Rail service coming to Warwick airport by 2009
WARWICK, R.I. --After nine years of political wrangling, Rhode Island authorities are getting ready to build a new rail station at T.F. Green Airport that they hope will reduce congestion and make traveling across New England easier.
The new $222.5 million station is part of a plan to extend commuter rail service to Boston down to North Kingstown by 2009. The line now stops at Providence, its only stop in Rhode Island.
Expanding rail service has become a priority for Rhode Island leaders who want the state better tied into the larger economy surrounding Boston. According to an April study, more than 1,000 people board the Providence commuter rail station on a typical weekday.
"There's no question that our borders are transparent when it comes to workers looking for good jobs, high-wage jobs," said Saul Kaplan, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. "Rhode Islanders should have transportation systems that enable them to move across the region."
Monday's ceremonial groundbreaking proved a light at the end of the tunnel for a political project that has spanned the administrations of two governors and senators. If all goes as planned, the station at T.F. Green will open by mid-2009.
Project backers describe the terminal as one-stop shopping for commuters who can catch a train, board a bus or rent a car, all in one place.
The airport is one of the largest economic engines in the state, said U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I.
"That means tremendous growth in this area," said Chafee, a former Warwick mayor and project supporter. "I believe this real estate should be some of the priciest real estate in New England."
The project is also intended to appease Warwick residents who have long complained about airport congestion and air pollution. Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian said many airport passengers come from the Route 128 corridor in Massachusetts, a belt already served by the MBTA.
"If we can get them to leave their cars at the park-and-ride, those are cars no longer on our streets," he said.
T.F. Green Airport is near railroad tracks that connect Boston, Providence and New York, but Amtrak recently decided it won't serve the station.
One problem is that the tracks aren't electrified and Amtrak trains run on electricity, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said. To accommodate Amtrak stations, the station would also have to add additional rail lines.
"We're not in a position to cover the costs," Black said, though he added the railroad's decision wasn't permanent.
Last year, roughly 5.8 million passengers used T.F. Green, said Mark Brewer, president of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. A single person making a roundtrip counts as two passengers.
The number of passengers is down about 4.5 percent this year, partly because commercial airlines are sending smaller aircraft to T.F. Green and can carry fewer passengers, Brewer said.
