In the News

SPRINGFIELD — Speaking over the rumbling locomotive of the 12:05 Amtrak train to Hartford, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal touted a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan he and his fellow Democrats introduced with a Friday visit to Springfield’s Union Station.

“This is the first substantive step the Congress has taken toward east-west rail,” said Neal, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, referencing the long-held goal of improving passenger train service from Boston west through Worcester and Springfield.

President Donald Trump has talked about the need for big infrastructure improvements, Neal said. Neal’s own conversations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been positive. And the GOP-led Senate has come around earlier this year to other spending plans aimed at coronavirus crisis recovery, Neal said.

The plan, dubbed the Moving America Forward Act, if it passes the Senate and gets the president’s signature, could provide $19 billion in federal grants for rail projects across the country, including east-west rail in Massachusetts.

The sprawling bill — one that Neal expects to pass the Democrat-led House in the next week to 10 days — also establishes a $250 million grant program to support infrastructure improvements in rural areas, including broadband internet.

Green initiatives include $1.4 billion in alternative fuel charging infrastructure and $25 billion to modernize the U.S. Postal Service, which could include an all-electric, zero-emissions fleet of delivery vehicles.

The bill would raise the cap on the number of electric vehicles eligible for a $7,500 tax credit. It would encourage electric buses and commercial vehicles and restore an employer-provided fringe benefit for bicycle commuting that was eliminated in the tax reforms of 2017.

But east-west rail was the big topic Friday at Union Station, where Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno praised Neal for his ability to bring money back to the city and district and praised the infrastructure bill.

"It means a good four-letter word," Sarno said, deploying one of his favorite phrases. "Jobs."

A state-run advisory panel is whittling east-west rail project options down from six to three or so, and the state Department of Transportation expects to have three possible final plans ready to make public in September.

MassDOT has already made public six options ranging from $2 billion to improve rail service along existing tracks to an eye-popping $25 billion for an electrified, high-speed rail line.

The state is sticking by those cost projections, which rail proponents say are too high, but has agreed to revisit its ridership projections, which proponents called too low.

State Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, is a longtime booster of the east-west rail project, saying it means business and jobs for people living in Western Massachusetts and a solution to the traffic congestion and housing shortage in Greater Boston.

“I want to thank Chair Neal for the historic inclusion of east-west rail service in the infrastructure package presented to the U.S House of Representatives yesterday,” Lesser said in a statement.

“Chair Neal has been a champion of rail his entire career and this latest announcement is a true game changer. Federal funding is essential to making rail between Pittsfield, Springfield and Boston a reality, and the plan presented by the U.S. House will create tens of thousands of new jobs across Massachusetts and help our Commonwealth recover from the devastating impacts of COVID-19,” Lesser said. “The inclusion of east/west rail in a federal infrastructure plan makes it even more urgent that MassDOT complete its study in a timely fashion and updates its ridership and cost/benefit calculations to accurately reflect the transformative nature of this project, including the multi-generation benefits of new jobs and businesses, better and more affordable housing, and historic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”

But this talk of train expansion comes at a time when Amtrak has cut back on service, including service through Springfield, to plug holes in its budget caused by the coronavirus and steps taken to stop its spread.

Neal said the proposed bill has $29 billion for Amtrak and that the national passenger railroad has received money in previous coronavirus bills. He said passenger traffic on trains, buses and transit will pick up.