MassDOT decided on South of Palmer Backyard for a brand new educate station in Palmer, advancing West-East Rail provider in Massachusetts. The station will likely be a part of the Compass Rail program to beef up mobility and financial construction.
Shutterstock picture – Yingna Cai
The Massachusetts Division of Transportation (MassDOT) introduced in February that it had decided on South of Palmer Backyard as the most efficient web page for the longer term Palmer educate station
The Massachusetts Division of Transportation (MassDOT) introduced in February that it had decided on South of Palmer Backyard as the most efficient web page for the longer term Palmer educate station, a essential milestone within the efforts of Gov. Maura Healey’s management to advance the state’s West-East Rail.
The web page, positioned within the the city of Palmer, east of Springfield, was once selected following months of intensive overview that integrated group engagement and comments from native stakeholders, consistent with MassDOT.
In a information unlock, the company mentioned, “In line with the comparative analysis of web sites, [the Palmer location] provides the quantity of assets wanted for a platform to deal with ADA wishes and passenger educate duration and, of 9 selection websites evaluated, is a most popular web page as it is going to have fewer allow necessities and will likely be extra inexpensive to construct.”
Of the websites regarded as in MassDOT’s Stage 2 Comparative Analysis, public comments additionally preferred the educate station web page on account of its relative proximity to downtown Palmer.
The mission will now advance to the conceptual design section, MassDOT famous.
“We are extremely joyful to have reached some other milestone for West-East Rail and our efforts to make bigger rail provider around the state with the choice of a most popular web page for Palmer Station,” Healey mentioned in a commentary. “That is going to be a significant spice up for Western Massachusetts and for our state’s economic system. We are thankful for all the enter we won from group participants that helped us make a selection the most efficient web page for the station.”
Her colleague, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, added, “Increasing rail capability and connectivity in Massachusetts is very important if we need to stay economically aggressive. We applaud the efforts that experience culminated within the choice of a Palmer Station location and stay up for seeing this element of West-East Rail advance to finishing touch.”
Compass Rail Carrier Increasing in Massachusetts
The brand new station will likely be a part of Massachusetts’ Compass Rail provider, made up of present and proposed West-East and North-South strains intersecting at a strong hub in Springfield.
Compass Rail — Passenger Rail for the Commonwealth — is a imaginative and prescient for intercity passenger educate provider inside of Massachusetts and past. Its purpose, the state transportation division famous, is to beef up mobility, make bigger transportation selection and beef up financial construction targets via transportation investments. Compass Rail integrates present MassDOT-supported products and services with new, proposed products and services in a unified imaginative and prescient.
“We’re very happy to look ongoing growth within the development of the Compass Rail program, which can give citizens the passenger rail connectivity they want and deserve,” mentioned state Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “All through the making plans and design section for Palmer Station, we now have been dedicated to operating with the group to make a web page variety that displays their wishes within the a long time forward. We admire all of the comments and stay up for proceeding this discussion.”
“The South of Palmer Backyard location has nice possible as a long run prevent throughout the Compass Rail community, and the native stakeholders’ comments has been priceless in serving to us achieve an educated determination,” mentioned MassDOT Rail and Transit Administrator Meredith Slesinger. “The web page’s strategic location inside of Palmer and its cost-effective geography are vital advantages for the group each short- and long-term.”
The mission workforce will now start to broaden a conceptual design, which can permit MassDOT to interact with railway proprietor CSX Transportation, the web page’s assets proprietor and Amtrak, the proposed provider operator, at the feasibility of creating a long run station.
Current products and services supported and controlled by means of MassDOT beneath the Compass Rail banner come with the next Amtrak-operated routes:
• The Vermonter, which runs between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans, Vt., with Mass. stops in Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield.
• The Valley Flyer between New Haven, Conn., and Greenfield, Mass. Its different stops are in Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield.
• The Hartford Line and Northeast Regional between Springfield, Mass., and New Haven, Conn., or Washington, D.C.
• The Berkshire Flyer, a seasonal pilot provider between Pittsfield and New York Town.
West-East Rail could be a part of the brand new Compass Rail products and services that target stepped forward connections between western and japanese Mass. Those routes come with the Inland Direction, to function between Boston and New Haven by way of Springfield, and the Boston & Albany Hall by way of Pittsfield, either one of which use the similar line, and are owned and operated by means of CSX.
“We’re excited to look West-East Rail mark this milestone and transfer ahead with the conceptual design of the mission. We stay up for being a spouse in serving to to create extra transportation choices for citizens right here in Palmer and western Massachusetts,” mentioned Kimberly H. Robinson, govt director of the Pioneer Valley Making plans Fee in Springfield.
