PROVIDENCE – Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and the governors of the other five New England states have set a goal of doubling passenger rail ridership in the Northeast over the next two decades as they released a joint plan for boosting high-speed rail in the region.
The impetus for the governors’ collaboration is the $787 billion economic stimulus law signed in February by President Barack Obama. The legislation includes $8 billion earmarked for projects to build new high-speed rail corridors nationwide.
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The New England states submitted pre-applications on Friday to aim for a share of the stimulus money, which will distributed through competitive grants, Carcieri’s office said today. Top transportation officials from the six states will meet with New England’s congressional delegation to push for the region to receive a portion of the stimulus money.
The states have scheduled a meeting to be held next month in Vermont to discuss their proposals. They also released a short policy document, “The Vision for the New England High Speed and Intercity Rail Network,” which outlines six priority projects for expanding passenger and freight rail service across the region.
Among the six priority projects is the expansion of MBTA commuter rail service from Boston and Providence to T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, where a new station is currently under construction. The project also calls for “enhancing passenger service south of Providence [to] build on the long-term transportation partnership between Rhode Island and Massachusetts,” Carcieri’s office said.
“In addition, Rhode Island is working with Amtrak on capacity improvements along the Northeast Corridor in Southern Rhode Island that will permit bi-directional overtakes for intercity passenger rail, benefiting all users of the corridor while providing for future commuter rail infrastructure at Kingston Station,” the governor’s office said in a news release.
“I am committed to the expansion of commuter rail service south of Providence, to Warwick and Wickford, and to the enhancement of inner city rail for Rhode Island and the region,” Carcieri said in a statement. “I strongly support the collaboration among the New England states.”
Other projects include the proposed Northern New England High Speed Rail Corridor, which would add high-speed rail service between Boston and Portland, and upgrades to the rail line that travels between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Mass.
The Northeast is currently the only region in the U.S. that has high-speed rail of any sort, thanks to Amtrak’s Acela service, which travels between Washington, D.C., and Boston. But even the Acela only travels at about half the speed of France’s TGV trains, NPR reported.
Why does the governor propose an Amtrak funding project to bring the MBTA to the Warwick Intermodal? According to Mike Lewis, his executive director of Transportation, MBTA service to the Intermodal is a done deal. Now, the state is leaning on the president to fund a stimulus project through Amtrak to get MBTA trains there.
I don’t think we are hearing the whole story. The governor should simply pick up the phone and demand that Amtrak stop at the Intermodal. Then the Amtrak money would go to Amtrak, and not to MBTA. I would much rather commute on Amtrak than the MBTA. And, it opens up the options to commute to New London, New Haven, etc.
As I hear on the street, the reason why there is no Amtrak service to the Intermodal is because Rhode Island Airport Corporation does not want to compete with Amtrak. This is a terribly short-sighted position and can only lead to financial disappointment for all of us. The general assembly is refusing to fund MBTA operations south of Providence leaving the Intermodal as a train station without trains. The governor needs to be told that Amtrak service to the Intermodal is much better than no service at all!
Here is the political reality: depending on who you talk to, there is between $8 billion and $12 billion available for