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Travelers starting to return as restrictions are lifted

WESTERN MASS NEWS (March 22, 2021) — COVID-19 travel restrictions are easing up in Massachusetts on Monday, which means anyone visiting or returning to the Bay State is no longer required to quarantine. Now, it’s only advised.

Union Station was bustling Monday morning as these restrictions lifted. One traveler told us he’s not really worried about taking public transit or an influx of people coming from out of state.

“I think as long as the safety procedures are in place, everything should be copacetic, everything should be good,” said Amo Rodriguez from Springfield.

Rodriguez told Western Mass News he feels better about traveling more so now than this time last year

“There wasn’t many things open. There was more precautions, everyone was more on edge about everything going on…Now since I’ve been vaccinated, so now since the vaccine is out and everything is going back to full capacity, I think we’re getting back to the normal,” Rodriguez added.

Starting Monday, anyone visiting Massachusetts or residents returning are advised to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival but are no longer required to do it.

However, the recommended quarantine does not apply to anyone:

  • Travelers who tested negative in the 72 hours before arriving
  • Travelers entering for less than 24 hours
  • Travelers who are fully vaccinated

Now with these eased guidelines, Union Station property manager Nicole Sweeney told Western Mass News she expects to eventually see an increase in travelers, though maybe not right away.

“I’ve noticed that our Fridays, which historically are the biggest travel day of the week for us, have begun to recover a little bit. It’s certainly not pre-pandemic levels, but are seeing some more bodies here in the concourse, which is nice…It’s been a long year. It’s been a long year for everyone and people are ready to get out there. They’re ready to go visit friends and family,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney said all trains and busses are stringent with mask-wearing and sanitizing regularly. She said this ease of restrictions is a great step forward for the travel industry.

“As the vaccine program ramps up, hopefully as we get into the mid-summer time and we get more and more people vaccinated, we’ll really start to see those numbers pick up and have a nice summer of recovery for our carriers,” Sweeney added.

Watch the full video interview.
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Crane lifts Platform C into place at Springfield Union Station

REPUBLICAN/MASSLIVE (April 24, 2019) — Cranes this week are lifting sections of precast concrete walkway onto the upper portions of Springfield Union Station for the new handicapped-accessible Platform C.

Platform C couldn’t open two years ago with the rest of the refurbished Union Station because it wasn’t wide enough to meet modern handicapped accessibility rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, which owns the station, tried but failed to get a waiver.

The new platform will open in June or July, said Kevin Kennedy, chief development officer for the city. “The platform is really beginning to take shape and obviously we are very excited about that,” he said.

The platform is costing $8.2 million in state money and brings the total cost of the Union Station project to more than $103 million in federal, state and local funds.

The $13 million parking deck at Union Station was also built from precast concrete pieces and assembled on site.

MORE: http://bit.ly/2LciRIS

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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 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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