STATE RAIL EXPANSION ABOARD ‘BRAIN TRAIN’ BILL
Markey, Neal make pitch for new service
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal unveiled a bill that would pump billions into passenger rail funding — and touted how it could lay the tracks for the long-discussed East-West Rail as both men fight for re-election.
The two announced what they called the “Brain Train” Act, which would authorize $5 billion in spending nationally on passenger rail a year for the next five years.
“Congress is debating new infrastructure spending, and rail will take a major role,” Markey said in the steamed press conference Friday morning.
The two Democrats spotlighted what’s come to be known as the East-West Rail, a proposed line from Boston to western Massachusetts, as well as the currently underway South Coast Rail, which involves a Commuter Rail extension to Fall River and New Bedford, and a line in the Berkshires.
The state is in the midst of considering East-West Rail, which would involve creating a potentially high-speed train from Boston to Pittsfield, running through Worcester and Springfield. The idea is hugely popular among many residents and elected officials in western and central Massachusetts, but would carry a large price tag — somewhere between $2 billion and $25 billion, depending on the approach the state would take, according to the results of a recent study.
Markey said there’s been a lot of talk in Washington about an infrastructure bill to boost the recovery from the coronavirus — and it’s something he’d work with President Trump and Republicans on, he said.
“We know we’re going to have to pass a comprehensive infrastructure bill,” the Democrats said. “We want to work with them to pass a comprehensive infrastructure bill.” Currently, public transit ridership remains incredibly low amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of people taking MBTA trains around Boston dropping by around 90%.
Markey waved away questions about whether that means that this type of large-scale transit project should go forward now, with the senator insisting that people will return to the trains.
“I don’t think we should delay our action on passenger rail,” Markey said in the virtual press conference. “I think we should plan for there to be a vaccine — I think we should plan for there to be treatments that are available.”
Markey is in the midst of a tough re-election battle with U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a primary contest polls show as about even. The senator was first elected in 2013, after spending the better part of four decades in the House. Neal, a former mayor of Springfield who’s been in the house for more than 30 years, is the the chair of the powerful House Ways & Means committee — but is facing a primary challenge from the left in Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse.