Studies - Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop

Figure 6: Station Area TOD Capacity, One-Mile Radius, map of Inland Route showing each station's potential numbers for commercial square footage, housing units, and jobs. — Figure 6 in map form, showing Station Area TOD Capacity, One-Mile Radius, for all Inland Route existing and new stations.

Metro Hartford-Springfield: Economic Benefits of Regional Rail (May 2021)
https://crcog.org/rail-improvements-economic-impact-study/

This study was commissioned by the Hartford area Capitol Region Council of Governments, and looks at the economic impact of passenger rail service from Worcester to Springfield and Hartford. It includes Palmer and describes potential economic benefits from passenger rail service.
A separate Appendix presents study data, and includes a graphic showing potential TOD development (increased commercial square footage, new housing units, and new jobs) for Springfield, Palmer, etc. (page 15).

MassDOT East-West Passenger Rail Study slide showing Alternative 4 plan with stations, anticipated train speeds, and new track in existing alignment. — East-West Passenger Rail Study Alternative 4, slide from presentation, Advisory Committee Meeting #3, February 6, 2020.

East-West Passenger Rail Study (Jan. 2021)
https://www.mass.gov/lists/east-west-passenger-rail-study-documents

This MassDOT study examines high speed rail between Boston and Pittsfield. It is considerably less detailed than the earlier NNEIRI study. It identifies Palmer as a future stop in all three final alternative build scenarios.

The study rejects the only truly high speed alternative as too expensive. The three final alternatives all propose “higher” speed service on the existing former Boston & Albany line.

Image shows photo of downtown Palmer, along with text and a table showing demographics and statistics about the transportation choices and needs of residents of the 21-community Lower Quabbin Region. — Page 7 of Towards a Passenger Station on the Massachusetts East-West Train Line: The Case for Palmer, UMass Amherst Center for Economic Development, June 1, 2019.

Towards a Passenger Station on the Massachusetts East-West Train Line: The Case for Palmer (June 2019)
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/ced_techrpts/191/
Also available from the Town of Palmer here; and from the UMass Design Center (direct link to PDF).

This study argues for the inclusion of a Palmer stop as part of East-West passenger rail. The study concludes that “the Lower Quabbin Region is a significant market for potential rail ridership. There are just over 175,000 residents in the 21-community region… [and] …colleges and universities located within 20 miles of downtown Palmer, combining for a total enrollment of over 70,000 full- and part-time students.” Palmer would serve as a stop for many students at UMass Amherst, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Hampshire. The study also samples real estate prices between Palmer and the Boston area, as an example of possible induced demand. “A train stop in Palmer would provide a tremendous boost to the Commonwealth’s goal to expand home ownership opportunities to low and moderate income workers.”

The study Appendix includes letters of support from towns in the region.

The Town of Palmer commissioned the study, which was prepared by the UMass Amherst Center for Economic Development.

PowerPoint slide shows four possible locations at junction of east-west and north-south tracks in Palmer's Depot Village. — Aerial view showing four possible station sites around the junction of the Inland Route and Central Corridor Line tracks in Palmer’s Depot Village.

Palmer Transit Oriented Development Draft Conceptual Downtown Plan (Sept. 2017)
https://trainsinthevalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/palmer-tod-draft-plan-presentation-2017-09-26.pdf

This study looks at transit-oriented development (TOD) possibilities in Depot Village, Palmer. The Palmer Redevelopment Authority (PRA) commissioned the study, which was prepared by Fuss & O’Neill. In addition to providing an overview of TOD benefits for Palmer, the study identifies sites for a possible station location around the existing rail “diamond,” and points out issues with these specific sites. One illustration of the possible future sites was later used in the Palmer Master Plan (Aug. 2021, p. 25).

Thanks to Trains in the Valley for making this PowerPoint document available online.

Map graphic of Massachusetts and southern New England showing proposed passenger rail stops on the Inland Route and Knowledge Corridor rail lines between Boston, New Haven, and Greenfield. Map indicates connection to NYC from New Haven, but does not picture Vermont or Montreal to the north. — Graphic showing the Inland Route rail line from Boston to Springfield with stops at Framingham, Worcester, and Palmer, as proposed in the Northern New England Intercity Rail Initiative (released June 2016). Also shown is the Knowledge Corridor rail line from New Haven to Greenfield (continuation to Montreal not pictured), also part of the passenger rail service proposed by the NNEIRI plan.

Northern New England Intercity Rail Initiative (NNEIRI)
Study Summary (June 2016) and Tier 1 Environmental Assessment (May 2016)
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massdot-completed-studies#northern-new-england-intercity-rail-initiative-%E2%80%93-2016-
Alternative Analysis Report (January 2015)
https://web.archive.org/web/20170106032142/http:/www.massdot.state.ma.us/portals/39/Docs/AlternativeAnalysisJan_2015.pdf

This multi-state study examines the possibility of high speed rail between Boston and Springfield, and from Springfield to New Haven and Montreal. It is the most detailed and recent study of a Palmer stop, and evaluates three possible station sites. The longest discussion of the Palmer sites is in the Alternative Analysis Report (pages 234-241), and in the Tier 1 Environmental Assessment. (A compilation of these selections may be viewed in this PDF shared via Dropbox).

The NNEIRI study developed a preferred build alternative that would have included 8 round-trip trains per day between Boston and New Haven, all stopping at a new station in Palmer. The study includes Service Development Plans (SDP) for both the New Haven (Inland Route) and Montreal services. The Federal Railroad Administration found that no significant environmental impacts would result from implementation of the NNEIRI plans.

Map shows Central Corridor Rail Line stops from Brattleboro at the top to New London at the bottom. In between are Millers Falls, Amherst, Palmer, Stafford Springs, Mansfield/Storrs, Willimantic, Norwich, and Mohegan. — Map of stops on the Central Corridor Rail Line.

Central Corridor Passenger Rail Feasibility Study (June 2017)
https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2018/05/24/CentralCorridorFinalReport.pdf

This MassDOT study looks at the possibility of restored passenger rail service on the Central Corridor Line, which runs north-south and includes Palmer. This line runs between Brattleboro, VT and New London, CT, and 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. The study concludes that the three states “should continue to evaluate public support relative to furtherance of the service and include it in any statewide passenger and freight rail planning efforts in order to prioritize passenger rail service along the Central Corridor Line relative to other competing rail needs.”