Seen in the Boston Globe:
Governor Deval Patrick pledged yesterday to bring commuter rail service to New Bedford and Fall River by 2016, a plan that calls for expanding South Station by moving a major postal facility and finding enough vacant land in Boston to accommodate a fleet of locomotives and coaches.
But Patrick did not detail how the state would pay for the $1.4 billion project. While some of the money might come from state or federal grants, administration officials hope that most of the funding will come from new taxes generated by development lured to the rail corridor, some even before the trains start running.
As someone who officially commutes from Connecticut to the suburbs of Boston, I am all for an expansion of commuter rail in/around Massachusetts. I wish they’d expand commuter T service out to Springfield, particularly if timed to link to the proposed expansion of Metro North service to Hartford & Springfield… but easing congestion in the southern suburban area would be a welcome change too.
However, you’d think that after the state’s experience with financing the Big Dig, a bit more care would be taken in the financial planning for infrastructure improvements, rather than adopting a wishful “build it and the money will come” position.
