MA: Passenger rail chief to discuss possible station sites in Palmer

MassDOT rail officials will meet with the Palmer community this month to discuss possible locations for a Palmer station on an expanded west-east passenger line.

The public meeting will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, at the Palmer Public Library’s community room at 1455 North Main St.

Boosters envision Palmer as a park-and-ride location for rail passengers coming to get aboard a train from as far away as Amherst or Stafford, Connecticut — or from Hampden County residents who might want to avoid relying on a stop in downtown Springfield.

Planners also hope to connect an expanded rail schedule to the University of Massachusetts Amherst through bus service.

Andy Koziol, west-east rail director for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will host the Dec. 16 conversation, according to a news release.

MassDOT is expected to discuss site evaluations for six possible locations, as well as amenities and features.

The six sites are strung out along miles of rail, with one in Wilbraham and the rest in Palmer. The easternmost site is nearly at the Brimfield town Line.

Ben Hood, of Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop, said CSX doesn’t want a station near the place where existing north-south and east-west rail lines cross, because such a location would interfere with freight traffic.

The Palmer Department of Public Works is under consideration.

The state’s capital investment plan includes money to study a possible Palmer station.

Palmer calls itself the “town of seven railroads” and is still a hub for east-west and north-south freight traffic. It hasn’t had passenger service since 1971, shortly after Penn Central went bankrupt.

The new stop could be located near or at the town’s historic train depot, now the Steaming Tender restaurant, designed by architect H.H. Richardson and built in 1883.