MassDOT: Boston-Springfield-Pittsfield passenger rail must balance speed, cost and convenience

Union Station CT Rail

The first CTRail commuter passenger train preparing to leave Springfield Union Station in June of 2018. MassDOt is discussing ways to bring similar commuter rail service running east and west from Boston to Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield and elsewhere . (Frederick Gore Photo)

SPRINGFIELD — A commuter train trip from Springfield to Boston could take between 80 and 105 minutes, but only if the state builds a new rail line along the MassPike and connects it to historic Springfield Union Station and Worcester Union Station.

But the trip is only marginally longer — about 90 minutes to just under two hours — if new rails are built basically along the existing freight rights of way with curves straightened out, according to a Massachusetts Department of Transportation analysis released Tuesday.

Ninety miles an hour is the practical upper limit for trains sharing tack with freight service, according to MassDOT.

MassDOT presented six different east-west passenger rail scenarios Tuesday at the second meeting of the East -West Passenger Rail Study Advisory Committee.

There are no dollar amounts for construction and infrastructure costs attached to any of the six scenarios. and MassDOt is not saying who will run the trains and what type of trains would be used.

MassDOT project manager Ethan Britland said all six scenarios will now be evaluated according to cost and passenger projections and other factors. The final report is due in the first quarter of 2020.

Boosters, including state Sen. Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow, see improved passenger rail service will make it easier for folks to work in the hot Boston job market and live in less-expensive Western Massachusetts communities.

"This is a way to cross the great divide," said Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno during the two-hour meeting at the Sheraton Springfield downtown. "We have a lot of things going well here in Springfield. But this would really open up a lot more opportunities for a lot more people."

Sarno said employers around the country now allow workers to start their days remotely while on their mass-transit commutes, using laptops to get their day started during time otherwise wasted behind the wheel of a car.

The least expensive option would be to do no real track work and live with current Springfield-to-Boston travel times of two hours to two hours and 30 minutes. That scenario would involve a bus from Pittsfield through with stops in Lee and Blandford to Springfield and a rail shuttle from Springfield to Worcester where passengers would transfer to existing MBTA commuter rail service.

One state goal of the project would be to get as much traffic as possible off the interstate.

Minimal upgrades, like upgrading track and signals and restoring some double tracked section of rail would get the Springfield to Boston travel time down to just about two hours.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has studied the possibility of restoring frequent and fast train service from Boston west through Worcester and Springfield and on to Pittsfield for months. Tuesday's was the second advisory committee meeting. The first was back in March.

Lesser said each of the rail plans is a series of balances and trade offs: How much money does the state want to spend building new rail? How many stops will there be? Which cities will get stops?

Britland said each stop adds about 10 minutes to the trip.

Some MassDOt options call for buses, not trains, to provide connections west of Springfield and into Pittsfield.

That's a nonstarter for state Rep. William "Smitty " Pignatelli, D-Lenox.

“Anything that doesn’t get rail into the Berkshires, I would eliminate (from consideration),” Pignatelli said. “That’s the crux of it.”

State Reps. Todd Smola, R-Palmer, and Thomas D. Petrolati, D-Ludlow, asked why some of the plans don't call for a stop in Palmer.

The reason is that stops cost money and time, but Lesser said the trade off might be too great.

And he urged MassDOT planners to of how rail transit could change commuting patterns with transit-oriented development projects.

"Rather than just enforce the commuting patterns that already exist," he said.

The state of Connecticut has seen transit-oriented projects with housing near rail stations since opening the CTrail service from in June 2018. That service runs from Springfield through Hartford to New Haven.

In August or early September, Massachusetts will start offering expanded rail service from Springfield north to Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield.

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