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Date: 9/28/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) announced a $108 million federal grant for East-West Rail, a project designed to connect Boston to Western Massachusetts and beyond through high-speed rail.
“We said from day one we were going to fight for every single dollar,” Healey said. The $108 million grant is a part of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program from the Federal Rail Administration. The grant was sought jointly by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Amtrak and CSX.
“We are grateful to our congressional delegation for helping us secure this CRISI funding and thank U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Railroad Administration for approving our application,” said acting Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt.
This grant “puts us in a great space” moving forward on East-West Rail, Neal said. It is “one of the really important parts of the puzzle.” He added, “This is the biggest grant in America in this round [of federal funding].”
The complete rail project from Boston to Pittsfield is expected to cost about $2 billion. Neal said Healey is invested in finishing the project, which will include a high-speed rail line to Pittsfield, where it will connect to New York, and the creation of a working train station at stops where there is none, such as Palmer.
The portion of rail between Worcester and Boston “works pretty well,” Neal said. This funding will be used on track improvements between Springfield and Worcester. Neil said Amtrak will be able to make two additional round trips from Springfield to Boston each day and increase the train times of existing trips. The total cost of the investments in this section of rail is $135 million. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation plans to contribute more than $18 million and Amtrak $9 million toward the project.
Union Station is the rail hub in Springfield. A $94 million refurbishment led to the reopening of the station in 2017 after being closed for 45 years. In his remarks, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno referred to Union Station as “the house that Neal built,” a reference to the more than $21 million in federal funding the congressman secured for the project.
“The vision I’ve always had for Union Station is to make this what it was when it was built, and that was the crossroads of New England,” Neal said.
The project has brought in regional, local and private partners, including CSX and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Grafton-Upton rail line. Tibbits-Nutt said the cross-state rail line would do more than connect Western Massachusetts to Boston. It would also connect the western half of the state with Central Massachusetts. Connections with the existing lines, the Valley Flyer and the Hartford Line, would allow people to travel north to Greenfield or south to New Haven, Connecticut.
Healey said East-West Rail will have a “huge transformational impact” on the area and the state. “Transportation is a critical component … to unlocking opportunity. We’re going to continue to make investments in Western Massachusetts, big time.”
Tibbits-Nutt said East-West Rail would “unlock the region” because “small businesses will be able to locate out here.” It would also allow for “more environmentally friendly” transportation than what is currently available.
Sarno commented that travel along the high-speed rail system will allow people to reach Boston in a “reasonable time.”
Passenger trains along the system are expected to travel approximately 80 miles an hour, making the trip from Springfield to Boston in about two hours. The fastest existing line, Amtrak’s Lakeshore Limited, makes that trip in about three and a half hours. Most rail trips between the eastern and western parts of the state run more than four hours.
Neil said a functional high speed transportation route connecting Boston with Western Massachusetts will relieve housing pressures in the eastern part of the state, while opening opportunities for Western Massachusetts residents. Sarno also spoke about the lower home prices in Western Massachusetts compared with the Boston area. When asked if people relocating from Boston would impact Western Massachusetts residents who already feel priced out of the local housing market, Healey said, “This initiative is about making investments in Western Massachusetts,” rather than solely offering a less expensive place for Bostonians to live. “Our destinies are tied.”
She added that her administration had taken steps to increase the housing stock available in the state, including the creation of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. “I know people can’t afford rent. I know they can’t afford down payments,” she said. “We are the greatest state in the country. We have the team to make it [affordable].”
Sarno reflected on the historical nature of rail. He said that during the industrial age it was railroads that connected “boom cities,” making the comparison to the reinvigoration of rail in the state.
“All aboard,” Sarno remarked. “Let’s keep it rolling.”