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Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy thanked by Springfield officials for bringing CTrail to Union Station

MASSLIVE (December 27, 2018) — The $103 million renovation of Springfield’s Union Station, which reopened 18 months ago, might not be as big a deal for the city without the additional CTrail trains that have been coming in.

And its for those trains — CTRail’s Hartford Line Service between Springfield, Hartford and New Haven with connections to New York City via Metro-North — that the city thanked outgoing Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy on Thursday.

“It was his courage,” said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, who rode the Hartford Line north Thursday with Malloy, a Democrat who leaves office next week after eight years as governor, and U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-Hartford.

They were met by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and his staff.

“There were some in my state who advocated for that,” he said. “But it didn’t make very much sense. By extending rail this far, we knew we could make more connections, connections with Boston and Worcester for instance, in the future.”

There are now 24 daily weekday trips between Hartford and Springfield, including a new one added in November. Weekend service also was enhanced.

MORE: http://bit.ly/us-rail2

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Westfield Bank ATM installed at Springfield’s Union Station

WWLP 22News (December 14, 2018) – Every week, people passing through Springfield’s Union Station inquire about the availability of an ATM.

On Friday, Congressman Richard Neal and Mayor Domenic Sarno helped cut the ribbon for the Westfield Bank ATM in the Union Station concourse.

Congressman Neal told 22News, the future looks bright for an increased passenger flow through Union Station.

“There are sixteen more trains a day between New Haven and Hartford and 12 between Hartford and Springfield,” said Neal. “So I think the north-south part of the equation is working, now it’s on to east-west.”

Neal’s anticipating the next Union Station improvement; an Amtrak ticket booth which will be relocated from a less visible side of the station in a few weeks.

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Union Station Holiday Travelers Serenaded by Christmas Carolers

On December 22, holiday travelers at Union Station will be greeted by Christmas Carolers from the West Mass Brass ensemble. The public is also invited.

Caroling begins at 2 p.m. and runs to 4 p.m.

The ensemble is part of the Western Mass Brass Band, a volunteer brass band in the British tradition. The band’s mission includes providing challenging music for the band members within the structure of a traditional British brass band, and to share the unique brass band sound with communities in and around Western Massachusetts.

The band members come together from several walks of life including professional musicians, amateur musicians, music teachers, engineers, and more.

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Regional Rail Service Picks Up Speed

BUSINESSWEST (July 24, 2018) – When is a train not just a train? Because the ones stopping at Union Station as part of the so-called Hartford line — which connects Springfield with New Haven via six other stations that roughly track I-91 through Connecticut — represent more than that, said Kevin Kennedy, Springfield’s chief Development officer.

“The simplest way to explain it is, the future is about connectivity, whether that connection is physical or electronic,” Kennedy told BusinessWest. “That’s going to be the case for the next 20 to 30 years going forward. And, in the case of rail, it’s critical that we increase our activity in Union Station.”

The reason is simple symbiosis. At a time when Springfield is preparing for an influx of visitors with the opening of MGM Springfield next month, in addition to other significant economic-development activity downtown, a train stop for several CTRail trains each day promises to make the city a more attractive destination, Kennedy said. That could have spinoffs for other regional attractions, particularly after a northern rail line is completed next year, connecting Union Station with Greenfield.

MORE: http://bit.ly/us-rail

 

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‘A work of art’: Springfield unveils restored Grand Central benches at Union Station

MASSLIVE (July 17, 2018) – Memories became a reality on Monday as local officials and visitors at Union Station celebrated the unveiling in the main concourse of two restored historic wooden benches on indefinite loan from Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, who worked out an agreement to bring the benches to Union Station from New York, and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno were among the dignitaries and station visitors taking part in the unveiling ceremony.

“The restoration is a work of art,” Neal said. “What I think is noteworthy in terms of irony is the term ‘Grand Central Terminal’ — terminal means the end. But these benches, it’s part of the beginning and the rebirth of our Union Station here in Springfield.”

Under the arrangement, Springfield paid for all costs including the restoration and move of the benches. The two benches, owned by Metro North Commuter Railroad Co., of New York, measure 15 1/2 feet long by 5 feet wide.

Sarno thanked Neal for his “stick-to-it-iveness” in bringing the two double-sided benches to the Springfield station after the congressman discovered them in storage in New York.

MORE: http://bit.ly/us-benches

 

 

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Behind the Scenes at Peter Pan Bus Lines’ First Day in New Union Station Offices

MASSLIVE (June 25, 2018) — The Peter Pan Bus Lines’ sign and logo — a drawing of the eternal boy flying off to Neverland — that once decorated the Springfield bus terminal on Main Street, now graces the company’s new offices in Springfield’s Union Station.

“We wanted to create modern office space for our employees,” said Peter A. Picknelly, chairman and CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines. “We tried to blend the old with the new, with all the history we have here in Springfield.”

Monday was Peter Pan’s first day in its new offices on the third floor of Springfield Union Station, and the official end of its presence at the old depot at 1776 Main Street, a space it had occupied since April 1, 1969.

The new offices feel open and airy with tall ceilings, large windows and sweeping views of Union Station’s bus and rail operations. The new training room features a floor-to-ceiling mural of an old aerial photo of the old station and its surrounding neighborhood. Mounted in front of the mural are the bold red letters “BUS” that were once in front of the old station.

