60103 said:
Zedob:
I had to change trains in Springfield about 30 years ago, with a several hour wait. The station looked as if it were in the middle of renovations; there were no working lockers and no satisfactory waiting area. I took my luggage and walked to the bus station.
It still isn't an appealing place to go wait for a train. They really need to think about commuter service. They have it, but the infrastructure needs an overhaul. Springfield sits as a nice hub between Boston and Albany, and lots of places up north down to New Haven through Hartford.
With the proper marketing schemes, inter urban service would be workable and nice. Especially considring the fact that SPringfield just blew a bunch of money on a brand new civic/convention center and stuck it right in the middle of downtown, which has to be one of the biggest nightmares for some one to drive around. And that's for someone who lives around here. I hate to see people from out of town trying to find a parking space (you could park in one of the pot holes downtown and then someone could park on top of you. That would provide some extra space).
The train station is within walking distance, but kind of hairy and scary, especially at midnight when concerts and such finish up. I'd take a train to Hartford for a night on the town or to visit the museums, but not in its present state.
From what I've read, Metro North is supposed to take over the route between NH and Springfield, but they have to double track the line, that was just singled tracked a few years back. One step forward, two steps back?
Ok, I'm finished with hijacking and ranting.