A huge hole has opened up under East-West rail. Thankfully, it is only a literal one.
Out west near Rensselaer, a sinkhole has prompted the suspension of rail service to points east of Albany. That means the Berkshire Flyer, a seasonal train between Pittsfield and New York City, and the Boston to Albany leg of the Lake Shore Limited have been bustituted until at least late Fall.
Ninety-one miles away from Springfield Union Station, officials celebrated a milestone that, on the surface, has little to do with the 413. On November 25, Governor Maura Healey, Newton Congressman Jake Auchincloss, the city’s present and future legislative delegation and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s General Manager Phil Eng celebrated planned upgrades at the Newtonville station.
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.
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.”