State releases short list of rail proposals for New Bedford, Fall River

By Globe Staff

State transportation officials said today they had considered a host of proposals for providing passenger rail service connecting Boston with Fall River and New Bedford and whittled them down to a handful that will now undergo further review.

Four of the alternatives on the short list call for providing passenger service from the two cities that would link up with existing commuter rail lines. The linkup would happen either in Attleboro; in Middleborough; in both Attleboro and Middleborough; or in Stoughton.

A fifth, non-rail alternative calls for providing express bus service in a dedicated lane up Route 24 to 128 and the Southeast Expressway. The state will also study what would happen if it did not take any steps to improve transportation links at all.

The state has sought public input on the South Coast Rail project after Governor Deval Patrick said last year that he believed connecting Boston and the two cities would stimulate economic growth -- and he hoped to see it happen by 2016. Kristina Egan, South Coast Rail manager, said 65 alternatives were weighed before the list was whittled down.

Several of the rail proposals call for using existing freight lines, while one calls for construction of new track on an abandoned rail bed, Egan said.

“The Patrick Administration views South Coast Rail as a way to stimulate the economy while protecting the resources that make the area so special,” Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen said in a statement.

The alternatives will now undergo an in-depth state and federal environmental review, during which opportunities will continue for public input, state officials said. The preferred alternative will be selected in 2010.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email