Residents, experts debate rail’s future
Toolbox
By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: May 29, 2009
BELLOWS FALLS — With passenger rail traffic climbing, moving The Vermonter train back to a rebuilt Connecticut River rail line to save 45 minutes is a “no brainer,” as one Bellows Falls resident said Wednesday.
But representatives of the New England Central Railroad and the chairman of the Vermont Rail Council said not so fast Wednesday during a public meeting to discuss the proposed change.
Charles Hunter, of New England Central, and Charles Moore, chairman of the state advisory rail council, both raised questions about the fairness of using $25 million to $30 million in federal funds to upgrade a competitor’s tracks.
Hunter said that from 2005 to 2008, passenger traffic on The Vermonter has increased 44 percent, with White River Junction and Essex Junction being the busiest stations.
Moore, who is the retired vice president of New England Central, questioned the consultants hired by Pioneer Valley Regional Planning Commission in Springfield, Mass., about whether the federal stimulus funds could be used if the train wasn’t being moved from its current tracks owned by New England Central, to tracks owned by Pan Am Southern.
The answer, according to Ron O’Blenis of HDR Inc., the
consulting firm hired to conduct the feasibility study, is no. If it stayed in place, there would be no money from the federal government to upgrade the current route, he said.
O’Blenis said that if the train was moved to the Connecticut River line, ridership would increase 24 percent in the first couple of years.
“If we build it, they will come,” he said.
Moore asked if Pan Am was being required to make any kind of matching contributions, something that O’Blenis said was under discussion.
The proposed change to the so-called “Knowledge Corridor,” would return The Amtrak Vermonter to the tracks it used until 20 years ago, when its deteriorated condition forced Amtrak to seek a rail detour. The detour took the train away from the Massachusetts communities of Northampton, Holyoke and Greenfield, which are welcoming the change.
That detour, via Palmer and Amherst, Mass., adds about 45 minutes of travel to rail travelers north of Springfield, Mass. Palmer, which hopes to host a new Mohegan Sun casino in the coming years, is upset with the change, as is Amherst.
The state of Vermont subsidizes The Vermonter, and essentially pays for the train north of Springfield, Mass., with some funding from Amtrak.
Charlie Miller, of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, said that New England Central was very important to the health of rail traffic in the state. While in Vermont, The Vermonter travels on NEC rails.
While the state is supportive of the move since its customers are clamoring for a faster train, Miller said, it doesn’t want New England Central to be hurt in the transaction.
“It serves our state very, very well,” Miller said. “The last thing we want to do is cause them financial harm.”
Hunter said after the meeting that New England Central gets about 6 percent of its revenues from the passenger train, with the vast majority of its funds coming from freight traffic.
Pioneer Valley plans on applying for a portion of $8 billion in federal economic stimulus funds later this year, with a best case of getting approval in October, with reconstruction on the line starting next spring.
susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com
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