Hoping to capitalize on the impending availability of billions of federal infrastructure dollars, Massachusetts officials have taken the first step toward establishing a long-awaited cross-state passenger rail link.
An April 26 meeting attended by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) and key Congressional and state lawmakers yielded a call for a new authority tasked with connecting Boston with Springfield, Pittsfield and other cities in the state’s western half. The new rail service would extend approximately 100 miles from Worcester, westernmost point of Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s transit services.