Ken Payne: Staying With The Curves
This beautiful essay by Ken Payne makes the case that keeping our curvy train tracks and the natural and historic landscapes the train passes through are vital to Rhode Island’s […]
Railroad EIS
Connecticut Trust Questions Amtrak’s Role as Inheritor of NEC Future Controversy
Hamden, CT – (May 4) – With a final Record of Decision on NEC Future expected as soon as late May, the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation is reaching out […]
Connecticut Trust Pushes CT DOT for Clear Statement on Elimination of Rail Bypasses
With just weeks remaining before the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) completes a five-year NEC Future planning process, finalizing a ‘once-in-a-generation’ blueprint for rail travel and investment along the Northeast Corridor, advocates of historic, cultural and environmental resources in Connecticut are responding warily to recent statements from Connecticut DOT and FRA officials.
His grassroots rebellion stops a federal railroad plan in its tracks
Greg Stroud is a quiet, thoughtful academic with limited experience in civic engagement, but he transformed into a relentless community organizer and grass-roots lobbyist after learning of a proposal from […]
Charlestown Agricultural Preservation Commission Response to NEC Future
CHARLESTOWN AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION COMMISSION April 13,2017 To Whom it May Concern, At the April 12, 2017 meeting of the Charlestown Agricultural Preservation Commission. all of the members opposed the proposed […]
CT rebellion against federal rail plan grows — and may have impact
A rebellion that began in Old Lyme and has spread along coastal Connecticut is pressing the federal government to make big changes in an ambitious plan to bring high-speed rail to the Northeast, and to turn the proposal into merely “aspirational” recommendations.
Videos of the March 30 Update Meeting on the FRA Plan
Their consensus was that the people along the Old Saybrook to Kenyon ByPass have to remain vigilant in their opposition and continue to document their positions in both town and state plans. Those currently in positions of power will not be those who make decisions in the future, and regardless of the current decisions, the communities must create documentation that protects historic buildings, open space, farms, and tribal lands. The struggle continues.
Update and Discussion of Federal Railroad Administration Plan at Kettle Pond
When: Thursday, March 30 at 7PM
Where: Kettle Pond Visitor Center, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown
What: Status Update and Discussion on “Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass”
Our guest speaker is Gregory Stroud, Ph.D., Director of Special Projects at the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Greg is also the founder of the grassroots advocacy group on High-Speed Rail, SECoast.
Local officials detail impacts of proposed bypass project to rail planners
March 10, 2017 08:21AM By Catherine Hewitt Sun staff writer CHARLESTOWN — Members of local municipal staffs, conservation and governmental groups, and the Narragansett Indian Tribe met with Federal Railroad […]
List of Opponents to the Bypass Continues to Grow
Links below are to letters of opposition written by organizations or officials to the Federal Railroad Administration. We don’t yet have links to all documents. If we’ve missed anything, please […]
A Flurry of News on NEC Future…
The following post was published by SECoast and is shared with us here by the Executive Director of SECoast Gregory Stroud. Greg has summed up all the new developments in […]
NEC Commission Also Urges FRA to Focus Rail Investments Toward “State of Good Repair”
The Northeast Corridor Commission promotes mutual cooperation and planning and advises Congress on Corridor policy. The Commission is composed of one member from each of the NEC states and the District of Columbia; four members from Amtrak; and five members from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The NEC Commission letter is nearly identical to Governor Malloy’s letter. “Eliminate any specific “representative alternative alignments” along the NEC. Portions of the corridor which require evaluation of alternative investments and alignments to address capacity, speed, or which have other vulnerabilities should be identified without proposing specific options.”
CT Governor Urges FRA to Focus Rail Investments Toward “State of Good Repair”
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy is urging the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to table consideration of any new alignment of tracks on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) through Connecticut and instead focus its investments – which he says are long overdue – on maintaining the corridor in a “state of good repair.”
Pushback on federal rail bypass plan continues to grow
March 7, 2017 07:54AM By Catherine Hewitt Sun staff writer As legislators and residents of Rhode Island and Connecticut await the Record of Decision on the Northeast Corridor high-speed rail […]
National Trust for Historic Preservation Response to NEC Future
The portion of the project along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island would be devastating to historic communities … In addition, we wish to emphasize that, in our view, the proposed project fails to comply with Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act.
In sum, we urge the Federal Railroad Administration to remove from its Tier 1 Record of Decision the portions of the project in Connecticut and Rhode Island that involve bypasses on new alignment and other draconian impacts on historic resources. Instead, the agency should conduct more detailed reviews to develop feasible and prudent alternatives that would avoid and minimize harm to these resources.
