Transit and Bicycle/Pedestrian

A new report commissioned by the Capitol Region Council of Governments and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission estimates significant economic benefits would result from two sets of proposed passenger rail improvements. The improvements, which include finishing the Hartford Line and connecting it to Worcester, Massachusetts, would have a transformative effect on regional and state economies. The report projects between $47 and $84 billion in new regional Gross Domestic Product over 30 years would result from the $6 to $9 billion rail investment. This investment would reconstitute a 21st century version of the prior Inland Route—regular train service from Boston to New York via Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, and New Haven, which the region has now lacked for decades.