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All aboard for W. Massachusetts?By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
Could the addition of commuter rail service be the economic spark western Massachusetts needs? Several elected officials think the time has come for commuter rail to link the Springfield area with Boston, Worcester, and Hartford, Conn.
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Campaigning for rail
Worcester Mayor Timothy Murray released a position paper on April 25 calling for increased commuter rail service in the state, the creation of a new state commissioner on railroad and the installation of wi-fi Internet service on all commuter rail lines.
The paper was part of Murray's campaign for lieutenant governor and the candidate explained in an interview with Reminder Publications that he has seen what the extension of commuter rail has done for Worcester.
The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) has a schedule of ten trains to Worcester daily. The result of having a commuter rail link to Boston is that people who have jobs in that city no longer have to live in Boston. Murray's paper references a recent report from Northeastern University's Center for Urban and Research Policy that describes greater Boston as having the highest cost [for housing] of any metro area in the nation.
According to the report, "A family of four needs $64,656 to pay for the costs of housing, transportation, day care, healthcare and other basic necessities. This is more than $3,000 higher than in Washington, D.C.; $6,000 higher than in New York City; and $7,000 more than in San Francisco."
Murray's position paper also cites a report by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Boston Foundation that found 50 percent of the 2003 college graduates from colleges in Boston left Massachusetts. Eighty-percent of those who left said they would have stayed if there were greater job opportunities and more affordable rents and home prices.
Massachusetts is the only state in the nation that lost population according to the last census.
Murray said in Worcester condo developments near the city center and the train station are selling well mainly to people who are moving from greater Boston to Worcester.
Murray's position paper concludes that with more commuter train service across the state, residents can live in less expensive areas, such as western Massachusetts and still have a higher paying job in Boston.
Murray estimated that the actual demand for commuter rail service in his city is between 15 and 20 daily trains, rather than just ten trains currently coming to the city.
Besides spurring housing development, Murray said the subject of commuter rail cuts across to environmental and economic issues as well.
Starting such service is not an easy matter. Murray said that CSX, the national freight rail company, owns several key rail links in Massachusetts, including the South East corridor, the Framingham to Worcester line and the Grand Junction in Cambridge. He explained that CSX could limit the number of commuter trains on these tracks.
Locally, CSX's refusal to come to terms on an agreement for buses to cross the tracks at the Union Station was one of the reasons the development of the former rail station in Springfield has not happened.
Murray attributed the lack of a solution to the problems created by CSX to a "governor and lieutenant governor who are disengaged and disinterested" in rail travel as well as a "revolving door of secretaries of transportation."
Murray believes the only way to deal with CSX and to develop commuter rail is to create an office of rail commissioner that would focus just on rail issues.
He also acknowledges that the project would be expensive, but he believes it could be funded in a way similar to the state's school building program with a bond bill. A portion of the state's gasoline tax could then be allocated to pay off the bond.
Since the state of Connecticut is moving forward on its plan for build a commuter rail line to service the corridor from New Haven, Conn. to Springfield, Murray said that seeking a regional approach to commuter rail is a way to leverage federal funds.
He said it's time to "stop talking about [rail] transportation and start doing it talk about funding and work to put together a plan."
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The train is coming
There is a plan to link Springfield with destinations in Connecticut through commuter rail and State Representative Sean Curran (D-Springfield) is one of the elected officials in this state wanting to see that plan a reality.
Curran said last week that he has co-sponsored a bill by State Representative Tony Cabral (D- New Bedford). Cabral's proposal would create a $2.2 billion Massachusetts Transit Fund that would be used to add commuter rail in various parts of the state.
Speaking at Springfield Amtrak station where the only rail service to Connecticut exists, Curran said Cabral's bill would create five funding regions across the state. Springfield would be one of those.
When told of Murray's rail proposal, Curran said that it "sounds like a good plan."
"That's exactly what our city needs," he added.
Curran said that Massachusetts would have to spend about $30 million to provide its share of the tracks for the Connecticut commuter rail expansion. He said this is a "much more manageable" amount that the $530 million to $1 billion that has been estimated as a cost for a Springfield to Worcester rail expansion.
For comparison purposes, he noted the MassMutual Center cost $70 million.
Curran believes that if all of the pieces fall in place for the Hartford to Springfield project, there could be commuter rail service by the end of 2010.
"There's no doubt in my mind it's going to happen," he added.
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