(rshsdepot) Athol, MA

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_home.com>]

Can Athol trains run again?

Monday, December 3, 2001

By George Barnes
Worcester Telegram & Gazette Staff

ATHOL-- A 1909 postcard of the Athol train station shows an artist's vision
of the future, with monorails, large balloons, an airplane and, stopped
alongside the building, a trolley bus unloading passengers.
     There are no monorails in Athol -- the technology never reached the
town -- but Selectman Mary E. Forristall said the town had such good train
service that 24 trains a day stopped at the station in 1919.
     Since then it has been all downhill. On weekdays the Athol train
station bustles with activity as people head to various destinations, but it
is not serving the purpose it was originally built for.
     The train station now serves bus passengers, not trains. Community
Transportation Services bought it in January for regional dial-a-ride
services -- and with a hope that someday train service would return to
Athol.
     "It would be nice to tie the train service into our intermodal center,"
office manager David Batchelder said.
     At present, residents of the North Quabbin area have to drive to
Leominster or Fitchburg or farther east if they want to ride the rails into
Boston.
     For several years, until the service was discontinued in 1985,
residents could drive to Gardner and catch the train. Two years after the
train stopped going to Gardner, a bus service started ferrying passengers
-From Gardner to the Fitchburg train station. That too ended in 1992.
     The Greater Gardner and North Quabbin area have been without passenger
rail service for 16 years, since the train stopped going to Gardner. State
Rep. Brian Knuuttila, D-Gardner said he is hoping that isolation will end in
the next few years.
     At a meeting last week, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's
representatives got an earful about the inadequacies of the train service it
offers for Fitchburg and Leominster, including the need for at least one
express train to speed the commute into Boston.
     Mr. Knuuttila also told MBTA officials they should not forget about
areas further west that are not served by passenger train service.
     A member of the House of Representatives transportation subcommittee,
Mr. Knuuttila said he has been working to encourage the expansion of train
service at least into Gardner and preferably further west. He said there
will be a meeting in February with state transportation officials to talk
about the need for expanded service. He said the difficulties will be the
cost and convincing Guilford Transportation it will not be liable for
accidents on its tracks through Gardner.
     "Our estimate: It will cost $50 million," Mr. Knuuttila said, referring
to expanded rail service.
     The expense will be in upgrading the tracks from freight service to
passenger service, and possibly building another set of tracks.
     Mr. Knuuttila said he believes the obstacles can be overcome, and
thinks Gardner will see the train return in three or four years. "I base
that on the return of commuter rail service to Newburyport. That took four
years of constant lobbying."
     The effort may be difficult, but Mr. Knuuttila said it would be
worthwhile. He said a 1999 study showed about 40 people from the Gardner
area and towns further west using the Fitchburg and Leominster stations. Now
there are 100.
     Mrs. Forristall said improving transportation is crucial for the Athol
area, which suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.
"If we could get train service, it would go a long way toward developing
this area economically."
     There is a commuter bus link from Greenfield to Gardner that stops in
Athol and Orange. The link is operated by the Montachusett and Franklin
Regional Transit Authorities. In Gardner it connects with bus service from
Winchendon and buses from Gardner to Fitchburg.
     Mrs. Forristall said the bus service is a step forward, but the train
would make the trip much easier for people heading to work in Boston. She
said both are preferable to driving Route 2 to Boston.
     Route 2 in the Athol area is undergoing safety improvements, but Mrs.
Forristall said the real problem for commuters is getting through the rotary
in Concord.
     "It would be nice to get the train service back, even if we only had
limited service," she said.

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