Lowell Line and Amtrak Downeaster Trains at West Medford

MBTA Commuter Rail (operated by Keolis) Lowell Line Trains No. 315 and 316 are seen here at West Medford station. Additionally, Amtrak Downeaster Trains No. 682 and 683 are also seen. The Lowell Line is the former Main Line of the Boston & Maine Railroad, which stretches from North Station in Boston to Wilmington. At Wilmington, the line splits into two branches, with one route continuing to Lowell and various destinations in New Hampshire (at one time, all the way to White River Junction, VT), and the other branch continuing to Haverhill and ultimately Portland, Maine. Well, at least that's how the B&M intended for the line to operate. Today's MBTA Haverhill Line was intended to be abandoned following the completion of the Orange Line Extension to Reading, with all medium and long-distance train traffic rerouted onto the Main Line which had two tracks for its entire length between Boston and Lowell, and also featured higher speed limits and greater distance between station stops. Ultimately the Orange Line Extension was cut back to Oak Grove in Malden due to NIMBYism in Melrose and Wakefield, meaning that commuter rail service on the Haverhill Line has continued to this day, and the Lowell Line has operated as an independent service only between Boston and Lowell. Service beyond Lowell to Nashua and Manchester, New Hampshire has not existed since the days of the MBTA, and much of the line beyond Manchester has been abandoned and converted into a rail-trail.
The Amtrak Downeaster began service in 2001 with four daily round trips between Boston and Portland, Maine. This service actually operates the way the B&M intended for all rail service to operate, with a departure from North Station, running via the Lowell Line, then splitting at Wilmington onto the Haverhill Branch for the remainder of the trip to Maine. Up until this service began, the track connection between the Lowell and Haverhill Lines in Wilmington (today known as the "Wildcat Branch") was rarely used and had fallen into disrepair. Today, the connection is used by all Downeaster trains and a small number of rush hour express trains on the Haverhill Line, that also operate in the manner originally intended by the B&M, though these trains don't make any intermediate local stops on the Lowell Line (the Downeaster does stop in Woburn with receive passengers only northbound and discharge passengers only southbound policies in place).