by Sam Ferland, Hampshire Gazette
NORTHAMPTON — Congressmen Richard Neal and Jim McGovern visited Northampton late last week to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Amtrak Vermonter Rail in the Pioneer Valley, while making broader comments on the current state of politics in the country.
Organized by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), Friday’s celebration hosted a wealth of government officials praising the importance of the 49-mile stretch of tracks that run through the heart of the Pioneer Valley, known as the Knowledge Corridor. It is part of Amtrak’s Vermonter line which runs from Washington, D.C. to St. Albans, Vermont.
“When this corridor was restored to passenger service in 2014 it reconnected our region in both ways that are practical and symbolic,” said Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra. “It linked communities along the Connecticut River (that) strengthened our economy and reminded us that public investment in rails is also an investment in climate action and in equity.”
Sciarra was referring to changes in passenger rail service that occurred decades ago when Amtrak relocated the north-south service away from the Knowledge Corridor, or the Connecticut River Main Line, and diverted it inland from Springfield to Palmer and Amherst, where it turned north and rejoined the Connecticut River Main Line in East Northfield.
In 2014, Amtrak returned the Vermonter service to the Connecticut River Main Line. Then five years later, in 2019, Amtrak introduced the Valley Flyer, which features more frequent, shorter-distance service within New England and connects New Haven, Connecticut to Greenfield, with stops in Springfield, Holyoke and Northampton along the way. The state maintains ownership of the portion of track that runs through Massachusetts, having purchased it in 2015.
Sciarra could not understate the importance of the rail, not just for Northampton residents, but of all in the Pioneer Valley. The restoration project reconnected the Vermonter to provide more rides at a faster rate aiming to boost economic development in the area. The trail carried more than 109,000 passengers in fiscal year 2024, its busiest year since 2005.
Pols discuss political violence
While McGovern lauded the many transportation opportunities the rail provides for residents of western Massachusetts, he made broader comments about the current state of affairs in the country.
“It is no small thing to restore historic connections between Valley communities and to destinations further afield. It’s about creating more for people. More options, to give more people more opportunities to go to more places …” said McGovern. “Right now, we aren’t just lacking national leadership. We have a president who is trying to turn Americans against each other and convince people that there’s nothing to be gained for working together — every person for themselves. But when we build and sustain something together, like this service, it’s an antidote to that kind of thinking. We really are greater than the sum of our parts when we work together.”
In a press conference after the event, Neal reinforced McGovern’s comments on the importance of the rail in western Massachusetts.
“It’s a reminder that the Connecticut River Valley, 100 years ago was the most prosperous part of America — Hartford, Springfield — and it’s because of the river and because of rail …,” Neal said. “I think this is an economic investment and its been really important to the people in the Valley.”
While answering questions about the rail, Neal was also asked about the current trend of political violence in the country, including the death of Charlie Kirk.
“I think the level of political violence now across the country, whether it was the former Speaker of the House in Minnesota or the assassination within the last 48 years, they speak I think to more lawlessness as it speaks to political violence and (it’s) time to tone it down,” Neal said.
He elaborated on the fact that social media amplifies conflict in the country, creating a space where elected officials have been receiving threats calling it “unacceptable.” He mentioned many members of Congress have been canceling public appearances, referencing the Federal Bureau of Investigation that reported 14,000 online threats made to public officials in the past few weeks.
When asked if he was intimidated by the recent acts of political violence, Neal said, “I think that if you’re not careful you depersonalize politics. I think I’ve had a successful career based on personalizing politics so I don’t think we want to change our venue. I don’t think we want to be intimidated, but at the same time it would be misleading if I said I wouldn’t be more mindful of it.”
Praise for rail
Other speakers at the event praising the value of the rail in western Massachusetts included state Sen. Jo Comerford, state Reps. Lindsay Sabadosa and Natalie Blais, and Massachusetts Transportation Secretary and MassDOT CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt.
New England’s Knowledge Corridor is a larger, interstate organization aiming to combine regional economic development, planning, business, tourism and educational institutions. These groups work together to advance economic progress in the region, part of that including the restoration of the Vermonter line in New England.
“In western Massachusetts, we depend on this to help overcome some of the challenges that we face economically, socially, with declining population,” Comerford said about the rail. “I really appreciate the Healey-Driscoll administration understanding the kind of investment that we need here.”
Sabadosa shared that her grandfather moved to the United States to escape fascism and began working on the railroads.
“When I hear about the numbers in western Massachusetts and the ridership, I know the reason — because the rail is in our hearts here,” said Sabadosa. “So many stories are like the ones of my family. This is who we are. Rail is a part of us, and it is that economic generator.”
Rep. Blais credited the federal government for investing in transportation in western Massachusetts.
“To have state partners like the ones behind me who believe that working between state and federal government is critically important and necessary when we are serving our shared constituencies — I remain grateful for the opportunity to work alongside all of you to ensure the future success of this line,” Blais said.
In 2009, the Vermonter restoration project was jointly funded through federal grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with state matching funds. In 2011, MassDOT signed an agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration to restore Amtrak’s Vermonter service to the Knowledge Corridor route along the Connecticut River.
“We were making a promise to our residents, a promise that we have followed through on and will continue. Because public transportation matters, and it especially matters out here in western Massachusetts,” said Tibbits-Nutt. “Since that investment, the Knowledge Corridor has helped revitalize our downtown, support our local businesses and reconnect our communities to jobs, education and each other.”
More recently in 2022, MassDOT was awarded a $1.75 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure Safety and Investments (CRISI) Program, to initiate the redesign of the Springfield Station on the Vermonter line, but also connects tracks that travel east and west.
Known as the Springfield Area Track Reconfiguration Project, it aims to facilitate a design for improved operational capacity and fluidity of railroad operations. In October 2024, the project received a second CRISI grant of $36.8 million to complete final design.