Video of Senate Committee on Finance Discussion with Federal Railroad Administration Officials
The Rhode Island Senate Committee on Finance had a presentation and question and answer session with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Officials on February 28. That video is now available. The […]
Connecticut’s U.S. Senator Blumenthal and Representative Courtney Response to NEC Future
US Senator Richard Blumenthal and Connecticut US Representative Courtney write that the Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass “would cause massive disturbance to the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of residents who now live in the proposed route’s path. It would decimate the unique charm and historic character of several centuries-old towns like Old Lyme. It would disrupt major job centers and tourist attractions like the aquarium and historic seaport in Mystic,”
Connecticut’s US Senator Chris Murphy Response to NEC Future
Senator Murphy called on the Federal Railroad Administration on Tuesday to heed the concerns of Connecticut residents before finalizing a plan for the NEC FUTURE project along the Northeast Corridor. Murphy also expressed serious concerns with the FRA’s proposed new rail line in southeastern Connecticut, which does not adequately address the historical and environmental worries of residents who live along the proposed route.
US Fish and Wildlife Service Response to NEC Future
The “Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass” portion of the proposal lies within or runs immediately adjacent to the focus area for the Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge, where land acquisition authority has been granted to conserve important fish and wildlife resources.
The proposal could have substantial effects on managing these species over time, including impacts to habitat connectivity, direct habitat loss, reduction in habitat quality adjacent to the rail lines, and the direct reduction in available habitat.
The Rhode Island Division of Planning Response to NEC Future
The State supports the Preferred Alternative except for the Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass portion in Southern Rhode Island. This Bypass contains a conceptual 6-mile re-alignment of tracks which poses tremendous environmental and land use impacts to unique resources that are largely irreplaceable.
Reed offers advice on rail dispute
February 25, 2017 02:30AM By Catherine Hewitt Sun staff writer In a meeting with representatives of Charlestown, Westerly, and the Narragansett Indian Tribe, Sen. Jack Reed recommended a two-step process […]
Town Council Presidents from Charlestown, Hopkinton, Richmond, and Westerly Letter to Senator Jack Reed
We believe that it would be an error to embed the bypass in the NEC Future project in Tier 1. The impacts in Rhode Island and its extraordinary costs balanced against its actual benefits in our state do not appear to warrant it. The requisite level of detailed environmental review in Tier 1 is not present; therefore it is critical not to have the bypass embedded in the project through a Tier 1 ROD. Your openness to taking our position into account is appreciated.
Jamestown Letter of Support for Charlestown Against the Bypass
Charlestown received the unanimous support of the Jamestown Town Council to remove the Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass from the Tier 1 Final EIS.
Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission Response to NEC Future
In our opinion, the implementation of the Selected Alternative is premature. FRA’s selection of the Preferred Alternative was based solely on engineering and economic criteria. Environmental and cultural resources were not afforded due consideration during the assessment of the Preferred Alternative.
CT Trust for Historic Preservation Response to NEC Future
On behalf of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Connecticut’s statewide historic preservation advocacy organization, and SECoast, our special project dedicated to organizing and educating the public to protect Southeastern Connecticut and the Lower Connecticut River Valley, we submit the following comments to provide feedback on the Preferred Alternative and the contents of the Tier 1 Final EIS for NEC Future.
We have organized a notable volume of informed commentary on the NEC Future Plan, but remain concerned that the Federal Railroad Administration has not acknowledged public, municipal, legislative, or Congressional concerns expressed in two states about their fundamentally flawed planning process, insufficient public outreach, or un-substantiated inclusion of the Old Saybrook to Kenyon bypass in the F-EIS.
Congressional Delegation Letter to US DOT
We seek your explanation as to whether you can legally alter the selected alternative in the ROD and remove the Westerly-Hopkinton-Charlestown-South Kingstown bypass as the state and communities have requested. If the FRA has the authority to remove the bypass as part of the alternative selected in the Tier I EIS ROD, we would ask that you exercise that authority.
We also write to reiterate that Rhode Island, specifically Providence, must remain a central part of the NEC. Any alternative that results in service bypassing the state is completely unacceptable.
Feeling heat from CT, feds say they may alter high-speed rail plan
CT Mirror – By: Ana Radelat | February 13, 2017 Washington – In the staredown between the Federal Railroad Administration and opponents of part of its plan in Connecticut to […]
Drop the Bypass Rally in Stonington Connecticut
Despite bone chilling cold and wet and some roads still covered from an overnight snow, a crowd of well over 100 gathered in the path of the proposed rail bypass […]
Westerly Sun: Rail plan opponents step up pressure
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., emceed the event. “It’s not about partisan politics, it’s about doing smart and wise planning,” he said. “This rerouting bypass is half-baked, harebrained and it will never happen because the costs are so astronomical — in fact, there’s no reliable estimate.”
He said the design took no account of environmental damage, historic preservation, and local economic impact.
“This is a fun fantasy for the Washington, D.C., bureaucrat planners but it’s a nightmare for all of us who have to live with this proposal,” Blumenthal said. “You need to be heard and we’re going to make that you are heard and that Tier I is history.”
Julie Carroccia’s Comments at the Drop the Bypass Rally in Stonington
Julie Carroccia spoke on behalf of Charlestown at the Rally against the Bypass held in Mystic Connecticut on February 11, 2017. Other speakers were US Senator Richard Blumenthal, Loren Spears […]