$4 million for Palmer station design in MassDOT CIP

At its meeting yesterday (7/19/23), the MassDOT Board of Directors approved the FY2024-FY2028 Capital Investment Plan (CIP), including $4 million for “study and design of Palmer station” to be expended over FY2024-FY2025.

The CIP also includes $8 million for track work in Pittsfield to be expended over FY2024-FY2027.

MassDOT FY2024-28 CIP: Selected Major Investments -- Western Mass, showing West-East Rail Improvements at Pittsfield and Palmer stations. Screenshot of slide presented by David Mohler, MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning, at Board of Directors meeting on 7/19/23. — MassDOT FY2024-28 CIP: Selected Major Investments — Western Mass, showing West-East Rail Improvements at Pittsfield and Palmer stations. Screenshot of slide presented by David Mohler, MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning, at Board of Directors meeting on 7/19/23.

Thank you Governor Healey

Gov. Maura Healey has delivered on her campaign promise to begin work on East-West rail, and she deserves thanks from advocates across the Commonwealth. We applaud the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s willingness to move forward immediately with the important Palmer and Pittsfield early action items.

In his presentation at yesterday’s meeting, David Mohler, Executive Director of MassDOT’s Office of Transportation Planning, shared a second slide related to the addition of the East-West rail money to the CIP following favorable feedback received during the public comment period last month.

MassDOT FY2024-28 CIP: Responding to Public Feedback, listing "Support for and requests for more details on West-East Rail Initiative" as a theme of public comment, prompting MassDOT to add Pittsfield and Palmer funding to the CIP in response. Screenshot of slide presented by David Mohler, MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning, at Board of Directors meeting on 7/19/23. — MassDOT FY2024-28 CIP: Responding to Public Feedback, listing “Support for and requests for more details on West-East Rail Initiative” as a theme of public comment, prompting MassDOT to add Pittsfield and Palmer funding to the CIP in response. Screenshot of slide presented by David Mohler, MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning, at Board of Directors meeting on 7/19/23.

Role of the Western Mass Rail Coalition

At the end of June, when we announced—see $4 million Redux— MassDOT’s intent to include the Palmer and Pittsfield funding in the CIP, we shared the CIP comment made on behalf of the Western Mass Rail Coalition by Ben Heckscher of Trains in the Valley. Ben also reached out to legislators representing Western Massachusetts, resulting, no doubt, in further feedback to MassDOT, as referenced yesterday by David Mohler.

To reveal a bit more about the Western Mass Rail Coalition’s continuing campaign for East-West rail, here is the letter that the Coalition sent to the Governor on June 6 —

First page of 6/6/23 letter from Western Mass Rail Coalition asking Gov. Healey to add Palmer and Pittsfield Rail Projects funding to MassDOT's FY2024-28 CIP. — First page of 6/6/23 letter from Western Mass Rail Coalition asking Gov. Healey to add Palmer and Pittsfield Rail Projects funding to MassDOT’s FY2024-28 CIP.

Second page of 6/6/23 letter from Western Mass Rail Coalition asking Gov. Healey to add Palmer and Pittsfield Rail Projects funding to MassDOT's FY2024-28 CIP. — Second page of 6/6/23 letter from Western Mass Rail Coalition asking Gov. Healey to add Palmer and Pittsfield Rail Projects funding to MassDOT’s FY2024-28 CIP.

Time for the Town of Palmer to Step Up

We thank the Palmer Town Council for sending the Governor a letter of appreciation when she first announced her plan to fund the study and design of Palmer station.

Town Council should direct town officials to engage MassDOT directly, ensuring local coordination and input during the planning process. Many decisions will need to be made concerning station/platform location, adjacent parking and drop-off, pedestrian access from the Main Street business district, connections to regional PVTA and Quaboag Connector bus and van services, and the all-important direct bus link to UMass Amherst.

The town will need to develop a transit-oriented development (TOD) plan, as called for in its 2021 Master Plan, building on the preliminary TOD work done by Fuss & O’Neill in 2017 for the Palmer Redevelopment Authority. The following slide from that draft study illustrates some of the issues to be resolved in order to locate the platform at the “diamond junction” of the east-west Inland Route and north-south Central Corridor tracks. Future restoration of direct train service between Amherst and Boston via Palmer depends on locating the Palmer platform at the junction.

Draft Station Site Alternatives from Palmer Transit Oriented Development Draft Conceptual Downtown Plan. Prepared by Fuss & O'Neill for the Palmer Redevelopment Authority, 9/26/17. — Draft Station Site Alternatives from Palmer Transit Oriented Development Draft Conceptual Downtown Plan. Prepared by Fuss & O’Neill for the Palmer Redevelopment Authority, 9/26/17.

CRISI Grant for Track Work

As we said in June, funding of station work in Palmer perfectly complements MassDOT’s application for CRISI grant funding of track improvements to accommodate passenger trains on the freight line between Worcester and Springfield.

As we await the Federal Railroad Administration’s decision on the MassDOT application for the CRISI grant, here is the letter of support that we submitted to the FRA last November —

First page of 11/28/22 letter from Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop in support of MassDOT's CRISI grant application to fund track improvements on the Inland Route between Worcester and Springfield. — First page of 11/28/22 letter from Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop in support of MassDOT’s CRISI grant application to fund track improvements on the Inland Route between Worcester and Springfield.

Second page of 11/28/22 letter from Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop in support of MassDOT's CRISI grant application to fund track improvements on the Inland Route between Worcester and Springfield. — Second page of 11/28/22 letter from Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop in support of MassDOT’s CRISI grant application to fund track improvements on the Inland Route between Worcester and Springfield.

Economic Development

We are excited that in 2023, the ninth year of our campaign for a Palmer passenger rail stop, all the necessary state and federal support for East-West rail is finally coming together.

Train service connected to last mile regional and local transit serving residents of towns throughout the Quaboag Valley will provide a huge boost to our regional economy. The improved transportation network would support local businesses and help revitalize downtowns. It also has the potential to bring long-delayed redevelopment to larger sites like the Monson Developmental Center.

Let’s keep these economic benefits at the center of the conversation as planning and implementation of passenger rail proceeds.