Amtrak wish list includes passenger rail to Concord

Passenger rail up to Concord is part of a wish-list map of new and improved routes issued by Amtrak in response to President Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan.

The map, titled “A vision to grow rail service across America,” includes new service from Boston through Manchester to Concord, as well as “enhanced services” along the Acela line that runs up the Atlantic coast from Boston into Maine and the north-south line from Springfield, Mass., up the west bank of the Connecticut River to Burlington, Vt.

The plan was unveiled in the wake of President Biden’s $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal that would allocate $80 billion to modernize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line. It faces a long and difficult path in Washington.

Many in New Hampshire have long sought to resume passenger rail service on tracks that connect with the end of the MBTA Lowell line in Massachusetts, then head north through Nashua and Manchester through Concord. The so-called New Hampshire Capitol Corridor project has long languished due to opposition from Republican state lawmakers who say the cost isn’t worth it.

The Amtrak map and proposal can be viewed here: media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Amtrak-Connects-Us-Fact-Sheet-for-Statement.pdf

(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)

 

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