8.0 PASSENGER RAIL ACTIVITIES The transportation staff of the CMRPC follows various efforts to both improve and expand passenger rail operations in the greater region. This section of the Freight Planning Progress Report provides a range of materials pertaining to the development of a modern passenger rail system which will work in tandem with freight interests in serving the greater region and providing a viable mobility option for passengers. Passenger Rail Activity materials include: • “Finally a Rail Plan for New England” Commentary • Vision for the New England High‐Speed and Intercity Rail Network • Massachusetts High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail ARRA Projects and Applications Summary • Blackstone Valley Journey‐to‐Work Summary • Amtrak Fact Sheet for Massachusetts • “Government Should Get on Board With Passenger Rail Funding” Commentary 232
Transcript
8.0 PASSENGER RAIL ACTIVITIES The transportation staff of the CMRPC follows various efforts to both improve and expand passenger rail operations in the greater region. This section of the Freight Planning Progress Report provides a range of materials pertaining to the development of a modern passenger rail system which will work in tandem with freight interests in serving the greater region and providing a viable mobility option for passengers. Passenger Rail Activity materials include:
• “Finally a Rail Plan for New England” Commentary • Vision for the New England High‐Speed and Intercity Rail Network • Massachusetts High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail ARRA Projects and Applications
Summary • Blackstone Valley Journey‐to‐Work Summary • Amtrak Fact Sheet for Massachusetts • “Government Should Get on Board With Passenger Rail Funding” Commentary
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MICHAEL S. DUKAKIS AND ROBERT B. O 'BRIEN
Finally, a rail plan for New England By Michael S. Dukakis and Robert B. O'Brien August 23, 2009
ALL ABOARD! The New England Rail Train is at long last leaving the station.
Earlier this month top transportation officials of the six New England states endorsed an ambitious regional rail plan that will give New England the opportunity to compete for federal stimulus funds as well as the $8 billion the president and Congress already have committed to intercity high speed rail.
The plan includes a series of projects that will connect the region’s states to one another and the region to the rest of the country. It will put thousands of people to work, revive some key urban communities, and build a more secure foundation for the region’s economic and environmental future.
The projects include:
■ New Inland Route high speed service from Boston to New York City via Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, and New Haven, which will link and revitalize some of the region’s oldest cities and most affordable and promising economic enterprise zones - as will proposed new rail service to Fall River and New Bedford. The Inland Route will also provide connecting service along a new Knowledge Corridor from Springfield north to Montpelier, Burlington, and Montreal, connecting the five-college area in and around Amherst with universities such as Dartmouth and the University of Vermont. This would encourage the kind of academic and technological excellence that is the key to New England’s future.
■ New Capital Corridor service between Concord and Boston - via Manchester, Nashua, and Lowell - which will strengthen another important group of residential and employment centers and ease the burden on a seriously overcrowded I-93 and highway system north of Boston.
■ Extension north along the Maine Coast to Freeport and Brunswick of the already successful Amtrak Downeaster service between Boston and Portland, with connections to the Maine State Ferry Service. This will support the all-season tourism industry that has long been a major element of the regional economy and quality of life.
■ Completion of environmental review and preliminary engineering for the North Station/South Station Rail Link - for which federal funds have already been requested by
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Governor Patrick. This project would link North and South Stations by an underground rail tunnel, thereby extending the Amtrak Northeast Rail Corridor north of Boston and finally connecting all the pieces of the commuter rail system in a way that will make it possible for people to leave their cars at home and get to Logan Airport.
The regional rail plan came none too soon. The region is already behind the Midwest and California, both of which have been working on regional rail plans for at least the past decade; other parts of the country are racing to catch up. New England is even behind the rest of the Northeast Corridor, where our partner states to the south have been hard at work, with new rail tunnels between New York and New Jersey already approved, along with roadbed improvements between New York and Washington that will reduce Acela running times to about two hours.
But now that there is a rail plan for New England, it is time to act. The Obama administration has already received over $100 billion in state applications for the $8 billion on the table. The New England governors working our congressional delegations need to push - and push hard - to join California and the Midwest at the front of the federal line. And Massachusetts has a special role to play in this effort: We are the biggest state in New England, and virtually every element of the new regional rail plan is connected to or through us.
