SPRINGFIELD — State transportation officials are taking a first step toward high-speed rail from Springfield to Boston by in
State Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, announced the development Monday while standing outside Union Station.
“For decades, people have brought up and have asked for a link — for a link between western Massachusetts and the red hot economies all around us,” Lesser said. “This is a big deal. It’s a big breakthrough and it gets us much closer to getting that study done.”
Meanwhile, the rail plan calls for the Springfield-to-Greenfield passenger rail service project to receive priority with consideration of expansion in the future. Service between Greenfield and New York is expected to increase from one train daily in each direction to five, with an additional train on weekends.
And a pilot rail shuttle is expected to launch between Greenfield and New Haven, Conn., sometime after May, with stops in Northampton, Holyoke and Springfield as well as Hartford and connections to New York and potentially Bradley International Airport.
For three years Lesser has pushed for an official study that would outline the benefits of a rail connecting the eastern and western parts of the state. Most recently, in July, a line-item for the study in the state’s budget was nixed at the last minute during closed-door negotiations.
This month, Lesser was appointed vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation.
The state Department of Transportation’s plan, which each decade details all of the state’s rail assets outside of the MBTA service area, was released Friday. The announced feasibility study was classified as “Tier II” which differs from projects labeled as “Tier I” as they are not yet ready to be implemented.
This time, Lesser said he has a personal commitment from MassDOT that the study will move forward. He said Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack had expressed interest in the study.
“Secretary Pollack told me, yes, that she wanted to study east-west rail, and it’s reflected in that report,” he said.
Since the rail plan is a draft, MassDOT has opened a period of open comment that will last until Feb. 19 so the public can partake in any potential revisions to the report. Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, released a statement Monday saying he would urge Pollack to consider holding at least one hearing in western Massachusetts.
“I’m calling on the sons and daughters of western Massachusetts, the families who care about this rail link, to do what you already have done … to step up and to participate in this process so that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation knows how important this link is for our future,” Lesser said.
Meanwhile, with completion of track improvements in Connecticut, that state’s transportation department plans to begin to double the number of daily round trips from six to 12 per day between New Haven and Springfield beginning in May.
Lesser still has a bill pending in the State Senate for a feasibility study of the rail, which he says will remain until the state’s rail plan gets a final confirmation.
Material from the Greenfield Recorder was used in this report.