The new funding takes the total amount set aside for the Boston-Albany Corridor Service Development Plan to around $150 million and would extend western service through Springfield. Rail connection from Boston to Western Massachusetts has been a long sought-after priority for legislators in the commonwealth’s less populated, largely rural communities, far from the dense metropolitan tangle of the greater Boston area. Back in 2022, 2nd Berkshire District State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier told WAMC the lack of infrastructure has had significant impacts on the region.
"We have seen over the years our population loss, and that is a direct result of underinvesting in such things as public transportation in the region,” she said.
The $3.5 million obtained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation comes from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program.