Working together, we have a not-to-be-missed opportunity to set the stage for a vibrant and expanding New England economy of the future.
Former governor Michael S. Dukakis is a professor of political science at Northeastern University and former vice chairman of the Amtrak board of directors. Robert B. O’Brien is executive director of the Downtown North Association and chairman of the North-South Rail Link Citizens Advisory Committee.
Vision for the New England High-Speed and Intercity Rail Network
President Obama and the U.S. Congress earlier thisyear included eight billion dollars for High-Speedand Intercity Rail in the American Recovery andReinvestment Act, making a truly unprecedentedinvestment in passenger rail service. Recognizingthe interdependency of our transportation systems,the New England states have come together re-sponding to this challenge with a bold vision forrail in our region and commitment to work to-gether to support our collective efforts.
Expanding Rail to Support EconomicGrowth and Livable Communities
This New England vision of the future regional railsystem shares the national goals of ensuring safeand efficient transportation choices that will seam-lessly link our communities with an integrated railand transportation network. The rail system willprovide a foundation for economic competitive-ness and promote livable communities through anetwork of High-Speed and Intercity PassengerRail routes connecting every major city in NewEngland with smaller cities and rural areas and in-ternationally to Montreal. The fast and frequent railservice provided by this integrated rail and trans-portation network will promote energy efficiencyand environmental quality by convincing peopleto leave their car behind while further enhancingmovement of freight throughout the region. Ournetwork will be created through integration of afully developed Northern New England HighSpeed Rail Corridor with the planned Empire Cor-ridor improvements and the existing High-SpeedRail service along the Northeast Corridor.
Decades of Collaboration toStrengthen New Englandʼs RegionalRail Network
For decades our states have successfully workedthrough the Coalition of Northeastern Governors
(CONEG) to promote a regional approach to ourshared complex transportation issues. CONEG haslong played a leadership role in promoting passen-ger rail service in the Northeast. The completionfor the electrification of the Northeast Corridor in2000 is a prime example of our successful longterm advocacy for passenger rail. The developmentof the Northern New England High Speed RailCorridor will fill in the gaps of the region’s net-work and be a critical element in achieving theNortheast Governors’ goal to double passenger rid-ership in the northeast corridor by 2030.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s StrategicPlan for High Speed Rail recognizes the need forincremental improvements in building the NationalHigh Speed Rail Network. The New Englandstates are well-positioned to meet this need as a re-gion with already-developed rail infrastructure.Steps are now underway to improve existing railservice while providing a foundation for New Eng-land’s High Speed and Intercity Rail Network.
A Vision for the Future: New Englandʼs Priority Projects
In the near term the New England states expect toadvance several High Speed and Intercity Passen-ger Rail initiatives, enhancing both passenger andfreight service across our region.
• The Downeaster service which operates on aroute included in the Northern New EnglandHigh Speed Rail Corridor between Boston andPortland is a national model for the successfulintroduction of new intercity passenger railservice. The states along the Downeaster Routeare working together to improve the infrastruc-ture with the goal of reducing the travel timebetween Boston and Portland to two hours andincreasing capacity to support 7 daily roundtrips. With our support, Maine will further ex-tend the Downeaster service to Brunswick,
The Vision for New England High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail was collectively developed by the State Departments of Transportations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
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• Providing the connection between Providenceand Boston to TF Green Airport in Rhode Is-land via the Northeast Corridor as well as en-hancing passenger service south of Providencewill build on the long term transportation part-nership between Rhode Island and Massachu-setts. In addition, Rhode Island is working withAmtrak on capacity improvements along theNortheast Corridor in Southern Rhode Islandthat will permit bi-directional overtakes for in-tercity passenger rail, benefiting all users of thecorridor while providing for future commuterrail infrastructure at Kingston Station.
Planning Today To Prepare Us for the Future
As longstanding transportation partners the NewEngland states understand that these initiativesmust connect to a larger regional plan. The existingand successful master planning process for theNortheast Corridor provided a model for the needsof the larger New England Rail Network. The NewEngland states propose complementary efforts toplan the Northern New England High Speed RailCorridor within the next year.
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont will de-velop corridor plans for the Boston to New Havenand Boston to Montreal segments of the NorthernNew England High Speed Rail Corridor via the In-land Route through Worcester and Springfield. TheInland Route is also important as New England’slargest freight rail corridor. With balanced re-sources and careful planning, the New Englandstates are committed to grow both freight and inter-city passenger rail on this critical route.
