Tell Your Legislators

Watch this video produced by Tom McGowan of Norfolk, CT and join all the people who are saying, “Bring back the trains!” Email popup links to many legislators are below (click the hyperlink and an email will open, ready to write), together with links to websites where you can look for other state legislators. When you write, be sure to add your full name and local address to your email. Your voice counts, whether you are a voter, a resident, or a second-home owner or renter.

Sample letter or email

Dear [Rep/Senator/Mayor/etc],

I’m writing to ask for your support for the return of passenger rail service on the traditional Berkshire (Housatonic) Line from New York City into western Connecticut, through Litchfield County in Connecticut and Berkshire County in Massachusetts.

Restoration of this passenger rail service on a line, which now only carries a few freight trains each day, would provide benefits for people living and working in Litchfield County and Connecticut as a whole, including: (1) direct and indirect jobs; (2) easier access to education and employment; (3) better access to affordable housing for citizens and businesses in the region and in adjacent urban areas; (4) increased tourism, and; (5) tax and other revenues.

I am also encouraged by these environmental benefits of passenger rail — climate-change preparation, reduction in carbon emissions, and green job creation.

There are many improvements now on this line that are already underway: all 37 miles of the line in Massachusetts are being upgraded to passenger standards by MassDOT (a $45+ million project) and bridges and crossings along the line in Connecticut are being repaired and improved. (For more information, visit https://www.traincampaign.org/berkshire-line/.)

Now we need your help to ensure regional cooperation, both within western Connecticut and between Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. I am confident that this will have your support and would appreciate hearing from you about this issue.

Yours sincerely,

[ADD YOUR FULL NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS HERE]

Connecticut Legislators

Click here to email Governor Ned Lamont. The portal page says, “If you have an opinion about any number of topics – from pending legislation to a policy issue or a suggestion for the Governor’s staff – we’d like to hear from you.”

Write or call Commissioner Joseph J. Giulietti at the Department of Transportation:
PO Box 317546
Newington, CT 06131-7546
860-594-2000
Joseph.Giulietti@ct.gov

And write to your regional legislators, listed below. To open an email that is ready to complete, just click the links below. Or copy these into a single email: craig.miner@cga.ct.gov; william.buckbee@gmail.com; maria.horn@cga.ct.gov; richard.smith@housegop.ct.gov; bob.godfrey@cga.ct.gov; david.arconti@cga.ct.gov; thetraincampaign@gmail.com.

Congressional Delegation for NWCT

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (D – CT)
1415 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4476
https://hayes.house.gov/contact/email-me

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D – CT)
706 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2823
Contact: www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact/

Senator Christopher Murphy (D – CT)
136 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4041
Contact: www.murphy.senate.gov/contact

You can also click here to Find Your Legislator

Massachusetts Legislators

Email popup links to many legislators are below (click the hyperlink and an email will open, ready to write), together with links to websites where you can look for other state legislators. When you write, be sure to add your full name and local address to your email. Your voice counts whether you are a voter, a resident, or a second-home owner or renter.

Governor Charlie Baker

Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito

To open an email that is ready to complete, just click the links below. Or copy these into a single email: tricia.farley-bouvier@mahouse.gov; smitty.pignatelli@mahouse.gov; paul.mark@mahouse.gov; john.barrett@mahouse.gov; adam.hinds@masenate.gov; thetraincampaign@gmail.com.

You can also click here to Find Your Legislator

Congressional Delegation for Western Massachusetts

Senator Edward Markey
1550 Main Street, 4th Floor
Springfield, MA 01101
413-785-4610

Senator Elizabeth A. Warren
1550 Main Street, Suite 406
Springfield, MA 01103
413-788-2690

Congressman James McGovern, 2nd Congressional District
94 Pleasant Street
Northampton, MA 01060
413-341-8700

Congressman Richard E. Neal, 1st Congressional District
300 State Street, Suite 200
Springfield, MA 01105
413-785-0325

Tips for writing

  • Focus on the letter or email’s recipient and what they are likely to care about. Political representatives want his or her constituents to be happy and prosperous, they want good press, and they do not want bad press. Suggest that that they will benefit from doing what you propose, especially if they take a leadership role. And provide them with sensible arguments and telling anecdotes that they can use to persuade others to pay attention to your issue.
  • Make clear that you are a constituent and a voter.
    Present the argument for investment in train service in terms of things they know about and understand. Right now, job creation is probably the best argument to use, but there are many other benefits to good train service.
  • Make it clear that you will not only use the trains but will encourage others to use them. You may want to say that you have talked to a certain number of other people who share your opinion.
  • If you have a public platform of any kind (lots of Twitter followers, even) or particularly strong, relevant network because of your job or role in local organizations, make sure to say that you’ll be speaking and writing to your friends and colleagues.
  • Add a personal note if you have any other special connection with them.
  • Praise and thanks are always welcome, so if you have good things to say about their past efforts, do so.