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US Rep. Richard Neal touts $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan for trains, green energy with Springfield Union Station visit

SPRINGFIELD — Speaking over the rumbling locomotive of the 12:05 Amtrak train to Hartford, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal touted a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan he and his fellow Democrats introduced with a Friday visit to Springfield’s Union Station.

“This is the first substantive step the Congress has taken toward east-west rail,” said Neal, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, referencing the long-held goal of improving passenger train service from Boston west through Worcester and Springfield.

 President Donald Trump has talked about the need for big infrastructure improvements, Neal said. Neal’s own conversations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been positive. And the GOP-led Senate has come around earlier this year to other spending plans aimed at coronavirus crisis recovery, Neal said.

The plan, dubbed the Moving America Forward Act, if it passes the Senate and gets the president’s signature, could provide $19 billion in federal grants for rail projects across the country, including east-west rail in Massachusetts.

 The sprawling bill — one that Neal expects to pass the Democrat-led House in the next week to 10 days — also establishes a $250 million grant program to support infrastructure improvements in rural areas, including broadband internet.
Green initiatives include $1.4 billion in alternative fuel charging infrastructure and $25 billion to modernize the U.S. Postal Service, which could include an all-electric, zero-emissions fleet of delivery vehicles.
The bill would raise the cap on the number of electric vehicles eligible for a $7,500 tax credit. It would encourage electric buses and commercial vehicles and restore an employer-provided fringe benefit for bicycle commuting that was eliminated in the tax reforms of 2017.

But east-west rail was the big topic Friday at Union Station, where Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno praised Neal for his ability to bring money back to the city and district and praised the infrastructure bill.

“It means a good four-letter word,” Sarno said, deploying one of his favorite phrases. “Jobs.”

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