FAQs

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Is there a bus to the Wassaic Metro-North station?

The MTA experimented with such a bus, on weekends only, but there has been no bus service to Wassaic in recent years. A Great Barrington resident, Chip Elitzer, has been trying to see if we can get a bus service established that would meet all or most trains arriving/departing Wassaic, and make express stops along [...]

By |2020-05-14T00:30:06+00:00May 14th, 2020|5 Comments

How much will it cost to get the service running, and what will the money buy?

The estimated cost to restore passenger service to the Berkshires is $200 million. The funds will enable the railroad to rehabilitate the 90 mile rail line between Danbury and Pittsfield to passenger standards, recondition passenger locomotives, refurbish/purchase passenger coaches, and build some stations. When the work is completed the railroad anticipates operating 8 trains per [...]

By |2019-08-14T02:37:48+00:00August 14th, 2019||0 Comments

How long will it take to restore rail service to the Berkshires?

There are two issues: time for construction (or reconstruction) of the train system and time to secure funding to build it. The actual time to complete the reconstruction of the rail line, purchase and fit rail cars and locomotives, and build stations between Danbury, Connecticut, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is three years. Service could be extended [...]

By |2019-08-14T02:31:48+00:00August 14th, 2019||0 Comments

Are the old train stations along the route going to be used again?

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has completed a study about station locations. In today’s world stations need to provide easy access to trains using high-level platforms and good parking. Each town has its own views of where stations should be and each town may have a different approach. Some of those approaches could involve using an [...]

By |2019-08-14T02:25:46+00:00August 14th, 2019||0 Comments

What stands in the way of restoring train service?

At this point the proposed service has had broad support by local town governments, although more detailed planning is necessary to reflect local input. The primary issue that must be resolved is securing funding to upgrade the tracks so they can accommodate passenger trains at passenger speeds. The upgrade work includes upgrading the tracks and [...]

By |2019-08-14T02:21:54+00:00August 14th, 2019||0 Comments

Will there be a connection with Metro-North and/or Amtrak?

There will be connections available in both Danbury and Southeast to Metro-North trains to New York City and other destinations along the New Haven and Harlem Lines. Metro-North service is financially supported by Connecticut and New York. In order for the Housatonic service to operate the trains must travel over Metro-North tracks. Coordination between railroads [...]

By |2019-08-14T02:21:19+00:00August 14th, 2019||0 Comments

How much will tickets cost?

While a detailed fare structure has not been developed, the railroad in its financial projections has assumed a per-mile rate that is consistent with the fare structure on Metro North, which generally is in the range of 24 cents per mile. A one-way ticket from Pittsfield to New York City might be in the range [...]

By |2019-08-14T02:20:31+00:00August 14th, 2019||0 Comments

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