Page 37 - BusinessWest July 21, 2021

the southern half of the state and North Adams and Boston up north.
Like Comerford, he drew on the sports world as he spoke to BusinessWest, noting that travel- ers at Union Station in Springfield can order up a ticket that takes them, with a couple of transfers, right to the gates of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. “But there’s no button to push for the Red Sox,” Heckscher said. “It seems funny — we’re in West-
ments — many families living in Western Mass. have to get to Boston hospitals regularly, and don’t want to deal with the Mass Pike or Route 2 to get there.
“People are just really tired of driving Route 2 to Boston, especially at night or in the winter, and they want another way back and forth,” he said. “So they’re going to do a really robust study, and we’ll see what comes of that.”
use, and current and future predicted travel needs), explore costs and alternatives, and rec- ommend next steps. Public participation will be critical, through roughly seven public meetings, most of them with a yet-to-be-established work- ing group and a few focused on input from the public. A website will also be created to track the study’s progress.
“We know it’s critical that we have stakehold- ers buying in,” said Maureen Mullaney, a pro- gram manager with the Franklin Regional Coun- cil of Governments. “We look forward to having a very robust, inclusive participation process.”
Making Connections
Comerford has proposed rail service along Route 2 as a means for people living in the west- ern counties along the corridor to more easily travel to the Greater Boston region, and a means for people living in the Boston area to more eas- ily access destinations in Berkshire, Franklin, and Worcester counties. In addition to direct service along the Northern Tier, the service could pro- vide connecting service via Greenfield to south- ern New Hampshire and Vermont.
The service would operate over two segments of an existing rail corridor. The first segment, between North Adams and Fitchburg, is owned by Pan Am Southern LLC. The second segment, between Fitchburg and Boston North Station,
is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transporta- tion Authority (MBTA). Any new service would be designed so that it does not negatively impact the existing MBTA Fitchburg Line commuter rail ser- vice or the existing freight rail service along the entire corridor.
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge asked Niles at last
BEN HECKSCHER
“People are just really tired of driving Route 2 to Boston, especially at night or in the winter, and they want another way back and forth.”
In addition, as the average age of the population ticks upward, many older people might want to travel but be loath to drive long distances. In fact, that kind of travel is increasingly appealing to
all age groups, Heckscher added. “You can ride the train, open your computer, take a nap. You can’t do that operating a car — at least not yet. So, rail definitely has the potential to become even more important.”
State Rep. Natalie Blais agrees. “We know the residents of Central and West- ern Mass. are hungry for expanded rail
ern Mass., and you can take a train to see the Yankees, but you can’t get to Fenway.”
But sporting events aren’t highest on his list
of rail benefits. Those spots are dedicated to the positive environmental impact of keeping cars off the road, mobility for people who don’t own cars or can’t drive, and the overall economic impact of trains on communities and the people who live and work in them.
People want to access rail for all kinds of rea- sons, Heckscher said, from commuting to work to enjoying leisure time in places like New York, Philadelphia, and Washington without having to deal with navigating an unfamiliar city and pay- ing for parking. Then there are medical appoint-
service. That is clear,” she said at last week’s vir- tual meeting. “We are hungry for rail because we know these connections can positively impact our communities with the possibilities for jobs, expansion of tourism, and the real revitalization of local economies.”
Makaela Niles, project manager for the North- ern Tier study at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said the 18-month study will evaluate the viability and potential benefits of rail service between North Adams, Greenfield, and Boston.
The process will document past efforts, incor- porate market analysis (of demographics, land
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