Early stations Worcester became a rail hub in the mid-19th century, with seven railroads serving the city: • The
Boston and Worcester Railroad (B&W) opened between Boston and Worcester on July 4, 1835. • The
Western Railroad opened between Worcester and
Springfield in October 1839, and to
Albany, New York, in 1841. Most railroads in southern New England were consolidated into three systems in the later 19th century. Long rivals, the B&W and Western merged in 1867 to form the
Boston and Albany Railroad, which became part of the
New York Central Railroad system in 1900. Commuter rail service between Worcester and Framingham (with no intermediate stops after 1960) was not subsidized by the MBTA; with just ten riders per day riding from Worcester, service was cut back to Framingham on October 27, 1975. Amtrak began operating a Boston-Albany section of the
Lake Shore Limited four days later. Amtrak constructed a
small station building on the east side of Interstate 290 in 1975 or 1976. In April 2012, the
Worcester Regional Transit Authority broke ground on a new regional transit hub adjacent to Union Station. The cost was $14 million, with $10 million coming from the Federal Government and the rest coming from the state. The new hub opened in May 2013. Luciano's Cotton Club, a 1920s gangster-themed restaurant, is located in the Grand Hall. The
Cannabis Control Commission established their state headquarters in Union Station in 2019.
Amtrak Thruway bus service between Worcester and
New Bedford, Massachusetts, connecting with Amtrak trains at , was added in 2023. Worcester Union Station is a proposed intermediate station for
East-West Rail, which would provide intercity passenger service between
Boston and
Pittsfield.
Second platform From 2000 to 2024, Union Station had a single high-level side platform several cars long. It was the only station on the line aside from the three limited-service Newton stations that could only be served by one train at a time – all other stations have two side platforms or an
island platform. This limited the number of daily trains that could serve Worcester, and caused frequent cascading delays. After years of discussion about adding a second platform and extending the side platform to full length, the MBTA approved a two-year, $4 million design contract in October 2018. Design reached 30% in August 2019. The new -long island platform has an accessible footbridge at its east end, and stairs and an elevator into a converted storage room to provide direct access from the station building at its west end. A crossover east of the station was also built. The full length of the new platform has a canopy. In 2019, construction was estimated to cost between $40 and $48 million. Plans at that time called for a temporary platform east of the I-290 overpass to be used while the west half of the new platform was constructed; the west half would then be used while the east half was built. In October 2020, $29.3 million in federal funding for the project was announced. A $44.4 million construction contract was approved on October 27, 2021. Notice to proceed was given on November 29, 2021, with completion then expected in December 2023. The temporary platform was constructed over the weekend of March 12–13, 2022, and entered service on March 14. Contrary to previous plans, the entire new platform was built at the same time. Construction was 40% complete by December 2022 and 70% complete by November 2023. The new island platform opened on July 1, 2024, replacing the side platform. Demolition of the former side platform and other infrastructure work continued until September 2025. Total project cost was $74 million. ==References==