Today’s Headlines
• Overpass to Replace Front Street Crossing in West Springfield
• Has Amtrak Started Work on West-East Rail?
• $123 million in MassDOT Capital Plan for West-East Rail
• New Valley Flyer Trains Make Their Debut
• Draft Report for Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study Released
• Enfield CT Station Environmental Assessment Released
• Groundbreaking for New Station in Brattleboro VT
• Action in Congress to Open Amtrak’s Board Meetings
Calendar
October 2024 | The period when the FRA is expected to announce its selections for the FY2023–2024 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant program. Available funding in this round is $2.48 billion.
Tues. November 12, 2024 | Vermont Rail Advisory Council
1 pm – 3 pm | VTrans, 2178 Airport Rd, Barre, VT
(hybrid meeting w/online option)
Fri. November 15, 2024 | Rail Users’ Network Fall Virtual Conference
“FRA Corridor Grants – ‘Boosting economic activity the RAIL way!’ “
12 Noon – 5 pm ET
Overpass to Replace Front Street Crossing in West Springfield
MassDOT has announced that it will construct a flyover (an overpass) over the CSX-owned tracks at Front Street in West Springfield.
If you live in Agawam or West Springfield you know that this is a big deal.
This news, which was announced at a press conference in West Springfield on July 29th, came as a surprise to many who thought that this was one of those projects that would never happen.
The plan, which is based on a conceptual design that the city of West Springfield prepared in 2022, is to construct an overpass along a new alignment over the CSX railroad tracks.
The new roadway on the overpass will connect Front Street, on the south side of the crossing, and Second Avenue, on the north of the tracks.
This railroad crossing, which sees about 7,000 vehicles/day on average, is blocked on a regular basis by long freight trains that are being built or broken down at the nearby CSX West Springfield yard. When this happens Front Street is blocked from 20 – 90 minutes.
“This crossing has posed a number of challenges to the communities of Agawam and West Springfield for several years,” Congressman Richard Neal said. “After advocating with MassDOT and state and local officials, we have delivered a project that will provide the long-term solution residents have advocated for while advancing the Commonwealth’s larger goal of making west-east rail a reality.”
The planned ≈$20 million project will be funded by the Federal Highway Administration’s Railway–Highway Crossings (Section 130) Program, state and local sources, and $2 million from the owner of the rail corridor, CSX.
When the overpass is finished, the existing Front Street and First Street at-grade railroad crossings will be permanently closed.
Current planning calls for the construction to start in 2027.
For our part, Trains In The Valley put a spotlight on the problems at the crossing on Front Street back in early 2022 when we published this page on our site —Front Street crossing (West Springfield). Over 3,000 people have found this page, thanks to Google Search.
We met with the mayors of Agawam and West Springfield in 2022 and encouraged them to apply for a Federal Railroad Administration Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant.
The town of West Springfield applied for a grant to build an overpass, but the project was not funded in the first round of the grant program.
Fast forward to two years — MassDOT, CSX, the towns of Agawam and West Springfield, and Congressman Neal, working together, have found to replace the crossing with an overpass, which is great news.
Further reading
“Funding announced for flyover at West Springfield Front Street rail crossing”
By James Paleologopoulos | WAMC Northeast Public Radio | July 30, 2024
A recording of the press conference is available on this link,
CSX Flyover Press Conference (23m 56s)
July 29, 2024
Has Amtrak Started Work on West-East Rail?
Here begins the story of how Amtrak is working (right now) to make West-East Rail a reality, starting from the western end of the Boston & Albany rail corridor.
Running southeast from the the Amtrak Albany-Rensselaer Station is rail line known as the Post Road Branch. This 12 mile stretch of track provides the only direct connection between the Amtrak station and the CSX Berkshire Subdivision which is the main line that runs east to Springfield and on to Boston.
This section of track used by two trains a day, Amtrak trains 448 and 449 (the Lake Shore Limited) which operate between Boston South Station and Albany-Rensselaer Station in each direction daily.
And, you might have guessed, this line is owned by Amtrak.
Using Google Street View we noticed (by looking at the track from a grade crossings) that until about 2023 the railroad track on this line was what is called jointed track, which is track structure that is built using bolted rail joints (joint bars) to connect short fixed sections of rail end to end.
