Support for rail line is on track; two million could ride Conn.-N.Y. route

Public support for rail service from Pittsfield, N.Y., to New York City is gaining steam, according to a survey of potential riders who expressed strong interest in the idea, the Berkshire Eagle reports.

For Berkshire County
residents, this survey could be a positive step forward to installing rail
service to New York, via a connection to the Metro North train line in Danbury,
Conn. The total trip, the report said, would take approximately four hours.

The Housatonic Railroad
Co. released details from its survey this week, stating that if the proposed railway
was completed, there would be an estimated "two million one-way riders a
year" along the route, according to president John Hanlon.

The survey, which was
sent out in June, showed that one in four residents of Berkshire County and northwestern
Connecticut were "highly interested" in the proposed train line. Most
respondents said they’d ride it the most during the spring and summer.

"Today, Litchfield
and Berkshire County residents and visitors are limited to the use of the automobile,"
Hanlon said in a statement. "Rail transport for both freight and
passengers is an energy efficient, environmentally friendly solution for our
region’s transportation needs."

According to Housatonic
Railroad’s report, the company’s next step is creating a cost model to determine
how much the project would cost. Hanlon previously estimated to The Eagle that
the project could cost between $110 million and $120 million.

Both Hanlon and state
Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, agreed that it would
likely require both public and private funds to make the proposed renovations
to train line a reality.

"We’ve all got to
participate in this because we’ll all benefit," Pignatelli said. "If
we can do a multiplier effect, if we invest so much money we’ll get so much in
return, I think taxpayers will be happy to see their tax dollars going into
something that will have a huge upside in return."

Pignatelli stressed that
even if the train was completed, residents should not expect high-speed service.

"We’re not going to
get to New York in two hours, that’s not going to happen," Pignatelli
said. "But I could actually see people commuting to New York for work, and
I could even see people commuting from New York to the Berkshires."

According to the survey,
New York City residents said they would likely travel to Connecticut and the Berkshires
for outdoor and cultural activities. Amenities called for in the survey
included WiFi Internet access on the train, as well as rental car services in
the Berkshires and Connecticut for inbound passengers.

The real issue,
Pignatelli continued, was establishing the costs for the project early on. "Whatever
the amount of money is, we have to nail that down," he said. "We’ve
got to do it right."