Governor Baker and Congressman Neal meet to discuss East-West Rail Project

Statement

Governor Charlie Baker spent his day in western Massachusetts Tuesday and stopped by Union Station in Springfield to meet up with local leaders pushing for the East-West Rail Line connecting western Massachusetts with Boston. This is a project we've been following for years now.

Governor Baker and Congressman Richard Neal joined state legislators Tuesday to discuss a plan forward for the East-West Rail Project. They hope to expand the railroads into the western part of the state.

"This was a historic meeting," said Congressman Richard Neal.

Governor Charlie Baker stood alongside Congressman Richard Neal, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, and other state legislators following a closed-door meeting on Tuesday in Springfield, assuring his full commitment to the East-West Rail Project.

Congressman Neal announced that they have agreed to ask for a rail authority to be established by legislators. They also asked for dedicated funding from the federal infrastructure bill to make this project a reality.

"There is an agreement on a path forward here, and we are going to work between now and the end of the legislative session to put the requisite building blocks that we need to put in place at the state level, which will then make it possible for us to leverage a lot of the available federal funding," Governor Baker told us.

Congressman Neal called this a huge step forward in building a direct train line from Pittsfield to Springfield to Boston, and Amtrak would be the company to run the trains.

However, he admitted that there will be some challenges along the way.

"I think there's going to be a series of questions about land takings, for example, that would occur, and I think there's going to be questions about how the rail authority is constructed, who will sit on it," Congressman Neal explained.

As for a timeline, that will depend on the legislation.

"The timeline that we seemed to agree on upstairs was that in the Bond Bill, there would be a construct for a rail authority," Congressman Neal said, "and I think if that happens, it certainly expedites things because we can begin to apply for the allocation of federal dollars that Governor Baker has duly noted."

Once that funding is secured and a timeline is set, the legislators believe this will be a great asset to western Massachusetts, especially for those who may want to work in the eastern part of the state.

"The cost of housing in the Boston suburbs is astronomical," said Congressman Neal. "We believe that this would provide some relief for those who might want to live out here, and there's also this lesson of remote work, so we think this would adhere to the benefit for those who can't afford to pay prices in the Boston area but could live in a great part of Massachusetts: Berkshire County, Pioneer Valley, and Central Massachusetts."

Congressman Neal also noted that Amtrak has increased their trips from Springfield to Hartford, Connecticut to 29 trips a day.

Link to article HERE.

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