Tuesday, October 15, 2024

 Northern Tier Rail Line:

Good morning Jeff, 

I hope all is well with you! Thank you very much for the update and for your help with this, I really do appreciate it! I'll be sure to let the group know that Templeton is very interested in this project and would like to be considered for a stop as well. I appreciate all of the information you sent over and will be sure it gets where it needs to go. Should there be anything else needed for any reason, I'll be in touch and we can go from there.

Thanks again and I hope you have a great weekend!

Best,
-Nolan

Nolan King
Legislative Aide
State Representative Jonathan Zlotnik
2nd Worcester District
Ashburnham, Gardner, Templeton, Winchendon (Precincts 2 & 3)

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:27 AM

    Nice work Mr Bennett.
    Nice to see someone working on real economic activity compared to our EDIC which seems to be using our $200,000 Economic developement monies to self support the Board of Directors own entities.

    This could be a real boost the rt202 artery from Baldwinville to rt 2 and beyond. Excellent work Mr. Bennett.

    Thanks Jeff

    RTM

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  2. Anonymous11:45 AM

    Can you imagine how long it will take to get to Boston with stops in every town?
    This was the #1 reason why it flopped the last time, when the last stop was in Gardner. Templeton to Gardner to Westminster to Fitchburg to Leominster to Shirley to Ayer to Harvard to Littleton...

    It would be a very slow trip. Rail can work between highly populated cities with Express Service. But a "Local" service from Templeton to Boston would be very slow and would be a waste of public funds. Same as MART, an expensive leach on our tax dollars.

    Just look at a MART bus. A large diesel, 1 or 2 passengers. Not Green at all. And a shameful waste of tax money.

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  3. Anonymous1:37 PM

    From the proposals it seems like they have 7 planned stops from North Station to North Adam's and a 2hr 50+ minute ride.
    According to Google maps it's a 2hr and 48 minute drive from North Station to North Adams

    I do agree the project doesn't entirely make sense, but if it's going to happen I'd prefer Templeton gains some benefit from it.


    RTM

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    1. Anonymous12:35 AM

      I took an Amtrack train from Memphis to New Orleans a few years ago. The only thing they did on time was close the dining car. We arrived 3 hours late. As the train pulled in to the NOLA station, the conductor asked everyone to write their Congressman to ask for more money to support Amtrack, while Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans" played in the background.

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  4. July 2021, 22 news: GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The last passenger train route along Route 2 in the northern half of Massachusetts, ran in 1954. It took two hours and 15 minutes to get from Greenfield to Boston and a little over three hours from North Adams.

    “There were as many as 12 weekday trains running to and from Boston along Route 2,” State Senator Jo Comerford said during a virtual meeting about the train route on Tuesday.

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    1. Anonymous12:40 PM

      It went as far as Gardner in the 70s and 80s. It was slow. Later, the last stop was Fitchburg. The MBTA isn't interested in transportation. They're all about their union, their early pensions and how little work they can do.

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  5. Anonymous5:35 PM

    Considering you can be stuck on R2 for hours if you are behind an accident, this can only be a plus. Doing nothing gets us nothing. Thanks Jeff for working on this project.

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    1. Anonymous5:45 PM

      How much additional taxes are you willing to pay for train service to Boston? I'm not willing to pay a nickel. It's a similar boondoggle to MART sending underutilized diesel bus all across the region. No fares. The problem with socialism is pretty soon you run out of OPM.

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