9 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

News-Times, Danbury, CT. 2/11/14:

Federal and state legislators for Connecticut’s northwest corner have reservations about the possibility of passenger rail service being reinstated on Housatonic Railroad’s Berkshire Line.

Here is the item.

[Sloan]

I'm glad to note some interest in returning passenger rail to the Housatonic River valley. Rail service will make a nice alternative to driving the parallel highways which are not spacious. Besides, widening the roads will despoil the beauty of the river valley and its quintessential New England Towns which tourists and artists find appealing. Some dmus with bistro sections could run shuttle service from Pittsfield, MA for a Metro-North connection in Danbury. Sloan

[CNJRoss]

The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, MA, 7/17/14:

MassDOT purchases Berkshire Rail for $12.13 million

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is the new owner of the Berkshire Line, the first step toward the possible return of passenger rail linking the county with New York City.

The MassDOT Board of Directors on Wednesday authorized agency Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey to execute an agreement to buy the railroad tracks from the Canaan, Conn.-based Housatonic Railroad Company for $12.13 million. The funding is part of the $113 million set aside in the state’s Transportation Bond Bill toward the purchase and track improvements of the line that extends approximately 37 miles from the Connecticut border in Sheffield to Pittsfield, where it joins the main line of CSX Transportation.

"Studies have shown that a Berkshire County rail connection to New York City would be a winner, with more than one million rides annually," said Davey in a prepared statement. "This purchase and the initial upgrades in the line represent historic steps toward improved access to the Berkshires for tourists and residents alike."

Read more.

[CNJRoss]

The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, MA, 7/22/14:

Berkshire railroad study sees four communities as best depot sites


The former train station in Great Barrington is seen as a possible site of a depot if
passenger rail service is returned to the Berkshires.
(Ben Garver / Berkshire Eagle Staff)

Pittsfield, Lee, Great Barrington and Sheffield have been identified as the best places to host rail depots if passenger service to New York City is restored.

The four communities were chosen based, in part, on being at least 10 miles apart, said Brian Domina, senior planner with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.

"Overall trip time between depots is crucial as too many stations along the way slows travel," said Domina, author of a BRPC study on the issue.

The sites also have the advantage of being centrally located within each community, with the exception of Sheffield.

Read more.

[jis]

Reading the chatter on the various rail advocacy group sites from that area I get the sense that many of them don't think this one is going to fly, specially in Connecticut, since the backlog of more needed work in Connecticut is vast and funds are inadequate even for those.

[KevinKorell]

iBerkshires.com - 8/11/14:

Housatonic Railroad Optimistic About Regional Passenger Line

Realization of passenger rail access from New York City to the Berkshires is still years away and contingent on as-yet undeclared commitments from Connecticut, but Housatonic Railroad and local planning officials continue to be optimistic about the prospect.

Story

[Sloan]

 

 

Officials tout benefits of Danbury line extension

 

DANBURY -- A proposal to provide passenger trains from Danbury to Massachusetts is gaining traction and experts now say the service could bring millions of dollars in economic benefits to the region.

http://www.newstimes...0522.php#page-1

Northwest Connecticut is quintessential New England, replete with colonial clapboard houses,village greens, rolling hills etc.  I have no doubt that commuter rail penetrating this area will, as realtors claim in the article, drive up demand for property.  I do, however, look with some skepticism upon Colin Pease's claim that the railroad will not require subsidy.  When pigs fly! 

 

Sloan

[KevinKorell]

If Pittsfield, MA wants service to New York City so badly, and the most direct route via Connecticut doesn't materialize, perhaps they should look into funding an Empire Service train extension.  Just as Vermont does for the Ethan Allen Express (which functions as an Empire Service frequency  south and east of Schenectady), Massachusetts could do so to connect Pittsfield and Albany with a train other than the Lake Shore Limited.  Granted in Albany a directional change would be necessary, but it could surely be done as it was with the Vermonter in Palmer before it was rerouted.   Or..... they could run smaller shuttle type trains of DMU's or a couple of Amfleet cars (like those that run between New Haven and Springfield) just between Pittsfield and Albany connecting with existing Empire Service runs.

 

That said, I do agree there is a market to tap in Northwestern Connecticut, and being able to utilize existing infrastructure of the Danbury Branch makes it much easier.  The question would be whether Metro North would be the operator, another entity like CTRail Hartford Line,  or an intercity carrier like Amtrak.   If Amtrak were to run shuttles connecting with its mainline as it does at New Haven, I surmise the change of trains would be at Stamford, not South Norwalk (where Metro North passengers change to or from the Danbury Branch), since the latter is not an Amtrak station stop.

[KevinKorell]

 Berkshire Edge, Pittsfield, MA, 7/20/21:

 

 

 

    Railroad enthusiasts meet in Connecticut to urge restoration of passenger service from NYC to Berkshires     

 

 

 

 

In a rare moment of bi-state cooperation, local officials from The Berkshires and Connecticut gathered Saturday at the historic Canaan Union Depot to talk about the importance of rail transit and the renewed possibility of bringing passenger service up the Housatonic Valley from Danbury and New York City.

 

Story

[KevinKorell]

Letter to Berkshire Edge, 8/4/21:

 

 

   Rail expert: NYC–Pittsfield Berkshire Line ‘an unattainable fantasy’    

 

 

Having a long-standing commitment to a volunteer activity that takes place every Saturday for most of the day, I could not attend the July 17 meeting of The Train Campaign, convened by its founder Karen Christensen at the historic restored Canaan, Connecticut, railroad station. So my only insight into what took place and what was said has been provided by Berkshire Edge Managing Editor Terry Cowgill in his July 21 coverage of the event, Railroad enthusiasts meet in CT urge restoration of passenger service from NYC to Berkshires.

 

Letter