Connecting Boston

This post is a continuation of a series of thought experiments that follow a planned, coordinated expansion of high speed rail across the United States in a rational way serving the communities that need it most and the areas most ready to use the technology.

Now that we have extended high speed rail lines connecting with the existing Northeast Corridor in New York and Washington, we should consider the northern terminus of the Acela Express route, Boston.

Boston is the third largest city served by the Northeast Corridor after New York and Philadelphia. It boasts a well-developed and comprehensive public transportation system that includes light rail, rapid transit, and commuter rail. Thus Boston's culture is very amenable to the use of trains. There are many improvements to HSR in and connecting to Boston that should be seriously considered.

A priority should be connecting Boston to Springfield, Massachusetts and Albany, New York with high speed rail. This route is nothing new. In 1901 the Central New England Railroad ran passenger service through here, and Amtrak currently offers one train each direction a day along the route as part of its Lakeshore Limited service from Chicago.

Springfield is a growing metropolitan area with a commuter and tourist culture that looks to the areas south and east. It's population would be well served by high speed rail bringing them closer to destinations along Cape Cod and Downeast Maine.

By connecting Boston to Albany via high speed rail, we would also connect it to the already discussed service through Albany to Buffalo and Toronto. Direct Boston to Toronto service would include cities like Rochester and Syracuse, giving another economic boost to the hungry communities in upstate New York.

Now our growing high speed rail system finally begins to take on a different shape - instead ofb just lines branching out, it is becoming a webbed network of interconnected cities. The next line we build should be another link in the web, rather than a new branch.

Interestingly enough, Amtrak is already considering improving and expanding the Northeast Corridor, but their plans are somewhat conservative and underwhelming when considered against the infrastructural and economic needs of the population they serve.