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8.0 Passenger Rail Activities

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8.0 PASSENGER RAIL ACTIVITIES The transportation staff of the CMRPC follows various efforts to both improve and expand passenger rail operations in the greater region. This section of the Freight Planning Progress Report provides a range of materials pertaining to the development of a modern passenger rail system which will work in tandem with freight interests in serving the greater region and providing a viable mobility option for passengers. Passenger Rail Activity materials include: • “Finally a Rail Plan for New England” Commentary • Vision for the New England High‐Speed and Intercity Rail Network • Massachusetts High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail ARRA Projects and Applications Summary • Blackstone Valley Journey‐to‐Work Summary • Amtrak Fact Sheet for Massachusetts • “Government Should Get on Board With Passenger Rail Funding” Commentary 232 MICHAEL S. DUKAKIS AND ROBERT B. O'BRIEN Finally, a rail plan for New England By Michael S. Dukakis and Robert B. O'Brien August 23, 2009 ALL ABOARD! The New England Rail Train is at long last leaving the station. Earlier this month top transportation officials of the six New England states endorsed an ambitious regional rail plan that will give New England the opportunity to compete for federal stimulus funds as well as the $8 billion the president and Congress already have committed to intercity high speed rail. The plan includes a series of projects that will connect the region’s states to one another and the region to the rest of the country. It will put thousands of people to work, revive some key urban communities, and build a more secure foundation for the region’s economic and environmental future. The projects include: ■ New Inland Route high speed service from Boston to New York City via Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, and New Haven, which will link and revitalize some of the region’s oldest cities and most affordable and promising economic enterprise zones - as will proposed new rail service to Fall River and New Bedford. The Inland Route will also provide connecting service along a new Knowledge Corridor from Springfield north to Montpelier, Burlington, and Montreal, connecting the five-college area in and around Amherst with universities such as Dartmouth and the University of Vermont. This would encourage the kind of academic and technological excellence that is the key to New England’s future. ■ New Capital Corridor service between Concord and Boston - via Manchester, Nashua, and Lowell - which will strengthen another important group of residential and employment centers and ease the burden on a seriously overcrowded I-93 and highway system north of Boston. ■ Extension north along the Maine Coast to Freeport and Brunswick of the already successful Amtrak Downeaster service between Boston and Portland, with connections to the Maine State Ferry Service. This will support the all-season tourism industry that has long been a major element of the regional economy and quality of life. ■ Completion of environmental review and preliminary engineering for the North Station/South Station Rail Link - for which federal funds have already been requested by 233 Governor Patrick. This project would link North and South Stations by an underground rail tunnel, thereby extending the Amtrak Northeast Rail Corridor north of Boston and finally connecting all the pieces of the commuter rail system in a way that will make it possible for people to leave their cars at home and get to Logan Airport. The regional rail plan came none too soon. The region is already behind the Midwest and California, both of which have been working on regional rail plans for at least the past decade; other parts of the country are racing to catch up. New England is even behind the rest of the Northeast Corridor, where our partner states to the south have been hard at work, with new rail tunnels between New York and New Jersey already approved, along with roadbed improvements between New York and Washington that will reduce Acela running times to about two hours. But now that there is a rail plan for New England, it is time to act. The Obama administration has already received over $100 billion in state applications for the $8 billion on the table. The New England governors working our congressional delegations need to push - and push hard - to join California and the Midwest at the front of the federal line. And Massachusetts has a special role to play in this effort: We are the biggest state in New England, and virtually every element of the new regional rail plan is connected to or through us. Working together, we have a not-to-be-missed opportunity to set the stage for a vibrant and expanding New England economy of the future. Former governor Michael S. Dukakis is a professor of political science at Northeastern University and former vice chairman of the Amtrak board of directors. Robert B. O’Brien is executive director of the Downtown North Association and chairman of the North-South Rail Link Citizens Advisory Committee. © Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. 234 Vision for the New England High-Speed and Intercity Rail Network President Obama and the U.S. Congress earlier this (CONEG) to promote a regional approach to our year included eight billion dollars for High-Speed shared complex transportation issues. CONEG has and Intercity Rail in the American Recovery and long played a leadership role in promoting passen- Reinvestment Act, making a truly unprecedented ger rail service in the Northeast. The completion investment in passenger rail service. Recognizing for the electrification of the Northeast Corridor in the interdependency of our transportation systems, 2000 is a prime example of our successful long the New England states have come together re- term advocacy for passenger rail. The development sponding to this challenge with a bold vision for of the Northern New England High Speed Rail rail in our region and commitment to work to- Corridor will fill in the gaps of the region’s net- gether to support our collective efforts. work and be a critical element in achieving the Northeast Governors’ goal to double passenger rid- ership in the northeast corridor by 2030. Expanding Rail to Support Economic Growth and Livable Communities The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Strategic Plan for High Speed Rail recognizes the need for This New England vision of the future regional rail incremental improvements in building the National system shares the national goals of ensuring safe High Speed Rail Network. The New England and efficient transportation choices that will seam- states are well-positioned to meet this need as a re- lessly link our communities with an integrated rail gion with already-developed rail infrastructure. and transportation network. The rail system will Steps are now underway to improve existing rail provide a foundation for economic competitive- service while providing a foundation for New Eng- ness and promote livable communities through a land’s High Speed and Intercity Rail Network. network of High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail routes connecting every major city in New England with smaller cities and rural areas and in- A Vision for the Future: New ternationally to Montreal. The fast and frequent rail Englandʼs Priority Projects service provided by this integrated rail and trans- In the near term the New England states expect to portation network will promote energy efficiency advance several High Speed and Intercity Passen- and environmental quality by convincing people ger Rail initiatives, enhancing both passenger and to leave their car behind while further enhancing freight service across our region. movement of freight throughout the region. Our network will be created through integration of a • The Downeaster service which operates on a fully developed Northern New England High route included in the Northern New England Speed Rail Corridor with the planned Empire Cor- High Speed Rail Corridor between Boston and ridor improvements and the existing High-Speed Portland is a national model for the successful Rail service along the Northeast Corridor. introduction of new intercity passenger rail service. The states along the Downeaster Route are working together to improve the infrastruc- Decades of Collaboration to ture with the goal of reducing the travel time Strengthen New Englandʼs Regional between Boston and Portland to two hours and Rail Network increasing capacity to support 7 daily round For decades our states have successfully worked trips. With our support, Maine will further ex- through the Coalition of Northeastern Governors tend the Downeaster service to Brunswick, The Vision for New England High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail was collectively developed by the State Departments of Transportations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. 235 • Providing the connection between Providence gion the greater rail network in the northeast and Boston to TF Green Airport in Rhode Is- through connections in New York City, Albany and land via the Northeast Corridor as well as en- Montreal. hancing passenger service south of Providence Finally, on the Northeast Corridor we are working will build on the long term transportation part- closely with Amtrak and all the northeast states to nership between Rhode Island and Massachu- make improvements to the nation’s original high setts. In addition, Rhode Island is working with speed rail line. The Northeast Corridor Infrastruc- Amtrak on capacity improvements along the ture Master Plan will define the intercity, com- Northeast Corridor in Southern Rhode Island muter and freight rail projects and investment that will permit bi-directional overtakes for in- levels needed to improve reliability and quality of tercity passenger rail, benefiting all users of the service between Boston and Washington. corridor while providing for future commuter rail infrastructure at Kingston Station. The states of New England have long recognized the critical importance of rail as a vital foundation of our regional economic success.
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