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1/16/2023
The Northern Tier passenger-rail network project, which would connect North Adams to Greenfield and Boston, Massachusetts, will cost more than $1 billion.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation held a virtual workshop last week, where department officials said current project cost estimates range from $1.044 billion to $2.187 billion, the Greenfield Recorder reported.
The department shared two options for the service, both of which would follow the same path from North Adams to Greenfield, Fitchburg and four stops in Boston. The difference between the plans are "low- and high-investment options," the Recorder reported.
The route would use the same cars seen in Amtrak’s north-south Valley Flyer service, but it's unclear whether Amtrak would operate the new line.
The low-investment option includes limited signal improvements, upgrades to track at the East Deerfield Railyard and track additions. The high-investment option includes more track rehabilitation and the use of superelevation to better navigate curves.
A travel-time difference also exists between the two options. The low-investment option would take riders about four hours to travel from Boston to North Adams, while the high-investment option would take less than three hours along the same route, the Recorder reported.
MassDOT contracted HNTB to conduct the initial feasibility study and explore possibilities. The firm plans to study alternatives that could add stops to Orange, Gardner, Ayer and Boston's Porter Square, the Recorder reported.