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For Rail Work, N.H. Would Pay $185M; Mass. Would Pay $125M
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In addition, the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport would operate and maintain a third train station nearby in Bedford, N.H.
NHDOT would pay to build and run the southernmost train station next to the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, close to the Massachusetts border, according to the Union Leader.
“The proposed schedule in southern New Hampshire includes 16 trips in each direction on weekdays – and roughly half that number on weekends and holidays — with an estimated travel time between Manchester and Boston North Station of one hour, 25 minutes to one hour, 30 minutes,” according to the study done by AECOM Technical Services of Manchester.
New Hampshire’s share of construction costs would be up to $185 million, while the state of Massachusetts would pay for about $125 million in upgrades to the 9.5-mi.length of tracks from Lowell to Nashua.
Federal grants would cover at least 55 percent of all construction costs, the report said.
Four Years Needed for Ridership to Mature
The Union Leader obtained a copy of the study that New Hampshire Transportation Commissioner Bill Cass delivered to the state Executive Council, Gov. Chris Sununu, and legislative leaders in February.
It concludes that once rail service is opened in 2030, four years would be needed for ridership to reach full levels due to the impact of COVID-19.
In response to the pandemic, the number of citizens taking trains to work across the United States dropped dramatically as more Americans worked from home. For example, there are only 58 percent as many people taking the train from Lowell, Mass., to Boston every day as did back in 2018.
The study promotes a “medium pandemic impact” scenario that 75 percent of riders would end up taking the Boston-Manchester train compared to the level that had been expected prior to COVID-19.
If this proves to be the case, New Hampshire’s taxpayer cost to run the service
