Shaffer looks east for rail line

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on July 10, 2009

Focusing on improvements that could be made to an east-west rail corridor may be the best way for Amherst to keep its railroad station open if efforts to bring the Amtrak Vermonter closer to the Connecticut River are successful.

Calling Amtrak's leg through Amherst "the Palmer shortcut," Town Manager Larry Shaffer said that he is working on a plan that would make the train depot in Palmer the nexus for an east-west corridor that could preserve Amherst's passenger-rail service.

"I think Palmer will play a critical part in the ability for Amherst to retain its Amtrak stop," Shaffer said.

Shaffer's idea comes as officials in the Executive Office of Transportation, with support from the state of Vermont, intend to seek federal stimulus money aimed at improving the Springfield to Northfield route and placing new stops in Northampton, Holyoke and Greenfield.

The application for upwards of $60 million out of the $8 billion available through federal stimulus money comes after an ongoing effort by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to study the north-south route.

"This has been something we've been pursuing on and off for the last 10 years," said Executive Director Tim Brennan.

The preliminary application, due July 10, will describe how the project matches criteria in the federal guidelines, including that it be inter-city and shovel-ready. The formal application is due in late August, and Brennan said officials should know by the end of the year if it is successful.

The $60 million would pay for major upgrades of the lines and stations, as well as signalization and grade crossing improvements and double tracking, Brennan said.

During three technical advisory committee meetings, held last month in Northampton, Springfield and Bellows Falls, Vt., the 170 people who attended demonstrated significant interest in the project.

"The level of support was very, very substantial to move forward with the idea," Brennan said.

Rob Kusner, a member of Amherst's Save Our Stop Task Force, said it is important that Amherst and the University of Massachusetts be able to offer input toward the final application.

Ideas for an expanded network, he said, could improve the chances for long-term success.

"It makes sense to at least be thinking about it, even if not part of the project that is being funded," Kusner said.

Shaffer told the Select Board that he acknowledges it will be difficult for Amherst to keep its stop, which had 12,679 riders in 2008, if the Palmer station closes. "Palmer is our gateway to Boston," Shaffer said.

Palmer's station, which he recently visited, has a full-rail capacity near the Massachusetts Turnpike.

As part of his work, Shaffer has met with officials in Palmer and in Mansfield, Conn., the community where the village of Storrs and the home of the University of Connecticut are both located. The latter is southeast of Amherst and due south of Palmer. Shaffer said there are similarities between Amherst and Storrs, in that they are both small towns affected by a large college population.

It was unclear whether Shaffer envisioned a new rail line or use of existing lines, which may or may not need upgrades to become usable.

Shaffer said he will advocate strongly that an east-west corridor study be funded separately from the work that would improve the rail lines between Northfield and Springfield.

This section of the rail line is entirely subsidized by Vermont at a cost of $2.6 million annually, Brennan said, and eliminating what is dubbed as the Palmer detour would save 50 minutes off the trip, fuel and labor costs and would go through more population centers.

Shaffer said referring to this as a detour is unfortunate. "Our argument to Vermont is the detour, all of a sudden, becomes a shortcut if some passengers in Vermont have the desire to go to Boston instead of New York," Shaffer said.

In fact, Shaffer said he feels a good number of college students in Amherst would prefer an option in which the train would take them east to Boston instead of south toward New York City. And with the interest coming from Mansfield, there could also be an option for getting passengers on this line to points as far south as New London, Conn.

A lot of these plans could depend on whether Massachusetts is willing to fund such infrastructure improvements. While U.S. Rep. John Olver obtained $700,000 for an east-west corridor study, no matching funding has been available from Massachusetts, though Brennan is optimistic such an appropriation may be coming.

Shaffer said it is not unreasonable to think Amtrak could have two lines, one that follows the Connecticut River more closely, and the other that extends toward Boston.

"Our pitch will be that $30 million may be better spent elsewhere," Shaffer said.

Brennan said he sympathizes with what Shaffer is trying to do. "All his points are well taken," Brennan said.

He said there may be opportunities for more funding in the future, but that getting a study done is the first priority. The PVPC would be amenable to launching a study of the east-west corridor at some point, but there is no way to do that at this time.

And without a study being complete, there is no way to get money from the federal stimulus for an east-west project.

Meanwhile, the local task force set up in Amherst is still being formed and will study railroad issues and report back to Amherst officials early next year.

"We'll continue to press forward, and fight the good fight," Shaffer said.