Grant seeks ‘bottleneck’ for West-East Rail service – Lowell Sun

SPRINGFIELD – Efforts to provide passenger rail service between Western Massachusetts and Boston are getting another boost from federal funding.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has been awarded a nearly $37 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration that will help make track, signal and infrastructure improvements at Springfield Union Station, Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced Tuesday known.

“These funds are essential to providing safe and efficient rail service between western, central and eastern Massachusetts and connecting our regional economies in Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Boston,” said U.S. Senator Ed Markey in a statement declaration.

The investment “will increase rail capacity and reduce congestion, further paving the way for the future West-East Rail service and improving the north-south service,” Healey’s office said.

The new funding will help officials complete design efforts for the “Springfield Area Track Reconfiguration Project,” which aims to eliminate a “railroad chokepoint” in western Massachusetts and western New England, Healey’s office said. The project includes modernizing track and signaling systems, as well as upgrading railway facilities and renovating platforms.

MassDOT won $108 in federal grants last year for the West-East Rail project, intended for improvements to the rail corridors between Worcester and Springfield.

Healey’s office on Tuesday touted other new federal grants that will strengthen Massachusetts’ freight rail network, including an $8.9 million award that will be used in part for environmental and safety infrastructure improvements along the Pioneer Valley Road Railroad that extends from Holyoke to Westfield. There is also a $21.6 million grant for a tri-state rail safety and upgrade project in New England, as well as a $19 million grant that Healey’s office says will cover facility and rail improvements for the Providence and Worcester Railroad.