MassDOT Rail: Springfield Hub (East-West, NNERI, Berkshires, CT-Valley-VT-Quebec)

[bigeman312]

Central Corridor was a good idea proposed too early. There are a number of corridors that would be useful to have regional rail on - moderate-speeds, cheaply operated, ~10 mile stop spacing, service every hour or two, intended for a mix of trips rather than commute-focused. New London-Brattleboro, New London-Worcester, Providence-Hyannis, parts of the Housatonic, etc. Some similar services like the outer LIRR branches, SLE, and Atlantic City Line already exist (but need improvements). Yes, some of these can be served with buses, but those typically have few stops

But in order for those to work, you need a framework of robust intercity services for those to connect to. We're talking half-hourly Northeast Regionals on the NEC, hourly Inland Route trains, and high frequency on the denser local corridors (Worcester Line, Providence Line, etc). Service on lighter corridors won't work if it's only useful for travel within that corridor - it works when it provides a link to everywhere else on the network. New London and Palmer and Brattleboro aren't big endpoints, but as gateways to the entire NEC and the three biggest cities in Massachusetts?

Absolutely, wholeheartedly agreed.

Investments should be in:

1. Northeast Corridor
   • bringing it up to international high-speed rail standards, which would drive demand for other connecting services in New England.
2. Inland Route
   • with frequent, layered, high-speed service, ideally including a one-seat ride to Toronto and a Boston <> NYC service.
3. New Haven - Springfield Line & Connecticut River Line & New England Central Railroad north of Northfield
   • with relatively frequent service and ideally a one-seat ride to Montreal.
4. North-South Rail Link
   • with through-service connecting Portland and Providence, Springfield, and Hartford.

At that point, you have good service providing competitive, market-appropriate, one-seat rides between:

• Boston <> Providence <> Norwich/New London <> New Haven <> Bridgeport/Stamford <> NYC <> Philadelphia <> Baltimore <> DC
• Boston <> Worcester <> Springfield <> Chicago/Toronto
• Montreal <> Springfield <> Hartford <> New Haven <> Bridgeport/Stamford <> NYC <> Philadelphia <> DC
• Portland <> Boston <> Providence
• Portland <> Boston <> Springfield <> Hartford
• Boston <> Worcester <> Springfield <> New Haven <> Bridgeport/Stamford <> NYC

Once that's in place, it makes much more sense to improve some of the more secondary connecting corridors. For example, I'd love to see a one-seat ride between Boston and Montreal, or heck even Providence and Montreal via Boston, but that doesn't make sense without the above network established with appropriately good service. I feel similarly about a one-seat ride between Providence and Worcester, Hartford, and/or Springfield, or the present topic of Norwich/New London connecting with Hartford and/or Springfield.