A2B Campaign

Support East-West passenger rail between Boston & Springfield! Connect Amherst to Boston through Palmer. Tracks on both the East-West and Central Corridor rail lines are in place & upgraded (to carry heavy freight). Let’s add train service for passengers traveling between eastern Massachusetts and the flagship campus of our state university system, also connecting to UMass Medical in Worcester.

In October 2020 the Amherst Town Council passed a resolution in favor of East-West passenger rail service between Boston and Springfield, connected to the Town of Amherst, first by PVTA bus and in future by train, at Palmer.

In May 2019 Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman made the case for a Palmer stop serving “the large number of college students who live in Amherst as the home of three major institutions of higher education. It would also benefit the year-round residents of the Town who travel to Boston with great frequency, whether it be for work, recreation, or medical services.”

The Student Government Association of the University of Massachusetts Amherst is also on record in support of passenger rail service between Boston and Springfield, including with reference to a Palmer stop that would serve Amherst.

Amtrak service to the Amherst Railroad Station ceased in December 2014 when the Vermonter was relocated across the Connecticut River to the rebuilt Knowledge Corridor line, stopping at Northampton. Train service to Amherst should be restored immediately to better serve the residents of Amherst, and students, faculty, and staff of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

In 2017 MassDOT published the Central Corridor Passenger Rail Feasibility Study, looking at potential train service running between New London, CT and Brattleboro, VT. This line would serve the flagship campuses of two state universities: the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the University of Connecticut at Storrs. In addition, the region along this route includes the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos in southeast Connecticut, as well as residents of nine cities and towns, plus their surrounding regions, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

Please join our campaign to bring passenger train service to the heart of New England, and connect it at Palmer to proposed frequent, higher speed east-west service on the Inland Route, as well as to existing service on the Shore Line route at New London, and on the Knowledge Corridor line at Brattleboro.