The state’s push to improve west-east passenger rail to Boston landed an additional $130 million this week, money from Washington, D.C., that will be used to ease a rail bottleneck in Springfield.

“We are going to go gangbusters in 2027,” Gov. Maura T. Healey said at a noon announcement at Springfield Union Station.

Starting soon will be design work on track improvements headed west from Union Station toward Interstate 90. The work is meant to keep expected passenger trains from interfering with freight train operations.

Once completed, passenger trains pulling into Union Station won’t need to make an elaborate back-in/pull-out K turn.

Boots-on-the-ground construction will begin next year on track improvements on the 35-mile rail line between Springfield and Worcester, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. That work is financed by an earlier $108 million federal grant.

At the event attended by lawmakers and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Healey also promised to move up the expected date of the first new service from Springfield to Boston.

“Certainly, we’re going to work to do everything we can to get those trains moving as quickly as possible,” Healey said.

Amtrak expects to run two additional trains a day starting in 2030 then ramp up more service from there.

Improved west-east rail service has long been seen as a way to alleviate Boston’s housing shortage, with Western Massachusetts’ inventory. And also, connect people living here with high-paying jobs to the east.

“I said that we were going to get this done because the people of Western Mass. deserve this and have waited too long. They deserve better rail connections, more frequent and reliable service to and from Boston, Worcester, Albany and beyond, and greater access to jobs, housing and opportunity,” Healey said.

In the nearer term, MassDOT promises improved on-time performance, reduced delays and to provide more schedule flexibility for the Amtrak Vermonter and Valley Flyer passengers. The project will create capacity for future passenger rail service, while reducing unnecessary train idling, emissions and operating costs.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D- Springfield, praised the north-south connection with New Haven and New York City beyond as an example of what can happen with west-east rail.

“(The rail line has) met every expectation that we have along the way,” Neal said, adding that he has used it himself. “I’m going to tell you, it couldn’t have been any more pleasurable to travel on that train. Everything was quite on time. It’s really a great experience.”

The total amount of federal money awarded for local rail projects since 2010 now comes to $438.1 million. This includes $75 million secured to redevelop Union Station and funding for both the north-south rail link and west-east rail.

The new money is in addition to more than $150 million in federal funding over the last five years.

The Federal Railroad Administration notified the state of the $130 million from a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program grant this week.

This new grant is the last of the funding from the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that has brought $8 billion in transportation investment to Massachusetts. The law passed while Neal was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

As of August, Amtrak has been awarded about $2 billion in federal funding through the Federal Railroad Administration’s National Railroad Partnership Program for additional Siemens Airo trains.

“Putting your head and elbows to the grindstone is what gets things done,” Neal said. “And that’s how we’ve gotten these big initiatives underway.”

Last week, MassDOT announced an agreement with freight railway CSX allowing for track work near Pittsfield that’ll benefit the seasonal Berkshire Flyer train to New York City, as well as the west-east rail Amtrak hopes to one day offer as far west as Albany, New York.

The improvements will enable speed limits on the line to climb from 60 mph to 80 mph. That work will be funded from a $108 million federal railroad grant the state got in 2023.

The goal is to get the Springfield- Boston travel time under two hours, competitive with driving. Amtrak has said it will add two new daily train trips between Boston, Worcester and Springfield as a first step. Those trains are not expected to run until 2030.

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