Riding a Good Rail Idea - Editorial

Editorial: Riding a good rail idea by Daily Hampshire Gazette
Transportation planners think in decades, so when proponents of improved rail service in the Pioneer Valley got wind of a funding source available within months, they went into overdrive.
At stake: a tiny piece of federal stimulus funding that could move a long-held transportation goal off the sidings.

Naturally, there would be winners and losers. That is a given when big sums of money are allocated for public projects.

If chosen for up to $30 million in U.S. funding, an effort led by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to improve tracks on a rail line that runs north and south through Northampton would end daily Amtrak service through Amherst.

Amherst's loss of that service, while an inconvenience to people who rely on it, would be the Valley's gain. We believe this is one of those public issues that demands an accounting that reaches beyond personal gains and losses.
Next Wednesday, people who want to see the Valley have greater access to passenger rail service can speak in support of the application for the stimulus funding, at a public meeting in Northampton.

As good luck would have it, the planning commission was already knee deep in a study, also paid with federal money, that is scoping out ways to improve rail service. Wednesday's public meeting is a required element of that study. Comments offered at the session will be made part of the application that will be reviewed in a few months by those deciding whether the rail-improvement project gets the green light. (see meeting details on this blog or http://www.springfieldrail.org)

On the flip side, those who believe that a good deal for Amherst-area travelers must not be scrapped can and should make their case at Wednesday's meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Northampton Clarion Hotel.
But that case, we believe, must give way to the greater good of increased ridership, needed improvements to the area's rail system infrastructure and the simple benefit of significantly reduced travel times through the Valley for riders on Amtrak's Vermonter trains.
It is true that 12,679 riders climbed on or off Amtrak trains in Amherst last year. But that figure cannot be claimed as Amherst's vote for continued service from the Railroad Street depot. With just two daily stops in the Valley, rail travelers from throughout the region have to travel to Amherst to catch their rides. By rerouting the Vermonter onto 50 miles of improved track, the service will be able to add stops in the region's important population centers of Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield.
Further, with the track improvements, and by ending a detour through Palmer, 50 minutes will be shaved from the trip from Springfield to St. Albans, Vt. That makes train travel more competitive with driving, transportation planners note.
After years of stalled hopes for improved Valley rail travel choices, this is no time to get in a fight over whose ride to the depot will get longer.
We say, all aboard on this one.