Support for the Northern Tier Passenger Rail is growing in Franklin County as state legislators continue to push for the added service.
The proposed 140-mile commuter rail would run along the northern edge of Massachusetts connecting Boston to North Adams, with stops in Franklin County.
In August, the selectboards of Northfield, Deerfield and Whately each signed letters of support for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s application to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program for the Northern Tier Corridor.
If it is selected for the Corridor ID Program, the Federal Railroad Administration would award $500,000 for the project, according to its website. Whately’s letter of support claims these funds will “help move this effort from concept to construction, enabling ‘shovel-worthy’ projects to become ‘shovel-ready’ and, ultimately, underway.”
According to the letter, the rail service would “strengthen regional connections, support economic growth, and provide more reliable, safe and accessible transportation options” by cutting commute burdens and expanding job opportunities and safe transportation.
The Whately and Deerfield selectboards unanimously voted to sign letters of support with little discussion.
“This is the first step to move the project forward,” Northfield Town Administrator Andrea Llamas told members of her town’s Selectboard before they voted to the sign a letter of support on Aug. 19.
“If you have transportation that is fairly inexpensive and you’re coming east to west, that would bring more people to the western part of the state,” Northfield Selectboard Clerk Dan Campbell said.
Selectboard member Sarah Kerns agreed with Campbell, adding that the rail service might allow people to live in Franklin County and commute to jobs in Boston. Selectboard member Bernard “Bernie” Boudreau, however, voted against signing the letter.
“I just think there’s better places for the money,” he said.
On Monday, Northfield Selectboard Chair Barbara “Bee” Jacque described the commuter rail service as “a long-studied project and a well-studied project.” The letters of support follow a final report from MassDOT on a feasibility study. According to the report, the rail service would attract hundreds of riders at high capital costs.
State officials outlined six options for the rail service in the report, from the least expensive plan, a $878 million project with a stop in Greenfield, to the most expensive plan, an electrified service requiring about $2.9 billion in capital costs with stops in Greenfield and Athol.
According to the report, the most costly plan would attract the most passengers, an estimated 196,520 to 304,200 rides per year, or approximately 540 to 830 per day.
Jacque also stressed that the rail would clear a path for Franklin County residents to travel to Boston for medical appointments and for Boston residents to travel to Northfield to explore the outdoors, including the biking trails in town, and boost its economy. To Jacque, the rail will benefit the state without packing too high of a price as a restoration project.
Jacque commended state Sen. Jo Comerford, who she said is “helping small towns figure out the right thing to do with complex projects” like the commuter rail.
In a statement on Sept. 3, Comerford’s office announced “All Aboard,” a video series featuring local supporters of the rail service who explain its benefits and best next steps. The announcement nearly marks a year since Comerford spoke at a Greenfield rally supporting Northern Tier Passenger Rail.
“This isn’t necessarily just about a train; this is a really fantastic chance to connect residents with access to health care and jobs and education,” Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Bureau, said in one of the five YouTube clips. If constructed, Deane said the commuter rail service would help establish equity across the state by expanding access to housing, education and health care for Franklin County residents without vehicles, safe roads or money for gas.
“Northern Tier really kind of levels the playing field for us,” she said.
Deane, Franklin Regional Council of Governments Executive Director Linda Dunlavy, North Adams City Councilor Andrew Fitch and Athol Town Manager Shaun Suhoski claim in the videos that the commuter rail would benefit both Boston and the western counties by clearing a path into the city for jobs and to the west for ecotourism, boosting local economies.
“When we strengthen regional economies, we’re strengthening all of Massachusetts,” Deane said. “It makes the state future-ready, and I think it gives all residents access to services, opportunities, outdoor recreational and cultural activities that everyone should be able to access.”
In her video, Dunlavy said the commuter rail would also fight a population decline in Franklin County, allowing the county to be a state “contributor,” not a “drain.”
In his clip and over the phone on Monday, Suhoski described the commuter rail not as a new project, but rather a restoration of Athol’s past.
“The town was built around the train station back in the mid-1800s,” Suhoski said in the “All Aboard” video. According to Suhoski, although the train station’s building still stands, service screeched to a halt around 1980.
“If we were able to bring people to Boston and out west to Greenfield and North Adams 100 years ago, why can’t we do it today?” Suhoski asked standing outside the Athol train station in his video.
Reached on Monday, Suhoski described the rail service as a need in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region due to its “socioeconomic demographics” and “remote” location.
“The people that live here deserve the same transportation options that taxpayer dollars subsidize, whether it’s the [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority] or other public transit in cities,” Suhoski said. “Those who can’t afford a vehicle, they need a lifeline.”
Suhoski said he prefers any option from the report with Athol as a stop, including the electrified alternative “if feasible and fundable.”
Like Jacque, Suhoski added that Comerford has “been a leader on this,” working with Athol to gain support for the rail service for years. Referring to Comerford and other state legislators, he added on the phone, “They have an outsized voice trying to speak up for us.”
When asked about next steps to get the commuter rail rolling, Deane said in her clip, “We’ve seen the studies, we’ve seen the numbers, we know this is feasible and necessary, and so now what we need is the political will to move that forward.”
She stressed the need for funding, bipartisan commitment and a clear timeline.
“We need to shift the conversation from the what-ifs to the what’s next,” she said.