BOSTON — It was 7:30 a.m. Tuesday when Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, and a busload of constituents left Springfield, a move they say is about linking and reconnecting the commonwealth.
Two hours and 23 minutes later, they offloaded at the Massachusetts Statehouse to testify in support of legislation to study the feasibility of an east-west high-speed rail between Boston and Springfield.
Filed by Lesser, Senate bill S.1935 is also supported by Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield. Its House counterpart, H. 3429, was filed by Rep. Peter Kocot of Northampton.
This is the third time Lesser has filed similar legislation. The most recent iteration was vetoed by Gov. Charlie Baker during budget negotiations over the summer, days after receiving a letter from the owner of Peter Pan bus lines, Peter Picknelly, opposing the study.
Lesser arranged for the bus from Springfield to Boston to bring western Massachusetts residents to testify before the Legislature’s Committee on Transportation.
Candy Glazer, chairwoman of the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee, said soon after arriving at the Statehouse that some 40 supporters had loaded onto the bus in the dark and hit traffic on the Pike, “as per usual.”
“But more importantly, there was a great spirit and sense of camaraderie,” she said. “This is really important to us in western Massachusetts, and not just to bring us to Boston. We really want a link. We want to bring people from the east to where we are.”
“Boston is desperate for a lower cost of living,” Lesser said. “Western and central Massachusetts have a low cost of living, but need more high-paying jobs. If you connect the two with fast, reliable and frequent rail service, an exchange will happen that lifts everyone.”
Scarlet LaMothe of Palmer and Job Shattuck of Belchertown said before the hearing that they came to represent their communities and support the economic growth a high-speed rail would bring. But on the bus, they discovered another reason.
“I got to talk to a lot of locals I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” LaMothe said.
“That’s one of the things I just wrote in my (testimony),” Shattuck said, “is about people on a train, that never would meet each other otherwise, that meet and share stories.”
“When you’re able to commute to work with other people, you can talk and share stories and make great connections as well,” LaMothe said. “There’s an overall, broader impact of the idea of linking communities.”
Lesser recently launched a new page on his website called “Rail Matters” where residents can share their stories about why the east-west rail matters to their families. People are also sharing on social media with the hashtag #RailMatters.
Others have signed a petition circulated by Andrea Chasen, an attorney from East Longmeadow, in support of the bill. The petition had 1,952 signatures on Change.org as of Tuesday afternoon.
Chasen made the early morning trip from Springfield.
“How was the bus ride? Oh, I just love sitting for hours in traffic on a bus,” Chasen said, at first laughing, then serious. “Really, my reaction to the bus is, you are still locked into traffic patterns.”
She added that in some sections of the route from Springfield there are only two lanes and no high occupancy lanes. A resident of the state for 29 years, she said she’s had to turn down jobs in Boston for lack of consistent and efficient transportation options.
“We have supported so much economic growth and development in the Boston metro area.” she said. “It is time to turn the tables and let them support our economic growth and development. We have wonderful bones, and it’s time to put flesh on them. I’m calling it economic parity.”