This story in the Boston Globe shows that the ten fastest-shrinking towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are those in the Berkshires. The decline and greying of our rural population can be reversed, and put on a sustainable path, by improvements in connectivity that will make the Berkshires not only desirable but practical for young professionals [...]
Someone knowledgeable about trains wrote to ask how Illinois carriages ended up parked for years on the tracks in Housatonic, MA. We checked with Colin Pease of the Housatonic Railroad, who explained that they were surplus carriages purchased about ten years ago in the hope of refitting them for passenger service. From last week: I [...]
Study: Passenger rail would boost economy by $6.4 billion Construction of the planned passenger rail line that links Miami and Orlando would generate more than 10,000 jobs during its two-year construction, according to a consultant's analysis released Wednesday. The project also would add $6.4 billion to Florida's economy over the next eight years, according to [...]
Hindmarsh Shire backs push for passenger rail services feasibility study The Hindmarsh Shire is one of seven councils in western Victoria backing a campaign for a feasibility study to re-establish passenger rail services....
Valley rail supporters discuss more trains, more stations 2014-05-28T04:55:39Z North Fresno may get its own Amtrak station. If so, it's probably years away. That it's even being discussed, however, shows how serious transportation officials are about revolutionizing passenger rail service in the San Joaquin Valley. Several officials and a handful of advocates gathered Tuesday evening [...]
In Massachusetts, the most important news is the passage of the bond bill, which has a line item for funding the Pittsfield service, along with Cape Rail and planning for service between Worcester and Springfield. This means that the full funding for the Housatonic Railroad(HR) service in Massachusetts is in place and the HR is in [...]
In 2011, a teacher on our email list, Martin Swist, wrote from Japan to say, “I enjoyed reading your comments about trains. We live in Tokyo, Japan, and Fairfield, Conn. (Also, years ago, in the heavenly Berkshires, in Shelburne Falls, Mass.) I am embarrassed whenever I ride Metro North to and from Grand Central Terminal [...]
I ran into a friend at the Prairie Whale who mentioned that the old train carriages parked on the tracks in Housatonic were being dismantled for recycling. Good news, I thought, as that would put an end to the idea that they might be refitted for the new service to New York. I thought I [...]
I've never put a bumpersticker on my car before but I am proud to tell the world that "I'D RATHER BE RIDING THE TRAIN." Let's get the word out and get these going up and down the Berkshires! Here's the link to order: http://traincampaign.org/index.php/product/id-rather-be-riding-the-train-bumpersticker/. You can pick up orders in Great Barrington, or have them [...]
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