Funding is back on the table for a study to see how New Hampshire could create a commuter rail link from Manchester to Boston, via Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and Nashua, following the state senators’ vote last week in favor of Senate Bill 241 and state representatives’ vote earlier this month.
The vote puts the NH Capitol Corridor Rail Expansion Project back in the state’s 10-year transportation plan and lets the state Department of Transportation access existing federal funding to complete a detailed analysis of engineering, environmental and geotechnical aspects of the rail link, so state leaders can decide whether or not to go forward with the project.
“[Monday] marks a significant milestone in the effort to expand passenger rail and strengthen New Hampshire’s economy,” NH Business for Rail Expansion spokesperson E.J. Powers said in a statement. “Our elected officials have listened to the growing choir of a majority of New Hampshire residents from all political parties and demographics and businesses who want the state to explore the investment and benefits associated with passenger rail expansion.”
A recent survey conducted by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center that indicated 75.5 percent of residents are in support of a commuter rail to Boston.
NH Business for Rail Expansion, the main lobby group for the rail link, cites studies estimating the trains would draw 668,000 weekday riders and boost the state economy with:
- 5,600 permanent jobs
- 3,400 construction jobs to build the real estate development triggered by rail
- 1,700 new jobs every year beginning in 2030
- 3,600 residential units to support new workers
- 9 million square feet of commercial real estate as a byproduct of rail expansion
- $750 million in real estate investment from 2021-2030
- $220 million in reinvested worker earnings added to the economy beyond 2020
