rails, roads, ports and airports will put tens of thousands of people to work today building the infrastructure we need to keep our economy moving forward in the future.”