PITTSFIELD — For years, many Massachusetts Democrats have supported improving and expanding the state’s high-speed passenger rail network.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton agrees, but is concerned that the current West-East Rail plan would be “outdated” before it is even built. Moulton favors a modern, high-speed solution for the West-East Rail project.

The congressman from Salem, representing the 6th Congressional District, spoke with The Eagle editorial board this week. Moulton is campaigning for the Democratic nomination for Senate, seeking to unseat two-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in a primary challenge.

Moulton’s goals for Massachusetts include a regional and national high-speed rail plan.

Moulton categorized the existing West-East Rail passenger rail plan in stark terms.

“It's actually a massive waste of billions of dollars of taxpayer money to build a rail system that's so outdated that no one's going to ride it,” he said. “You probably think I'm exaggerating when I say that the travel times on the old Boston and Albany lines were faster in 1930 than they are under this proposal.”

The West-East Rail project aims to link Western Massachusetts to Boston, using existing Boston & Albany Line tracks to link cities like Springfield, Pittsfield, Worcester and Boston with New Haven, Conn., and Albany, N.Y.

West-East Rail could take different forms, from a practical, less expensive 80-mph upgrade to a much costlier 150-mph high-speed line. Completing the project linking Albany and Boston, a distance of 171 miles, would cost at least $2.4 billion with high-end estimates pegged at $25 billion. How fast the trains ultimately run depends on how much money lawmakers are willing to invest.

Moulton advocates for regional and national high-speed rail lines capable of reaching speeds of 200 mph.

In contrast to the fragmented and gradual improvement of slower regional train lines, Moulton proposed a $205 billion plan to build state-of-the-art lines on a national scale.

In March 2024, Moulton and U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Democrat from the state of Washington, introduced the American High-Speed Rail Act. The proposal “would invest $205 billion … into high-speed rail, create at least 2.6 million direct American jobs over five years, and provide Americans with a new travel option that’s safer than driving, cleaner than flying, and rarely delayed by weather.”

In August, the Healey Administration — along with Markey, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal — announced the award of $3.5 million to advance the Boston-Albany Corridor Service Development Plan. The plan will show whether a passenger train between Boston and Albany can work and what needs to be done to make it happen.

This funding came in addition to $145 million in grants for related efforts in 2023 and 2024, work that Markey described as “building a brighter and more sustainable future” for Massachusetts residents by connecting them more effectively and efficiently.

Moulton believes his American High-Speed Rail Act would better promote affordability for people across Massachusetts.

“There’s literally nothing we can do that will do more for affordable housing or access to jobs,” Moulton said.