Project Time

Comment to MassDOT on [DRAFT] East-West Passenger Rail Study

Submitted by Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop

11/19/20

In June 2020, Secretary Pollack expressed the hope that the East-West Passenger Rail Study would lay the groundwork for moving the idea of higher speed rail between western Massachusetts and Boston by way of Worcester from a study to an actual project. As the study concludes, MassDOT should be looking for a way to create a shovel-ready East-West rail project at a time when the Federal government is likely to develop an infrastructure bill to stimulate the economy and make much-needed improvements to the country’s transportation systems.

Unfortunately the current East-West Passenger Rail Study alternatives are unlikely to qualify for Federal funding due to their high cost and reputedly low benefit, resulting in minimal benefit cost ratios.

All that is needed to create an East-West rail project eligible for Federal funding is to revisit and revise the Northern New England Intercity Rail Initiative (NNEIRI), released by MassDOT in 2016. The NNEIRI study provides a blueprint for affordable, higher speed train service between Boston and Springfield. MassDOT should take the NNEIRI plan off the shelf, revise it to extend service west to Pittsfield and Albany, and make it a shovel-ready project that is fully qualified for Federal funding.

We encourage MassDOT to develop a “New NNEIRI” project to address the great need of Massachusetts for frequent train service running west from Boston to Springfield and Pittsfield, and connecting to north-south service at Springfield, and to UMass/Amherst and UConn/Storrs via bus and future train service at Palmer.

Here are specific ways in which a “New NNEIRI” project could improve on the East-West Passenger Rail Study alternatives:

1. The population of Worcester is 185,428 (metro area pop. 923,672), and the population of Springfield is 153,606 (metro area pop. 631,982). They are the 2nd and 4th largest cities in New England. It is outrageous that these two cities are barely connected by passenger rail in the 21st century. MassDOT should make it the highest priority of a shovel-ready “New NNEIRI” project to implement frequent train service between Springfield and Worcester.
   
2. To benefit the entire Commonwealth, a “New NNEIRI” project should extend intercity passenger rail to Pittsfield (city pop. 42,142), and Albany, NY (city pop. 96,460; metro area pop. 883,169). The added connection to Albany will more than justify the additional cost of service west of Springfield.
3. We appreciate the inclusion in the East-West Passenger Rail Study of infill stops in Palmer and Chester to connect the vast rural areas of Central Massachusetts and the Hilltowns to all the cities west and east. Every train in the NNEIRI plan would have stopped in Palmer; and every train in a “New NNEIRI” project should stop in Palmer and Chester.
4. A “New NNEIRI” project should include plans for temporary bus and subsequent rail connections to the Flagship Campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and to the University of Connecticut in Storrs, both of which will be served by direct connection at the east-west stop in Palmer. UMass Amherst: 24,209 undergraduates; 7,141 graduate students; 1,462 faculty and 4,741 staff. UConn: 18,847 undergraduates; 7,097 graduate students; 9,620 faculty and staff.
5. Demands for “high speed rail” in effect derailed the original NNEIRI plan (itself originally a high speed study), delaying rail service to Springfield well beyond 2020, the year in which NNEIRI-envisioned service could have begun. No question the United States should be building high speed rail networks nationwide, but in Massachusetts higher speed rail now can lead to high speed rail later. A “New NNEIRI” project could start train service with speeds less than 90 mph in order to reduce the much greater capital expense required to reach true high speed service using the CSX right-of-way. By starting with less costly, “higher speed” service, MassDOT will be able to better evaluate the need for train service along this route before making an enormous capital investment.
6. The East-West Passenger Rail Study narrows the scope, low-balls the ridership, inflates the costs, and underestimates the benefits of passenger rail service between Boston, Springfield, and Pittsfield. A “New NNEIRI” project would address all of these failures by expanding the scope to include Albany, NY; by basing ridership projections on more comparable proxy markets elsewhere in the U.S.; by reducing capital costs to cover only improvements needed to run less than 90 mph trains west of Worcester; and by calculating and including in the benefit/cost analysis all of the economic and environmental benefits that will accrue from expanded, frequent train service spanning our state.

A “New NNEIRI” project will require oversight and planning to realize its full potential by connecting to regional and interstate public transit services. As a first step, the legislature and MassDOT should create a passenger rail authority to coordinate and develop statewide passenger rail service on the Inland Route, the Knowledge Corridor (home to the Valley Flyer pilot service), the Northern Tier, the Central Corridor Line, and the Housatonic Line. The authority could also collaborate with CTDOT, NYSDOT, and VTrans to ensure seamless connection to passenger trains running across our borders.