As an 18-month feasibility study for an east-west rail line to connect Boston and Pittsfield comes to a close, state and federal lawmakers are optimistic about securing funding for a project they say would bring transportation and economic development to Western Massachusetts, despite concerns over too-high costs and too-low ridership estimates calculated by the state.
Consultants for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) have estimated costs for the project to range from $2.4 to $4.6 billion, with ridership reaching 278,000 to 469,000 boardings annually. As it stands, the rail project is 10 percent below the threshold needed to be competitive for federal funding, based on the cost-benefit analysis conducted as part of the study.
As a leading advocate for east-west rail, state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, has been vocal in his disapproval of the low ridership calculations.
“It frankly raises a question of how serious MassDOT is about this in the first place,” Lesser said. “Are they studying this to death to strangle it before it even gets off the ground, or are they looking at this from the perspective of ‘What do we have to do to make it happen?’”
In an Oct. 21 meeting, Ethan Britland, MassDOT’s project manager for the feasibility study, recommended that more analysis of the potential economic and community benefits of the passenger rail be done before moving forward.
Lesser said the report’s failure to include potential increased demand in its ridership estimates overlooks a key aspect of east-west rail.
“The point of this project is not to lock in patterns of life that already exist,” Lesser said. “The point of this project is to change those patterns and that development. It’s to bring new people to Western Mass., to bring new businesses to Western Mass. and to eastern Mass., to bring new development, new denser housing that’s walkable and more environmentally sustainable.”
Without a serious commitment from the state and from Gov. Charlie Baker, the project could easily fizzle out, according to Lesser. Earlier this year, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack expressed skepticism the project could be built without federal funding, even with sharply higher ridership estimates.
“We could see a window pass us — of having a recovery bill, having an infrastructure package approved, having our federal delegation pushing it very hard, having a president that’s supportive, but the missing piece is our own state’s Department of Transportation,” Lesser said. “We need more energy, we need more enthusiasm from (Baker).”
That’s a point stressed by U.S. House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal, who said he will not advocate for more funding for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) until he sees greater support for east-west rail in the State House.
“I think that we need to marshal the resources of metro, central and Western Massachusetts to insist that there be geographic equity in the state,” Neal said. “We’ve all paid for the MBTA. I understand the role that it plays in the capital region, but simultaneously, there are pressing needs in central and Western Massachusetts for improved transportation investment.”
Support for the MBTA and east-west rail are not mutually exclusive, according to Lesser.
“We need to pull ourselves out of this sort of thought matrix that it’s either the MBTA or it’s this. It’s both,” he said.
Investing in east-west rail would help the MBTA, according to Lesser, because riders would likely use both services when transporting themselves around the state.
For lawmakers and advocates, this project is essential to remedying regional disparities caused by unequal access to public transportation.
State Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, said east-west rail is vital to ensuring all regions in Massachusetts are on an even playing field.
“Unless we properly invest in infrastructure that connects the entire commonwealth, including rail and internet investments, we risk exasperating the tale of two states,” Hinds said. “Our commonwealth’s success hinges upon the success of every region of our state, and these investments will allow us to take advantage of the movement toward remote work, attract more investment in the region and much more.”
Karen Christensen, a member of the Western Mass Rail Coalition, echoed the belief that the project is a multi-faceted solution to problems faced by the state’s urban and rural communities.
“It’s about having the best of both worlds: opening economic and educational opportunities to rural communities, and giving urban workers far more options, reducing congestion and emissions in cities, and bringing back the dynamism that characterized Western Mass. towns, large and small,” Christensen said.
Economic development experts see the rail project as an important step toward promoting economic growth in Western Massachusetts and improving the quality of life for people living in the region.
Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, said the passenger rail would give businesses the incentive to move westward because the cost of living and the cost of doing business is less expensive in Western Massachusetts.
“It gives opportunities for companies in the eastern part of the state to look to locate parts of their business operations here because the connection is that much easier,” he said. “The better the connections, the quicker the connections, the more convenient and robust the connections, the better it is for our economy.”
A good omen for the project, according to lawmakers and transportation experts, is potential support from the incoming presidential administration under Joe Biden.
In a Nov. 19 meeting on the future of transportation in Massachusetts, Anthony Foxx, former secretary of transportation for the Obama Administration, called Biden a “transportation champion” and said he expects a major transportation bill in the near future.
“I can promise you that any large infrastructure package that President-elect Biden signs is going to have a substantial rail component,” Foxx said.
Likewise, Neal said he is confident in the Biden Administration’s commitment to transportation.
“I’ve already talked to Joe Biden about this, and I’ve talked to members of his administration — people that are going to be right in the Oval Office with him,” Neal said. “They are all-in on infrastructure.”
For Hinds, the administration and the feasibility study are intersecting at an opportune time.
“Joe Biden himself views rail incredibly favorably, and the incoming administration has also indicated a federal infrastructure bill should be a part of our economic recovery effort,” Hinds said. “Both improve the chances that critical federal dollars could be on the horizon, which makes our preparation more important than ever.”
Foxx said Massachusetts is doing exactly what it needs to do to set itself apart for federal funding as it finishes its feasibility study for east-west rail.
“I think, for the state of Massachusetts, having a big vision for transportation is critical,” he said, “and you can’t have a big vision at a better time, I think in my lifetime, than right now.”