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| Expanded Mass. rail service considered | |
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| Topic Started: March 23 2009, 09:51 AM (71 Views) | |
| Gandalf | March 23 2009, 09:51 AM Post #1 |
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Head Moderator, Computer Tech
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OAKLAND, Masss. -- While there has been much talk about commuter rail between Springfield and New Haven, Conn., the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission is now exploring expanded rail service north of Springfield, The Republican reports. For the past several months, the commission has been leading a study into expanding Amtrak passenger train service through a $30 million project that would improve the Connecticut River line and open service to Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield. The move is supported by the mayors of all three cities. The project would qualify for funding from the $8 billion in federal stimulus money for rail infrastructure projects around the country, according to Dana Roscoe, a principal planner with the commission. "This opportunity is just so unique that we're definitely pushing the envelope, pushing our consultant to get the components of the study completed that would support our application for the funding," Roscoe said. State Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi is also backing the effort. "I think it's something that we need to explore," he said. "For me, rail means not only mobility within that corridor, but economic development and growth." Amtrak north-south service in Western Massachusetts is currently provided by the Vermonter, which runs between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans, Vt., and travels through Springfield. The train makes one trip in each direction daily, and its route includes travel on the CSX Railroad and the New England Central Railroad. In Massachusetts, the only stops are in Springfield and Amherst. The study, entitled the Knowledge Corridor Passenger Rail Study, was started last May and is examining rerouting the Vermonter to the Connecticut River line. Using the line would cut about 45 minutes off the trip to Vermont, while adding station service to Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield. The Amherst stop would be eliminated, but Roscoe said residents could take a free Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus to Northampton to catch the train. Roscoe said the Connecticut River line currently is limited to freight trains, and the condition of the track prevents travel at more than 10 miles an hour. Adding the passenger service would require major track, bridge, and crossing work along the line, which is owned by Pan Am Railways. "The track exists; it's just in poor condition," he said. Roscoe said the commission, Amtrak, Pan Am Railways, and the state transportation agencies in Vermont and Massachusetts are cooperating in the study. It also involves evaluating commuter and intercity service, and how expanding service north may be integrated with the Connecticut Department of Transportation project to expand the Springfield-New Haven service. The consultant for the study is HDR Engineering of Boston. The study will include two public hearings in May, with one in Springfield or Holyoke and the other in Northampton. The Palmer Redevelopment Authority would like the Vermonter to also serve the town, and Authority Chairman Blake E. Lamothe said consideration of improving the Connecticut River line should be scrapped. "They should be looking at Palmer and putting that on the front burner," said Lamothe, who believes there are many more train passengers in Palmer and nearby communities than in Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield, which are along the Interstate 91 corridor. Lamothe, in a March 17 letter to Aloisi, defended Palmer as a better stop for commuter rail and pointed out that its Union Station has been restored. A $12.8 million transportation center is planned for downtown Greenfield that Mayor Christine Forgey said would initially be devoted primarily to bus and taxi service. However, she said the Connecticut River line is within a couple of hundred feet of the center site and "there is certainly available ... space so you could use the transit center as a waiting room" for a train. Passenger trains could make Greenfield a more attractive place to live, Forgey said. The consultant for the study is HDR Engineering of Boston. The study will include two public hearings in May, with one in Springfield or Holyoke and the other in Northampton. The Palmer Redevelopment Authority would like the Vermonter to also serve the town, and Authority Chairman Blake E. Lamothe said consideration of improving the Connecticut River line should be scrapped. "They should be looking at Palmer and putting that on the front burner," said Lamothe, who believes there are many more train passengers in Palmer and nearby communities than in Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield, which are along the Interstate 91 corridor. Lamothe, in a March 17 letter to Aloisi, defended Palmer as a better stop for commuter rail and pointed out that its Union Station has been restored. A $12.8 million transportation center is planned for downtown Greenfield that Mayor Christine Forgey said would initially be devoted primarily to bus and taxi service. However, she said the Connecticut River line is within a couple of hundred feet of the center site and "there is certainly available ... space so you could use the transit center as a waiting room" for a train. Passenger trains could make Greenfield a more attractive place to live, Forgey said. "In the Pioneer Valley, a lot of the housing options are not as affordable in the lower part of the valley as they are up here," she said. Holyoke Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said it "makes tremendous sense" to have passenger train service in the city. "Holyoke is a community that could certainly benefit by it," he said Sullivan. (The preceding article by Michelle McAuliffe was published March 23, 2009, by The Republican.) March 23, 2009 |
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3:25 AM Jul 11