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachu-setts will develop corridor plans for the northernhalf of the Northern New England High Speed RailCorridor, which extends from Boston to Portlandand beyond and from Boston through Concord,NH, Vermont and terminating in Montreal.
The New England states, will seek funding fromthe new High Speed and Intercity Passenger RailProgram to implement these corridor plans. Theseinitiatives in New England serve to connect our re-
gion the greater rail network in the northeastthrough connections in New York City, Albany andMontreal.
Finally, on the Northeast Corridor we are workingclosely with Amtrak and all the northeast states tomake improvements to the nation’s original highspeed rail line. The Northeast Corridor Infrastruc-ture Master Plan will define the intercity, com-muter and freight rail projects and investmentlevels needed to improve reliability and quality ofservice between Boston and Washington.
The states of New England have long recognizedthe critical importance of rail as a vital foundationof our regional economic success. We pledge col-lectively to implement this future rail vision in atransparent and collaborative process of consulta-tion and regular meetings. Our region as a resultwill remain a national model of successful inter-state transportation cooperation.
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New England Vision for High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail
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Maine. This important connection will increasepassenger rail access from Boston through tothe mid-coast region, via a Maine-ownedRockland Branch, reducing congestion alongI-295 and Route 1.
• The Downeaster Extension Project in the reha-bilitation of approximately 30 miles of existingrail to Class 3 to support the extension of theAmtrak Downeaster intercity passenger railservice from Portland to Brunswick with a stopin Freeport. In Brunswick the Downeasterwill connect to Rockland, via Maine EasternRailroad excursion service onthe state-owned RocklandBranch, and subsequently ourisland communities via theMaine State Ferry Service.The Downeaster Extensionproject will improve regionalmobility, promote economicdevelopment and expandtourism opportunities alongthe entire corridor fromBoston through to mid-coast Maine.
• New Hampshire’s Capital corridor will createeasily accessible passenger rail service formore than 500,000 residents of Southern NewHampshire with stops in the cities of Concord,Manchester, Nashua and Boston. The rail linewill serve as the backbone of a technology andcommunications corridor extending up NewHampshire’s Merrimack Valley, creating eco-nomic development and new, livable commu-nities outside of Boston. More than one millionriders annually are estimated to use the railservice in its first year, significantly relievinghighway congestion on Interstate 93, improv-ing air quality and lowering fuel consumption.The rail line will also stop at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, creating a much-needed connection for tourists and travelers
from across northern New England. Eventu-ally, this service will extend north to WhiteRiver Junction, VT and to Montreal fulfillingthe vision of this designated High-Speed RailCorridor.
• Vermont’s Western Corridor will provide directservice down the western side of the state con-necting Burlington, Rutland, and Benningtonwith Albany and New York City via the Em-pire Corridor.
• Massachusetts will return the Vermonter to itsoriginal route through western Massachusetts
via the Knowledge Corridor.This effort, supported by theState of Vermont, is a vivid ex-ample of the ongoing collabora-tion of two states workingtogether to improve service andincrease the number of rail pas-sengers. The Knowledge Corri-dor between Springfield andWhite River Junction providesconnection between the Boston
to New Haven and the Boston to Montreal legsof the Northern New England High Speed RailCorridor.
• Through Connecticut’s leadership, we under-stand the importance of restoring the doubletrack and replacing bridges on the SpringfieldLine that serves the cities of New Haven, Hart-ford, and Springfield in order to provide thefoundation for the larger rail network. Ex-panded train service will provide key connec-tions between New York City, BradleyInternational Airport and will allow further de-velopment of the inland high speed rail line be-tween Boston and New York. This line, part ofthe Northeast Corridor as well as the NorthernNew England High Speed Rail Corridor, ben-efits from the significant amount of work al-ready done by Connecticut.