PHOTO GALLERY & MORE: bit.ly/us-PeterPan

 

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Mayor Sarno Announces Commuter Parking Rates

SPRINGFIELD, MA (June 13, 2018) – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the Springfield Parking Authority (SPA) today announced parking rates for commuters utilizing Union Station transit, in advance of the new Hartford Line commuter rail service set to begin this Saturday, June 16, 2018.

“We’re pleased to offer parking in our new parking garage adjacent to Union Station at affordable rates,” said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. “Commuter rail has long been a goal for us along with the refurbishing of Union Station and we are thrilled to welcome it starting this weekend.”

The Harford Line is offering free service this weekend, June 16th and June 17th. The city will offer free parking for commuters for those two days as well. Starting on Monday, commuters will be able to access a $5.00 daily parking rate. Beginning in July, commuters may take advantage of a monthly rate of $65.00.

“Union Station is again becoming the hub of transit that we all knew it would become with the redevelopment,” said Kevin Kennedy, Chief Development Officer. “We want to be able to help commuters access this great new service with ease and to enjoy our new parking garage and historic Union Station.”

The new Hartford Line will offer 12 daily trains between Hartford and Springfield. The service continues to New Haven, where passengers can connect to Metro-North to points beyond including New York City.

The new commuter parking rates are available for commuters utilizing all rail or bus services out of Union Station.

Union Station and the new adjacent parking garage opened in June 2017 after a $95 million redevelopment completed by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA).

 

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Expanded North-South Rail Service from Springfield to Begin in June 2019

MASSLIVE (June 12, 2018) – About a year from now, travelers will be able to leave Greenfield on a morning train, make it to Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal in 4 hours, 15 minutes and be assured that there’ll be a night train home that same day.

The commonwealth of Massachusetts has an agreement with Connecticut authorities and Amtrak to provide on a pilot basis two extended daily CT rail trains from Springfield with stops in Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield.

One train will run in the morning and one later in the day — both north and south — on the Knowledge Corridor line paralleling the Connecticut River.

The only train traveling north of Springfield now is Amtrak’s Vermonter, which runs once a day in each direction.

MORE: http://bit.ly/us-masslive

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Union Station will get new $8.2 million rail passenger platform by November

MASSLIVE (May 8, 2018) – Work will begin later this month on a revamped Platform C at Union Station, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation expects the 18- by 362-foot platform will be completed by November.

MassDOT said Tuesday it awarded the $8.2 million contract for the work to J.F. White, of Framingham. White and Schiavone Construction Co., of Secaucus, New Jersey, are partners in the nearly completed reconstruction of the Interstate 91 viaduct through downtown Springfield.

Train passengers now are using Platform D at the station to access Amtrak. CTrail, the new commuter service to New Haven via Hartford, will also use Platform D,  which is to the rear, or Lyman Street, side of the building.

All passengers will use Platform C once it opens.

MORE: bit.ly/us_news

 

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Union Station Wins National Redevelopment Award

Redevelopment project was singled out for both national and regional awards for outstanding achievement and innovation relating to environmental and community issues.

BUSINESSWEST (January 22, 2018) – Springfield Union Station has won the prestigious Phoenix Award grand prize for the best brownfields-redevelopment project in the nation. Announced during the December National Brownfields Training Conference in Pittsburgh, the Union Station project also won the Region 1 Phoenix Award. Both awards recognize exemplary brownfield redevelopment and revitalization.

These awards highlight the critical environmental cleanup phase at Springfield Union Station, as well as the demolition and removal of a massive baggage warehouse and the remediation of the former site of the Hotel Charles. It also celebrates the redevelopment of a long-vacant historic train station into a state-of-the-art intermodal transit center.

Built in 1926, the original Union Station was boarded up for 44 years before taken over by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority in 1989. After many fits and starts, the $94.1 million redevelopment project was funded by numerous federal, state, and local sources. This included grants from the EPA Brownfield Assessment and Cleanup program, MassDevelopment, the Federal Transit Administration, state transportation bond funds, a state parking grant and more. Tighe & Bond provided extensive hazardous-building-material evaluations, abatement monitoring, building demolition design, and the assessment and remediation of widespread areas of subsurface contamination.

Besides the Phoenix Award, the project has already won other statewide awards for historic preservation, including the Preservation Massachusetts Paul & Nikki Tsongas Best Then & Now Award for 2017.

MORE: http://bit.ly/BWusnews

The Phoenix Awards inspire and recognize exemplary brownfield redevelopment and revitalization. Winning projects offer a fresh take on significant environmental issues, show innovation and demonstrate masterful community impact. The awards are part of a nonprofit organization, The Phoenix Awards Institute, Inc. The nonprofit’s purpose is to recognize outstanding achievement and innovation relating to environmental and community issues. Winning projects offer a fresh take on solving significant problems, show innovation and demonstrate masterful community impact. In addition to honoring excellence, the goal of the awards program is to offer specific project examples, innovative techniques, and inspiration as models for others to use in their communities.

 

Media Contact
GCAi for Union Station
Darcy Fortune, 413.736.2245
dfortune@GCAionline.com

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