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State, Transportation Officials See Opportunity in Amtrak

Amtrak's Michael J. DeCataldo Jr., left, welcomes Greenfield as an Amtrak community on Monday.

GREENFIELD, Mass. — State and local officials on Monday afternoon touted the economic opportunities opened by the return of passenger rail to the Pioneer Valley — but only if the rail line is used.

"Use it. Use it," urged former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, speaking to a crowd at the transit center named for him. "The possibility of really seeing the benefits and economic development come from the use of this facility."

Olver, considered instrumental in reviving passenger rail here, boarded Amtrak's Vermonter in Holyoke during its inaugural run up the "Knowledge Corridor" on Monday with Gov. Deval Patrick, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, U.S. Rep. James McGovern and a host of elected and transportation officials.

"It is an economic driver that will fuel transit-oriented development, increase tourism and encourage job growth and this region must work together to build on this," said McGovern, who represents the state's 2nd District, adding, to laughter, that "this is an incredible place and we want tourists and we want their wallets."

The Vermonter arrived early after taking off from Springfield about 1 p.m. It stopped along the way, including in Holyoke for a ceremonial groundbreaking of the city's new $3.2 million passenger train platform. In Greenfield, a new boarding platform was completed just days before the Vermonter whistled into the city after a trip that reached speeds of more than 70 mph.

The connections in Western Mass. were made possible through $73 million in stimulus funds earmarked nearly four years ago.

The Vermonter will begin regular pickups on its runs between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans, Vt., on Dec. 29, giving Western Massachusetts residents easier access to New York, Philadelphia and Montpelier and White River Junction in Vermont. More locally, the train will stop at Springfield, Northampton and Greenfield, with Holyloke added on after the new year.

"Traveling by train is productive traveling, whether it means putting the finishing touches on a major presentation before a big meeting or just sitting back and relaxing without the hassle of traffic," said Amtrak's Northeast Corridor general manager Michael J. DeCataldo Jr. "These are just some of the reasons we continue to see ridership grow, not just on the Vermonter but across the Amtrak network."

State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, who was on board the inaugural trip, said the new connections being provided by Amtrak were a great tool and a great opportunity.

"We need the people of the region to really use it ... if people use it, if it's full all the time ... there is an argument for me and my colleagues to fight for more funding and more service like this," he said. "If this is a great success and it brings in economic development, tourism and educational opportunities, then it's so much of an easier argument for us to make that now we need it to run east/west to North Adams, to Pittsfield, and Pittsfield to New York City.

"It's the start of a really great new era in public transportation and in train ridership."

North Adams to Begin Study of Veterans Memorial Bridge Alternatives

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:21AM / Monday, April 15, 2024

Mayor Jennifer Macksey says the requests for qualifications for the planning grant should be available this month. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Connecting the city's massive museum and its struggling downtown has been a challenge for 25 years. 

 

A major impediment, all agree, is the decades old Central Artery project that sent a four-lane highway through the heart of the city. 

 

Backed by a $750,000 federal grant for a planning study, North Adams and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art are looking to undo some of that damage.

 

"As you know, the overpass was built in 1959 during a time when highways were being built, and it was expanded to accommodate more cars, which had little regard to the impacts of the people and the neighborhoods that it surrounded," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey on Friday. "It was named again and again over the last 30 years by Mass MoCA in their master plan and in the city in their vision 2030 plan ... as a barrier to connectivity."

 

The Reconnecting Communities grant was awarded a year ago and Macksey said a request for qualifications for will be available April 24.

 

She was joined in celebrating the grant at the Berkshire Innovation Center's office at Mass MoCA by museum Director Kristy Edmunds, state Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, District 1 Director Francesca Hemming and Joi Singh, Massachusetts administrator for the Federal Highway Administration.

 

The speakers also thanked the efforts of the state's U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, U.S. Rep. Richie Neal, Gov. Maura Healey and state Sen Paul Mark and state Rep. John Barrett III, both of whom were in attendance.