In the News

A proposal from Sen. Ed Markey to invest $5 billion annually over the next five years in intercity passenger rail expansion could gain bipartisan support as lawmakers gear up to work on a new infrastructure package, Rep. Richard Neal said on Friday.

Markey, in a video conference Friday morning, announced the Building Rail Across Intercity Networks To Ride Around Interior of the Nation (BRAIN TRAIN) Act, which would create a competitive grant program and award up to $5 billion in loans annually to help fund projects across the country, especially ones that create jobs, protect the environment and help link communities that have been historically unconnected to rail service.

On top of helping link Springfield to Boston with the East-West rail project that’s in the planning phases, the funding could help Springfield and unconnected parts of western Massachusetts become a rail network hub that could also include more stops in Connecticut and New York, Markey said.

Neal, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he’ll be happy to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives. He said “there’s an opportunity to build on the success of North-South rail,” an investment in the aftermath of the 2008 recession that saw added service between Springfield, Hartford and New Haven.

Neal noted that the state is studying a half dozen designs for the East-West rail project.

“What Eddie is proposing here reminds everybody the important role infrastructure plays in our lives,” Neal said. “I think there’s bipartisan support.”

Neal added that issues like passenger rail service and expanded “broadband everywhere across the country” will likely be part of a new infrastructure bill.

Markey said the lack of passenger rail service “in far too many communities in Massachusetts and across the nation” predates the coronavirus, but expansion could “play a critical role in our recovery.” He said it’s likely lawmakers will begin discussions on an infrastructure package once the Senate addresses the coronavirus stimulus bill recently passed in the House.

Markey’s proposal is already backed by multiple rail and environmental groups, including the Western Massachusetts Rail Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council and Transportation for America.

“As a mayor from a city that often feels disconnected ... the idea that we would have rail access, the ability to get on a train and quickly get to Springfield, or Worcester or Boston, is something that many people in our city have dreamed about for a very long time,” Linda Tyer, mayor of Pittsfield, said.

Ben Heckscher, cofounder of local advocate Trains in the Valley, said region has been pushing for a change.

“We live here in western Massachusetts and we are much better connected with Connecticut and New York than we are to the east to Boston,” he said.