Progress will be incremental, but the outlook is optimistic, says Andrew Koziol, who was tapped by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey to oversee efforts to drastically improve rail service in the Pioneer Valley and beyond.
The Healey-Driscoll administration announced Koziol's appointment earlier this month, bringing on the state's Department of Transportation's Director of Rail & Transit since June 2023.
In addition to having 15 years of experience when it comes to transportation planning, the UMass Amherst alumnus says he’s up for the task and treasures the vote of confidence from the Governor’s office.
"It's also, I think, a strong statement of support from the Governor's level, and at our secretary’s level, the DOT, that shows that the administration is willing to invest in passenger rail,” he told WAMC during a phone interview. “So, having that support, and also having some projects in the hopper right now - it really makes it a position that I'm looking forward to."
Among those projects is recent news that a Boston-Albany Corridor was accepted into the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor ID Program. The designation includes $500,000 to support planning for additional train service connecting Boston and Albany through Springfield.
According to the FRA, as many as eight daily round-trip passenger trains could be provided on the line.
Koziol says the designation and funds will help officials set up a development plan for the multi-stage project, allowing his team to identify the level of service the corridor would need.
Meanwhile, the new director says a number of other smaller projects are in the works, incrementally laying the track for not just improved intercity passenger rail in Massachusetts, but also with neighboring Connecticut – all with Springfield serving as a hub.
“As the services start to flow towards Springfield, Springfield will become a more robust intermodal hub, where you're going to be able to have these transfers between the north-south services and the east-west services,” Koziol said. “So, by tailoring the schedules, we're going to be able to have a more unified, intercity service plan.”
That’s where a recent $108 million federal grant comes into play – funding that allows MassDOT to perform necessary track work that will allow two, daily Amtrak round trips between Boston and New Haven that include a stop in Springfield.
Over some stretches of the new track, trains will be able to travel at speeds up to 80 mph, meaning a trip between Springfield and Boston by rail could be accomplished in two hours.
There is no detailed timetable for the project, which is still in the design phase, according to the MassDOT.
The work will also include dealing with what Koziol considers one of the key hurdles of most all of the projects – working with track that isn’t owned by either the state or Amtrak.
“It’s freight-owned when you're looking west of Worcester,” he stated. “And as we introduce more passenger rail service, it becomes more likely that conflicts will occur. And congestion on the railroad means delays, means the lack of availability for the windows that you're hoping for. So, really working through this process and making sure that each partner is able to benefit and not be negatively impacted - I think that's going to be one of our early hurdles.”
As Koziol points out, there’s currently only one trip between Boston and Albany that’s operated by Amtrak – the Lake Shore Limited Line, which runs all the way to Chicago.
Bolstering the rail service, Koziol and the state say west-east rail is a significant part of a broader plan referred to as “Compass Rail,” a “overall vision for intercity passenger rail services” that services the Knowledge Corridor, going from Greenfield, Massachusetts, to New Haven.
It’s a stretch of rail line that’s already been seeing significant ridership, according to the project director – some of the highest gains in the U.S.
“It's been seeing some of the more impressive ridership gains across the country,” Koziol said. “That goes for the CTrail services that Connecticut DOT offers between Springfield and downtown New Haven, but as well as the Amtrak ridership - our numbers have been higher than they’ve been before. We are beyond pre-pandemic numbers.”
Also within the Compass Rail plan are the aforementioned west-east services between Boston and Albany.
Other projects that Koziol says are underway include planning and designs for a train station in Palmer, as well as a track capacity project in the area of Pittsfield.
$12 million was previously allocated by the Healey-Driscoll administration for the rail projects in both communities.
With many of the projects still in the planning phase, no details on timelines have been offered for many of the proposals.
Still, Koziol emphasized he’s optimistic about his new role and the work ahead of him, especially given the degree of federal, state and local support the projects have been receiving.
“The support is really coming from so many different angles - it's coming from my administration, it's coming from my colleagues that have been involved in this for years now - and it's also coming from the municipalities out in western Mass. and different stakeholders,” Koziol explained. “So it's really a win-win project that I see - I really couldn't be happier to be involved with it.”