But, in a 2023 Street View image we noticed that Amtrak had removing the old jointed track and replacing it with new continuously welded rail.
In the photo above, which was taken in May of 2024 you can clearly see that the rail on this track is now continuously welded rail. On the left in the photo you can also see about a dozen long sections of jointed rail that have been removed from the track and are waiting to be salvaged.
With this track upgrade apparently complete, Amtrak raised the maximum speed for passengers trains on the Post Road Branch from 59 mph to 79 mph, with the exception of one short section which is limited to 65 mph.
As far as we are aware, this is the only track anywhere between Albany-Rensselaer Station and Worcester where passenger trains currently are authorized to operate at 79 mph.
This will change in a few years when MassDOT and CSX complete work on a project to upgrade the tracks between Worcester and Springfield. When this project is complete in 2029 passenger trains will be able to operate at maximum speed of 79 mph along much of this corridor.
So with that we say thank you to Amtrak, for starting construction of West-East rail from the western end of the Boston to Albany Corridor.
$123 million in MassDOT Capital Plan for West-East Rail
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors Fiscal Year 2025-2029 five-year Capital Investment Plan (CIP) was approved on July 17, 2024 with $123 million allocated for West-East Rail related projects.
With this step MassDOT has formally funded a number of significant projects in support of early phases of West-East Rail project, including
- Track and infrastructure improvements along the rail corridor between Worcester and Springfield
- Planning and design work related to Springfield Track Reconfiguration Project
- Planning and conceptual design work for a station in Palmer
- Track improvements in and around the station in Pittsfield
- and planning for additional train service connecting Boston and Albany, New York.
The funds awarded and allocated for this phase of the West-East Rail project will allow for the completion of capital projects that will ultimately support two new daily round trip passenger trains between Boston, Springfield, and New Haven, CT on the Inland Route.
Further grants and funding are expected as planning work on West-East Rail project ramps up.
Further reading
“East-West rail project picks up $123 million in funding”
By Adam Frenier | New England Public Media | July 19, 2024
New Valley Flyer Trains Make Their Debut
Amtrak expanded its Valley Flyer service with the introduction of two new weekday trains on Tuesday, May 28th.
The image above shows train 486 soon after its arrival in Greenfield on Day 1.
The train set, and its crew, is scheduled wait at the platform for 35 minutes and then depart as train 479 enroute to New Haven, where train 479 will connect with Northeast Regional train 67 enroute to New York Penn Station, Washington DC, and Newport News, VA.
Departing from Greenfield on the first southbound train were passengers traveling to Hartford and New York City.
Interestingly, CTDOT’s announcement of the new northbound train refers to it as a Hartford Line train with service only to Springfield.
These new trains are the result of collaborative efforts between MassDOT, Amtrak, and our local elected officials, whose steadfast support has made this expansion possible. Without their ongoing commitment to the Valley Flyer service, such progress would not have been possible.
If you are traveling beyond New Haven be sure to book your ticket in advance since Amtrak fares on these trains unfortunately can be quite high when booked at the last minute.
Further reading
“Amtrak expands Valley Flyer service with evening runs to and from Valley to NYC”
By Alexander Macdougal | Daily Hampshire Gazette | May 29, 2024
Draft Report for Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study Released
We’re thrilled to announce that the draft final report for the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study is now available for public review.
The draft report is available on this link:
Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study Draft Final Report
Comments can be submitted using the online form on this link.
The draft report details the benefits, costs, and investments necessary to implement passenger rail service from North Adams to Greenfield and Boston, with the speed, frequency, and reliability necessary to be a competitive travel option.
We encourage all interested parties to look at the draft report and offer their comments.
The executive summary — which can be found on pages 4–17 — details the key findings. If you want to go deeper into the work of the study team there is much more you can read.
This study lays the groundwork for the effort to move the restoration of Northern Tier Passenger Rail from a study to a planning project, and from there to design, construction and operation.
A lot of time and effort has been put in to this study over the last few years — but now is your chance to offer your final comments, guidance, and feedback on the draft version of the report, as the authors of the study work to finalize their work.
So what can you do to help?
- Review as much of the report as you have time to read.
