Passenger Rail Station Location

and Design Analysis Project

City of Pittsfield
May 13, 2014
Background
The Housatonic Railroad Company is proposing
to restore passenger rail service between
Pittsfield and New York City.

The proposed service would operate along the
Berkshire Line, approximately 38 miles of track
from the MA/CT state line to Pittsfield.
Planning for the Service
BRPC received a grant from the U.S Department
of Transportation to study and develop
recommendations on the number and location of
passenger rail stations in Berkshire County.

Other aspects of this work include a railroad
operations analysis, a study of the
environmental and community impacts and
preliminary station layout and design work.

Tonights Focus
BRPCs preliminary analysis identifies Pittsfield
as a likely location for a passenger rail station.
northernmost municipality along the corridor
largest population center in Berkshire County
popular attractions and accommodations
good connectivity with surrounding municipalities
infrastructure exists to support potential growth

Tonights Focus
With Pittsfield as the likely northern terminus of
the proposed passenger rail service the
question then becomes where in Pittsfield
should a passenger rail station be located?
First Step
To identify potential locations, BRPC conducted
a GIS analysis to identify developable land along
the rail corridor and to identify potential
environmental constraints on that land.

The results were mapped and target areas
delineated.


Second Step
To further narrow potential locations, BRPC
developed station siting objectives that focus on
a target areas:

likely economic impact
access and connectivity
conformity with municipal planning efforts
conformity with community character
operational constraints
environmental impact



Preliminary Considerations
BRTA Intermodal Center is a strong candidate
location

existing rail/bus station
good interface with public transportation
downtown location to support existing commercial
uses
surrounding area is densely populated
good pedestrian accessibility
complement the Citys efforts on North Street
Intermodal Center
Preliminary Considerations
Other locations considered

West Housatonic/Hawthorne Avenue likely not
available - current use of the site is the Pittsfield
DPW Garage/Yard

Industrial Drive access to Route 7 is
problematic; multiple environmental constraints
exist; outside of the downtown area

Hawthorne Avenue

Industrial Drive
Thoughts/Comments/Opinions
Is the Intermodal Center a preferred location?

Concerns with the use of the Intermodal Center
as a passenger rail station for the proposed
service?

Should BRPC consider other locations not
previously mentioned, if yes, what locations?




Future Considerations
If the Intermodal Center is chosen as the actual
site of the passenger rail station the following
matters may come before the City:

Handling increased demand for long-term and
short-term parking

The potential redevelopment of a small city-owned
parking lot into a station entrance and platform

Construction of an elevated pedestrian walkway
from the existing Intermodal Center to the new
platform


Questions/Comments

Brian Domina
(413) 442-1521 ext.14
bdomina@berkshireplanning.org


Check out the project webpage at

http://berkshireplanning.org/projects/passenge
r-rail-station-location-and-design-project/