A proposed Amtrak stop at
Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport has public transit advocates and members of the business community divided over whether the station would serve as a valuable economic driver in the state or whether the money would be better spent elsewhere.
A 2020 study commissioned by the
R.I. Department of Transportation estimated that adding an Amtrak stop at the airport’s Interlink hub would cost between $210 million and $247 million.
The study was prompted by a 2016 law directing the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to study the feasibility of extending service to airports along the train agency’s Northeast corridor.
An ongoing preliminary engineering and environmental review is being funded by a $3.5 million FRA grant for infrastructure and safety improvements. Work at the Interlink hub would include adding a second platform and another track.
The proposed station “would increase the competitiveness of T.F. Green among other airports, reduce traffic on the congested I-95 corridor and further support transit-oriented development around the station that has been ongoing,” said Charles St. Martin, a DOT spokesperson.
But critics have expressed concerns over the project’s hefty price tag, and some have questioned the need for an Amtrak stop in addition to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service that already stops at the Interlink station, which is connected to the airport by a sky bridge.
Scott Wolf, executive director of Grow Smart Rhode Island, said the organization is “very supportive, generally, of increasing rail and other forms of transit services for Rhode Islanders,” but he worries that the money could be better spent on other projects.
“I would hate to see us invest that amount of money for that one specific project where the stop would only be episodic … at the expense of doing a new light rail and dedicated bus line between Central Falls and Warwick,” he said, “which I think would cost less and would probably serve a lot more people.”
While the MBTA makes stops at the Interlink hub – part of its train service from North Kingstown and Providence to Boston – the use of the Warwick station had dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent MBTA data shows that 186 people use the Warwick stop daily, down from around 438 prior to the pandemic.
Still, Martin said, an Amtrak station, in addition to the airport MBTA stop, would increase transit options and link the airport to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which runs from Boston to Washington, D.C.
Amtrak makes stops at stations in South Kingstown and Westerly. While Amtrak trains pass through the Interlink transportation hub, the infrastructure for a stop for those trains does not currently exist.
Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, said the proposal has the potential to improve transportation and economic activity in the state.
“Anything that makes T.F. Green Airport more competitive, we would certainly be supportive of,” White said, though for this proposal, more information is still needed on costs, return on investment and other transit options.
“The MBTA is certainly not a fast way to get to Boston,” White added. “It takes a fairly long time, versus high-speed rail.”
Scott also said transit options to the airport such as bus service remain important and that MBTA service at T.F. Green “is far from ideal” due to infrequent stops. Future transit projects must take this into account, he added.
“Whatever kind of service we’re looking at … it has to be user-friendly,” Scott said. “If it’s not a user-friendly schedule, we’re going to be making the same mistakes over and over again.”
While Rhode Island needs more investment in rail transit, according to Joseph R. Paolino Jr., former mayor of Providence and managing partner at Paolino Properties L.P., the airport is the wrong place to focus.
The state instead needs to improve travel from the existing Amtrak station in downtown Providence, Paolino said, rather than trying to divide efforts between Providence and the airport.
The money required to complete the project should be spent "not on enhancements in Warwick, that nobody uses,” he said. “What we need is more frequent trains going to Boston and New York, and to upgrade the rail service so it can be high-speed rail. That’s where the money should be spent.”
More focus on fast, reliable transportation between the cities will encourage job growth, Paolino said, and the Providence Amtrak station is in a walkable area close to the state's major companies.
Paolino also doesn’t think the current transportation available at the airport deters travelers from flying through T.F. Green.
“I don’t think anyone taking a plane will say to themselves they’re not going to Warwick because they don’t have a train there,” he said.
The R.I. Airport Corp., which runs T.F. Green, "welcomes the initiative," said spokesman John Goodman.
“The residual increase of passengers” that RIAC believes will result from the addition of an Amtrak station “will support more destination and service through Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, helping to generate more tourism and other revenues for the state,” Goodman added.
According to DOT, Amtrak and Rhode Island’s congressional delegation also support "further advancing this project beyond the study phases into the current phase of preliminary engineering and environmental review.”
Environmental and engineering work should be completed by September 2022 and January 2023, respectively, according to DOT.
UPDATES with comments from Joseph R. Paolino Jr.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Voghel@PBN.com. 