- If something in the draft report is incorrect or not clear then include the details in your comments so that the study team can review your feedback.
- If you feel strongly about any of the conclusions that the study team made (or did not make) then by all means let them know how you feel.
- Prepare and submit your written feedback on the draft report and the service proposals presented in the report. Even one comment is better than no comment in our view.
- Ideally comments submitted should be constructive and helpful to the process.
When you read the report we recommend that you don’t get too wrapped up in the estimated costs for the project.
The costs presented are conceptual at this stage and are for a “full build” scenario. Real-world projects often progress in stages (as is happening with the West-East Rail project) at a lower over all cost.
It is important to keep in mind that a decision to move forward with Northern Tier Passenger Rail will not be based simply on the written study report. The decision will for the most part be a political decision and much work remains to be done on this front once the ink is dry on the final report. (More on this later)
Please note that the comment period ends on October 12, 2024.
Everyone has a few weeks to complete this assignment, but please keep the deadline in mind. (You could even add the date to your calendar, as we have done.)
Further reading
“New Mass. study weighs rail options along state’s Northern Tier”
By Sam Doan | Statehouse News Service via MSN | August 14, 2024
Enfield CT Station Environmental Assessment Released
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is planning to construct a new passenger rail station in Enfield, CT.
This new station is important for western Massachusetts because once it opens it will become the nearest station for people living in Agawam, East Longmeadow and Longmeadow.
The station is to be constructed in the Thompsonville section of Enfield in the vicinity of a passenger rail station that was historically present from 1844 to 1986.
It will be located on and east of Amtrak’s existing mainline track northeast of the intersection of the track and Main Street.
The project includes a 350-foot high-level platform with a shelter on the east side of track, a dedicated bus lane and drop-off/layover for two buses at the station curbside, approximately 80 parking spaces, improvements to the bridge that carries the railroad over Main Street, and track improvements that would extend north and south of the proposed station.
As part of the project CTDOT released an Environmental Assessment that evaluates the environmental consequences of the proposed Enfield Station project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
Current planning calls for the project to be put out to bid in for construction in April 2025, with construction starting in the fall of 2025.
Further reading
Enfield Railroad Station Environmental Assessment
Federal Railroad Administration
Groundbreaking for New Station in Brattleboro VT
Amtrak, in conjunction with the town of Brattleboro, state of Vermont, Federal Railroad Administration, New England Central Railroad and the Vermont Agency of Transportation, broke ground on June 24th for a new station in Brattleboro Vermont.
The new facility will feature,
- A new 345-foot-long high-level platform with an electric snow melt system,
- An all-new station building with waiting area, restroom, and covered outdoor area, and
- ADA parking, paths of travel and bike shelter
August 13, 2024 | Page 10
The project is currently projected to be completed in February 2026.
Further reading
“Amtrak breaks ground for new Brattleboro station”
By Chris Mays | Brattleboro Reformer | June 24, 2024
Amtrak Brattleboro Station Update (PDF)
Amtrak | August 13, 2024
Action in Congress to Open Amtrak’s Board Meetings
Source: amtrak.com/board-of-directors
On June 11, 2024 bills were introduced in the both the House and the Senate that would, if enacted, open meetings of the Amtrak Board of Directors to the public.
In the House of Representatives — Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Troy Nehls (R-TX) introduced H.R.8692 -The Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayer Act, which if enacted would make Amtrak subject to the Government in the Sunshine Act.
The Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayer Act requires Amtrak to notify the public of the time, place, and location of pending meetings and allow for public observation unless closed under a Sunshine Act exemption.
In the Senate — U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced S.4492 – The Amtrak Transparency Act. The legislation would address concerns about closed-door decision-making at Amtrak, increasing accountability and transparency within the organization.
As a publicly-funded passenger rail service, Amtrak Board meetings should be open to the public and the media and meeting agendas, meeting minutes, and other material presented to the board should be available, without the need to submit a FOIA request to obtain the information.
Every other publicly-supported passenger rail service in the country holds open and transparent board meetings, and we think Amtrak should too.
From the looks of it, the chance of either of these two bills moving forward in this session looks slim, considering that the federal election just two months away.
Further reading
Amtrak Board of Directors – a transparency assessment
Trains In The Valley