Canaan, CT to Pittsfield, MA train service

Tanglewood or Barrington Stage by train - jump aboard

An idea I’ve been talking about for several years is actually a stepping stone to full restoration of the Berkshire Line between Pittsfield and New York City. Why don’t we start a daily passenger service between Pittsfield, Ma and Canaan, CT?

Canaan is just a couple miles south of the state line, a Connecticut destination and a historic rail hub. We could have a battery-powered electric train service via Sheffield, Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Lee, and Lenox (stops to be determined) running every day of the year.

Pop-Up Metro is a company in Pennsylvania that aims to provide a reliable, low-cost, and sustainable way to prove the market for a passenger train service. I visited them a couple years ago to see their equipment. I even got to drive a train. It was supporter Andrew Jennings who suggested I take a look, realizing the possibilities since the Pop-Up Metro train cars have a battery range of 50-60 miles with an 8-10 minute charge at the end of each journey.

The Canaan-Pittsfield route is a little under 40 miles on upgraded rail. (Upgraded, per a MassDOT report, means the “rehabilitation of 4 grade crossings, replacement of 45,000 ties over the entire 36 miles, 3 bridges replaced and 3 other bridges repaired, and replacement of jointed rail with continuous welded rail.” Over $50 million has been spent by taxpayers to improve the rail line in Berkshire County, and it could support passenger service today. We would place charging stations at either end and could run trains daily throughout the year, with more during busy seasons and fewer during quiet months, but always offering reliable transportation to commuters and year-round residents.

Would there be riders? No study has ever been done (the report commissioned years ago looked only at trips to and from New York, not at any regional use). But car traffic is a good indicator.

Connecticut folk who live in the towns south of Canaan drive through Canaan to get to the Berkshires. They come to Great Barrington to shop at Guido’s, go to the restaurants and the movies. They drive on to Stockbridge and Lenox for theater and music, and further north to Barrington Stage and Jacob’s Pillow. Wouldn’t they love the option of taking the train?

Year-round, there are people who live in less expensive towns who commute to work in Stockbridge and Great Barrington, and of course many medical and other professionals commute to Pittsfield.

And of course there’s the issue of summer traffic. Route 7 is a two-lane highway that goes through the center of our towns, and everyone agrees, vehemently, that it’s a nightmare in the summer and fall. Why not take the train?

As Train Time supporter Elijah Doubleday wrote: “Many New Yorkers that travel to Berkshire County seek the cultural amenities of South County. This includes the densely developed communities of Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and Lee. Each of these towns has an existing, centralized, train station on a shared, MassDOT owned, rail line connecting to Pittsfield, as well as an enthusiasm for rail service connections. The train stations may not be perfect, but station improvement should not withhold train service given the condition of many operational Amtrak stations.”

Having a passenger rail line in operation would be a game-changer, and would encourage Connecticut to step up.

The current CT Rail Plan says the DOT will "study the feasibility" of expanded rail service and "update travel patterns for post-COVID.” Governor Lamont seems to want to emphasize transportation expansion. That should include an upgrade of the line between New Milford and Canaan! We’ll write soon about lobbying to get the segment in Connecticut upgraded to match that of Massachusetts. Because the necessary upgrade work will be similar, on a similar length of track in the same region of the country, it should be easy to estimate costs—which are, compared to other infrastructure projects, exceedingly modest and offer an excellent return on investment.

Here is a recent article about a town considering Pop-up Metro for a very different project: Could Rail Transit Return to the Delaware River Waterfront?

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A few details:

• Where there are not legacy platforms/stations in good repair, Pop-Up Metro can provide modular platforms. These structures are ADA compliant, are very robust with an ability to support bariatric wheelchairs, and can be equipped with covers, seating, radiant heating, landscaping accents, and other appurtenances.

• Pop-Up Metro Class 230 Battery Trains were remanufactured from London’s District line “D Trains” and are approved to operate up to 62mph.

• Joint passenger-freight corridors require robust operating/dispatch rules and positive modal barriers (e.g., electric lock switches or derails).

And here’s how you can chime in—details in the post linked below.

Green trains at COP28 & the Infrastructure Bill

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