WORCESTER â Federal lawmakers from Massachusetts have reintroduced legislation to expand investments in passenger rail, which they say would give Western Massachusetts communities a needed boost.
Karen Christensen, a rail advocate who lives in Great Barrington, joined U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Malden, and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, for a Wednesday news conference at Union Station in Worcester. The lawmakers announced the reintroduction of the Building Rail Across Intercity Networks to Ride Around Interior of the Nation (Brain Train) Act, which Markey first introduced last May with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield.
âThis is our moment, our chance to make generational investments in our common future,â said Christensen, who founded the nonprofit Barrington Institute and the âTrain Timeâ podcast. âThere is no justification for leaving parts of the United States behind: 21st-century connectivity can give every citizen â in cities and suburbs and rural areas â the best of all worlds.â