Students from the College, along with peers from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Northeastern University, met with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey to voice their support for the Northern Tier Passenger Rail project on Feb 12. Attendees from the College included three representatives from the Center for Learning in Action (CLiA): Joanna Gentle ’28, Stan Vasileiadis ’28, and Thomas Huckans ’26.
The Northern Tier Passenger Rail project, spearheaded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), aims to restore a passenger rail line connecting North Adams and Boston, a service that was last available in 1958 before being discontinued due to low ridership. The proposal’s full local service route includes stops in Boston, Cambridge, Fitchburg, Gardner, Athol, Greenfield, Shelburne Falls, and North Adams.
The project began in 2019, when a bill passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives tasked the state with studying the feasibility of the proposed service.
In 2022, $256 million was allocated to support rail service in western Massachusetts, and by June 2023, MassDOT released a preliminary finding declaring the project feasible, with an estimated cost of $2.1 billion.
The final report, issued in November 2024, confirmed the viability of the service and highlighted its potential economic and environmental benefits for communities in northern Massachusetts. Students from the College are now calling for more studies to be conducted to better understand the potential benefits of the project, according to CLiA’s website.
The students’ visit was organized by the office of state Rep. John Barrett, III (D-North Adams) and funded by the Center for Learning in Action (CLiA). At their meeting with the governor, the students, along with MassDOT Rail and Transit Division Administrator Meredith Slesinger, discussed the economic benefits that enhanced connectivity with Boston could bring to the Berkshires. County residents, for example, could benefit from shorter commute times to healthcare providers outside of the county, improving access to necessary services, according to the Director of the Center for Learning in Action, Paula Consolini.
“As a local resident, I am familiar with the many who are unable to receive the medical or dental care they need,” Tia Kareh, a sophomore at MCLA and advocate at the meeting with the governor, wrote to the Record. “Many residents need to drive to Northampton or Greenfield for appointments … putting a parent out of work for the whole day.”
The students said that the project would allow western Massachusetts residents to more easily travel to Boston for work, reducing the city’s labor shortage. They also believe that improved transportation could help alleviate Boston’s housing shortage, making western Massachusetts a more viable option for those seeking affordable living outside the city, according to Huckans.
“We’re trying to bridge two different Massachusettses — one that is disconnected and struggling with development and population decline and one that is facing labor and housing shortages,” Vasileiadis said.
“Connection can oftentimes be lost across states and regions,” Gentle added. “As young people, I think it’s important to get involved with different communities.”
During their meeting with Healey, students used the MassDOT study’s findings to support their advocacy efforts. The group acknowledged, though, that the study fell short in exploring the project’s secondary economic benefits, such as its potential impact on property values in Western Massachusetts, focusing mainly on the jobs that will be provided by the restoration, and suggested that more research be conducted on the matter.
“We’re trying to get it from this narrowly focused original study on just ‘how could we build this train, how much would it cost, what will be the direct impacts of the construction,’ and now we’re trying to move it to something bigger,” Huckans said.
The group met with the governor for approximately 30 minutes. “It shows that the governor really appreciates our efforts and is really interested in the project itself,” Vasileiadis said.
“It was inspiring to meet with these talented young students who are conducting important research that will strengthen our state’s transportation system and our economy,” Healey wrote in a statement to the Record. “I loved that they took the commuter rail in for our meeting. Our administration is committed to improving transportation across our state, and that includes expanding rail service. I’m grateful for the hard work and passion of these students and we will take their findings under careful review as we continue the work to upgrade our transportation system.”
A week later, the students held a campus-wide debrief about their meeting with the governor in Brooks. Dash Alschuler-Pierce ’28, who attended the debrief, shared his admiration for the group’s enthusiasm and commitment. “I loved being there,” he wrote to the Record. “It was full of a bunch of passionate and creative people, asserting themselves as the vanguards for a necessary project … This small crew, through their unrelenting zeal, has managed to already achieve a vociferous voice and tight-knit community.”
During the debrief, the group discussed the history of the project, the regional disparities it aims to address, and the importance of youth involvement in infrastructure advocacy.
They also encouraged interested community members to call local legislators to express their support. “What’s most important is showing that we care, as students, for our community,” Huckans said. “Calling into the governor’s [office] is the best way to show that our voices are out there, that we care, that western Massachusetts is calling for this.”
