Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop
We are citizens of Palmer, Massachusetts and surrounding towns who support the restoration of passenger rail service to our historic downtown.
Take action to make East-West rail a reality: Submit your comment on the draft report through Thursday, November 19, using the East-West Rail Study Comment Form on the MassDOT website — https://bit.ly/3m8TipX [DRAFT] East-West Passenger Rail Study Final Report — https://www.mass.gov/lists/east-west-passenger-rail-study-documents [the 5-chapter draft report is the first document on this web page]
MassDOT’s draft East-West Passenger Rail Study Final Report begs the question of how easily our state government can waste $1 million of taxpayers’ money on a misguided, flawed, and ultimately useless study. Rather than become mired in cynicism at the perfidy of state officials, let’s tell them we’re mad as hell & we aren’t going […]
In their analysis of the final three East-West passenger rail alternatives, MassDOT and its study consultants have greatly underestimated the social, environmental, and economic benefits of expanded train service between Boston and Western Mass. Is this another attempt, similar to the original low ridership estimates issued in February, to derail east-west train service across the […]
Palmer’s passenger rail future remains on track! A stop in Palmer is included in all three final alternative plans that will be subject to further analysis during the last stage of MassDOT’s East-West Passenger Rail Study. On June 25 Astrid Glynn, MassDOT Rail & Transit Administrator, notified members of the East-West Study’s Advisory Committee that […]
MassDOT’s East-West Passenger Rail Study veered off track during the Advisory Committee meeting in Springfield on Feb. 6, 2020. The study team’s detailed analysis of each of the six preliminary alternatives combined laughably low ridership estimates with greatly inflated costs for all levels of service. Advisory Committee and audience members quickly questioned the ridership estimates during the […]
When Massachusetts implements frequent, higher speed east-west passenger rail between Boston, Springfield, and Pittsfield, all the trains should stop at regional stations in Palmer and Chester in order to best serve residents of the Lower Quabbin Region between Worcester and Springfield, and the Hill Towns between Springfield and Pittsfield. The Northern New England Intercity Rail […]
At Tuesday’s MassDOT East-West Passenger Rail Study Advisory Committee meeting in Springfield, the MassDOT project managers and consultants gave all attendees large format plans showing the existing conditions (Lake Shore Limited service not stopping in Palmer), the 6 “preliminary” alternative service plans, and a summary chart comparing elements of the existing conditions & 6 alternatives. […]
MassDOT’s 2020-2024 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) draft contains many necessary investments to maintain current transportation infrastructure across the Commonwealth, but it fails to address the gaping hole left by minimal statewide passenger rail service. The Commonwealth spans about 190 miles from east to west, but is only about 50 miles across from north to south […]
Please see MassLive for “Keep East-West Rail on Track,” a Guest viewpoint by Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop, The Train Campaign, Trains In The Valley, and activists from Chester: http://s.masslive.com/CjxUiFW This is a response to the presentation at MassDOT’s East-West Rail Study public meeting last week in Springfield. We explain why train service to […]
LOCATION CHANGED TO PATHFINDER!!! All residents and businesspeople in the Quaboag region – we need you to come this Saturday (3/16) to the Pathfinder Technical High School cafeteria at 9 a.m. to create a vision and plan for a Palmer passenger rail stop.
