PALMER—Nearly a year ago, it was wine and roses as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) formally began studying restoration of train service here. Hopes have been growing ever since East-West rail transitioned from Western Mass political shibboleth to inevitability. However, a new obstacle has
Last week, Congressman Richard Neal and officials from the state announced nearly $37 million for the Springfield Area Track Reconfiguration Project (SATRP). It was not the first batch of money for the project, which will rework the tracks and junctions just west of Union Station in Springfield.
Amid the stream of mayoral photos on the misnamed City of Springfield Office of Communications Facebook page was a curious post. It was a meeting that would have been unimaginable 11 months ago. Mayor Domenic Sarno and members of his cabinet had met with government affairs staff from Amtrak. Last June, Sarno was at war with the railroad.
SPRINGFIELD—At the risk of succumbing to cliché, Compass Rail, nee East-West Rail, is on track. The money is in place to bring service into being and more is on the way. The press conference that local, state and federal officials held on April 22 projected
Weeks after the Massachusetts Department of Transportation confirmed planning for a Palmer train station had begun, the department took another step to advance rail service west. On Thursday, MassDOT and Governor Maura Healey formally named Andy Koziol “West-East Rail director.”
A little over two years after the tide began turning in favor of East-West rail, Palmer is on track for progress of its own. On Wednesday, Meredith Slesinger, the rail and transit administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, announced the agency was moving forward on a rail station in Palmer.
Democrats in the United States Senate, including Massachusetts’s own Elizabeth Warren, are raising the alarm about potential cuts a federal matching program for state rail corridors. Among the routes this could impact are the “Inland Corridor.” This is actually part of the route for East-West rail service between Boston and Springfield.
The election dominated 2023 in Springfield in a way that elections rarely have. Only the rise of ward representation stands as a fair comparison. But while 2009, as an election year, changed Springfield, 2023 revealed and not necessarily in ways that should flatter the city.
On the state and national levels, there was impact on the city. Yet, it was somewhat less when compared to other years.
Whether a gentle laying on of hands or a less voluntary conversion, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is now a believer.
At a press event at Union Station in Springfield and alongside US Representative Richard Neal, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker endorsed a plan to establish a rail authority to oversee the implementation of East-West rail service.
LONGMEADOW—Some months ago, a stone-faced Senator Eric Lesser appeared on a split screen with Governor Charlie Baker during a committee hearing on the early vaccine campaign. Lesser laid into Baker, for a botched website rollout among other errors. His Excellency expressed visible frustration.