Amtrak Downeaster Train
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TEN PARK PLAZA, BOSTON, MA 02116-3969 TELEPHONE: (617) 973-7000 � TELEFAX: (617) 973-8031 � TDD: (617) 973-7306 � WWW.MASS.GOV/EOT
Massachusetts High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail ARRA Projects and Applications
1. Knowledge Corridor Track 1 Pre App and Track 2 Corridor Pre App The Knowledge Corridor Pre App proposes a $65 million project to relocate the Vermonter and provide for additional train frequency on the Conn River Line. Stations would be located at Northampton and Greenfield. The Track 2 Corridor Pre App includes project elements that would be required to run additional train frequencies on the line in the future. Massachusetts further supports Vermont’s Pre Apps submitted to improve the Vermonter Route between MA/VT state Line and St. Albans Vermont. 2. Inland Route Track 1 Pre App and Track 1 Springfield Station Pre App The initial Inland Route application seeks funds for Project Level Engineering and the Environmental Process for a substantial upgrade to Boston to Springfield route. This would be the logical next step for the development of the Inland Route. The Springfield Station Pre App is for passenger access and rail capacity improvements at Springfield Station. These improvements which while benefiting the existing Amtrak service are needed to successfully integrate the Inland Route, Knowledge Corridor and Springfield New Haven projects at Springfield. 3. Downeaster - Track 1 Pre App for Merrimack River Bridge & Track 2 Pre App for entire Downeaster corridor with NEPRA Massachusetts has submitted a Pre App on the track 1 project to rehabilitate the Merrimack River Bridge in Haverhill. In addition, Massachusetts is jointly submitting a Track 2 Corridor Pre App for the entire route with Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NEPRA) and the states on the Downeaster route. 4. Northeast Corridor - Track 2 Pre App with Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York The Northeast States, with Amtrak’s assistance, have submitted a Track 2 corridor application for the Northeast Corridor (Boston-Washington) using the work already completed in the in the Northeast Corridor Master Plan Process. The specific Massachusetts projects included in this application are the 3rd track from Readville to Canton Junction, Ruggles Station Congestion Project and South Station Capacity enhancements in Boston.
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5. South Coast Rail Track 2 Corridor Pre App Massachusetts has submitted a Track 2 Corridor Project Pre App for South Coast Rail in addition to other federal funding opportunities for this project. Additional rail projects that Massachusetts supports through the Regional Vision: 6. New Haven Hartford Springfield (Springfield Line) Track 1 and Track 2 Pre Apps The Connecticut Department of Transportation has submitted Pre Apps on the Springfield Line with support from Massachusetts. The initial track 1 project would restore the double track on the Springfield line. The Track 2 project would create an electrified High Speed Rail Corridor from Springfield to New York that would be integrated with the Inland Route service between Boston and Springfield. 7. Capital Corridor (Boston to Montreal) Track 1 and Track 3 Pre Apps The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has submitted Pre Apps on the Boston to Montreal High Speed Rail Corridor. The Track 1 Pre App seeks to implement service between Boston and Concord, NH as the Captial corridor. The Track 3 Pre App will plan for the reconstruction of the through route between Concord and White River Juction Vermont.
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Central SubregionTotal Number Percent
Commuters to RI of TotalWORCESTER 75,250 202 0.3%
75,250 202 0.3%
North SubregionTotal Number Percent
Commuters to RI of TotalBARRE 2,438 4 0.2%HOLDEN 10,255 42 0.4%OAKHAM 876 0 0.0%PAXTON 2,173 13 0.6%PRINCETON 1,782 4 0.2%RUTLAND 3,345 0 0.0%W BOYLSTON 3,054 24 0.8%
23,923 87 0.4%
Northeast SubregionTotal Number Percent
Commuters to RI of TotalBERLIN 1240 5 0.4%BOYLSTON 2050 25 1.2%NORTHBOROUGH 7375 11 0.1%SHREWSBURY 15638 63 0.4%WESTBOROUGH 8,506 64 0.8%
Number of TotalAUBURN 35 0.4%CHARLTON 20 0.3%DUDLEY 43 0.8%OXFORD 30 0.4%SOUTHBRIDGE 35 0.5%STURBRIDGE 8 0.2%WEBSTER 43 0.6%
214 0.5%
assembled to assist in demonstrating possible demand for improved railservice in that area of the state. It can be seen here that, with the exception ofborder towns Blackstone, Millville, and Uxbridge, very few people actually
commute from the region into Rhode Island for work.
2000 Census: Journey to Work Data
Blackstone Valley Residents Commuting to Rhode Island
Journey‐to‐work data for Blackstone Valley communities has been
