Federal and state officials have agreed on a path forward to extend passenger rail service west of Worcester to the cities of Springfield and Pittsfield, an effort designed to finally connect the eastern and western parts of the state by rail:
Speaking with reporters after a meeting at Springfield's Union Station, Gov. Charlie Baker and Congressman Richard Neal described plans for the Legislature to create a new rail authority and an effort to take advantage of recently granted federal infrastructure funds to make the long-sought project a reality.
Talks about the project have run for five or six years, Baker said. He said that while he has been seen by some as an opponent, he believes he has secured greater clarity on what he described as important open-ended questions. "I have been clear about my thoughts that before we do free transportation anywhere we want to make sure that there's a corresponding effort for east-west rail or west-east rail," Neal said, referring to the push in eastern Massachusetts for fare-free MBTA service.
Just about every state lawmaker from western Massachusetts was either at Tuesday's meeting at Springfield Union Station, or looped into the meeting via technology, Neal said.The governor, who had three western Massachusetts stops in Chicopee and Amherst on his public schedule Tuesday, was asked to attend the meeting in Springfield by Neal and Worcester Congressman James McGovern, Neal said. State Transportation Secretary Jamey Tesler also attended.
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