Commuter rail proponents today asked a senate committee to approve the formation of a state Rail Authority to help bring service to Nashua and Manchester.
New Hampshire Public Radio's David Darman has more.
Every proponent who testified before the Senate Transportation and Interstate Cooperation Committee agreed a Rail Authority is necessary.
Governor John Lynch sent the committee his support by letter.
His aide, Alice Chamberlain spoke on his behalf.
Recent information on potential statewide daily ridership from the unh survey center suggests that up to 26,000 commuters a day have an interest in using passenger rail service between Manchester, Nashua and the Boston area.
A New Hampshire Transit Rail Authority would have the power to get trains rolling, by seeking federal funding.
It would also be responsible for operations, and setting schedules and fares.
Members of the authority would come from southern New Hampshire planning commissions, and from appointments made by the Governor and communities that make up the rail corridor from Manchester to Nashua.
Proponents said this rather narrow definition is the best way to push along the commuter rail project that would extend to Lowell, Massachusetts.
Nashua Community Development director Catherine Hersh testified that the authority would also help resolve long standing problems.
One of the issues we’re dealing with for instance is a train station location. We have the general area of the train station location that we’re focused on, however, those are privately owned pieces of property. And in order for us to move forward, we need to have the ability to do that in a very focused way.
A couple of senators on the committee questioned whether the state rail advisory authority had to be limited to just the Nashua/ Manchester corridor.
They said they understood the project needed to get done, but they also want the committee to one day include board members from other regions.
For starters, those could include communities served by the Downeaster….and the Amtrak service that travels through Claremont.
Steve Williams of the Nashua Regional Planning Commission said he thought one day the Authority should be broadened to include those communities.
But Williams, who once lived in California, said he’s seen how statewide boards can degenerate into a variety of local spats if there are too many members who have no stake in the local problem before it.
And one of the things that I’ve admired in my time in new Hampshire has been the way nh government is organized, to put the people making the decisions as close as possible to the people who were receiving the service.
Creation of a Rail Authority seemed to have strong support on the committee.
But the bill probably won’t spell out how much the Authority needs to raise to get trains rolling from Manchester through Nashua.
The latest estimates put the cost of the project at more than 110 million dollars...of federal and local money.
That estimate is bound to be revised, as the cost of has grown over the last couple of years.
Another matter that needs the attention of state lawmakers is the issue of establishing liability limits for the commuter rail system.
A House committee is looking at setting up a study to take a look at that question.
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