Tell us: Should the Amtrak be extended?
Amtrak is planning to create 39 new routes and improve 25 existing ones by 2035 through its “Amtrak Connects US” project.
In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills approved a plan to convert a set of inactive train tracks into a biking trail, which will go between Portland, Maine to the state’s border with New Hampshire. This bike trail will be joining the over 56,000 kilometers of inactive railroad lines that have been repurposed as biking trails.
Although old train tracks around the country have been repurposed, new ones are currently being put into place as well, both on a local and national scale.
The MBTA recently completed its Green Line Extension project, lengthening the D and E lines to end at Union Square in Somerville and Medford/Tufts in Medford. Additionally, they are also considering extending the Silver Line to Everett and its surrounding communities. Gov. Maura Healey also voiced her support for an expanded passenger rail from western Massachusetts to Boston in a Monday visit to Holyoke.
On a nationwide scale, Amtrak is planning to create 39 new routes and improve 25 existing ones by 2035 through its “Amtrak Connects US” project.
“With our seventeen state partners we provide service to forty-six states, linking urban and rural areas from coast to coast,” Amtrak said in its plan. “But there is so much more to be done, from providing transportation choices in more locations to reducing highway and air traffic congestion to addressing longstanding economic and social inequities.”
Amtrak Connects US will include new lines and stations throughout New England. The proposed new line will travel between Boston and Concord, New Hampshire. Amtrak has proposed to expand the Downeaster, which currently travels between Boston and Brunswick, Maine, making its new final destination Rockland, Maine. This would extend the line by about 52 miles.
Additionally, Amtrak is looking to add more stations along the route between Boston and Albany, New York.
What are your thoughts on railroad expansion? Do you think the Amtrak should be extended to more destinations in the U.S.? Where would you like to see a new Amtrak line go to? Fill out the survey below or e-mail us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future article.
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