Charlestown Gets a Seat on Amtrak Rail Study Panel

Town Administrator Jeff Allen will sit on the advisory committee for what the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) has viewed as an existential threat

By Adriana Vossari, an AI avatar used by Uprise RI to scan public records and then prepare articles like these. For more on how this is done: How a Rhode Island meeting becomes a story | Uprise RI

The study will weigh rail options between New Haven and Providence, including possible new alignments, a question that drew strong opposition in Charlestown in 2016. Residents can comment now, and the town has a seat on the advisory committee.

Charlestown Town Administrator Jeff Allen says he has been selected for the Public Advisory Committee guiding Amtrak's New Haven-to-Providence Capacity Planning Study, and he plans to attend the committee's first meeting on October 14, according to a notice posted on the town's website.

The study will look at ways to add rail capacity between New Haven and Providence, including possible new alignments and improvements to existing lines. No route has been selected, and the current phase does not include construction, land acquisition or environmental permitting.

For Charlestown, the subject is familiar. A decade ago, a federal rail plan proposed a new stretch of track that would have cut through the area, and residents pushed back hard.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Even though the so-called Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass was never a serious threat, as I explain HERE, and died in 2017, the CCA has repeatedly attempted to revive this issue each election cycle. The CCA has always run on fear by raising up some demon, often imaginary, and presenting themselves as the only protection Charlestown has. Kind of Trumpian even before Trump emerged on the scene. I have also gotten a little Trumpy by calling this obsession the Charlestown Choo-Choo Hoax. - Will Collette

What Allen's role is

Amtrak invited Allen to join the committee in an August 19 letter signed by Jennifer Mitchell, Amtrak's executive vice president for strategy and planning. The letter, attached to the town notice, describes the committee as a group of 10 to 15 community representatives.

Members are expected to help shape the study's outreach, goals and development of alternatives, and to review the alternatives analysis, according to the letter. Amtrak said it expects the committee to meet quarterly over a roughly two-year study, with three rounds of public open houses at key milestones.

Even Joe couldn't make it happen

The committee is advisory. It does not give Charlestown authority to pick or block a route. In his notice, Allen said his participation will let him bring Charlestown's perspective to the process and stay informed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since major renovations to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor has no support in the Trump Administration or in the GOP-controlled Congress, this is likely to be a very boring process where they will brainstorm what might hypothetically happen. It's worth noting that even under Uncle Joe Biden's administration, there was no movement and certainly no existential threat to Charlestown. Given Joe's famous love of Amtrak and Congressional support for infrastructure investment, Charlestown remained safe and secure from any choo-choo invasions.  - Will Collette

What the study covers

Amtrak announced the study on July 7. The agency is working with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the Connecticut and Massachusetts transportation departments, the MBTA, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Northeast Corridor Commission.

The study area is wider than its name suggests. According to a study FAQ published in June, it runs from New Haven east to New London, north to Hartford, and northeast to Providence. It covers passenger service on Amtrak, CTrail Shore Line East, the Hartford Line and MBTA Commuter Rail.

Any alternative must begin in New Haven and end in Providence, but options may vary in how they connect the two, the FAQ says. Issues on the table include capacity limits on the existing corridor, movable bridges, roadway grade crossings and shoreline exposure.

In its announcement, Amtrak said it has no preconceived preferred alignment or package of improvements and is not using the earlier federal plan as its starting point. The study stops at conceptual design and alternatives analysis. Amtrak said any project that came out of it would require separate planning, design and environmental-permitting work.

The study website says work began in mid-2026 and will include about 24 months of engagement, coordination and analysis.

How Charlestown got here

The earlier plan, known as NEC Future, was a Federal Railroad Administration effort to chart the Northeast Corridor's long-term future. Its December 2016 final environmental impact statement identified a preferred alternative that included a new rail segment between Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and Kenyon, Rhode Island.

Normally, fellow CCA leader and Charlestown Planning \
Commissar Ruth Platner (left) would read reports and
tell Gentz (R) what they mean. Photo by Will Collette

That proposal drew opposition in Charlestown and nearby communities. Public comments recorded by the FRA include concerns from Charlestown-area residents about home values, private wells and quality of life.

EDITOR'S NOTE: One reason the CCA got so worked up about the Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass is because they MISSED it when it was referenced in a report sent to the town months earlier. As former CCA leader and Town Council President Tom Gentz said at the time, "Who's got time to read this stuff."

The FRA's final decision, issued July 12, 2017, did not adopt that segment. The record of decision selected no capacity-expanding infrastructure between New Haven and Providence. Instead, it called for a later capacity-planning study that would examine options both on and off the existing corridor, including inland and shoreline routes. The current study is that follow-up.

The Charlestown Citizens Alliance, a local advocacy group, has warned that the new study could again consider a bypass-like route. EDITOR AGAIN: Of course, they do. It's an election year and they need a boogeyman. The group also criticized the notice and format of an Amtrak pop-up session held August 6 at Ninigret Park.

How to weigh in

Residents can submit comments and sign up for study updates on the official website, newhavenprovidencestudy.com. Amtrak also takes questions and feedback by email at info@newhavenprovidencestudy.com. Neither the website nor Amtrak's announcement lists a closing date for comments.

The advisory committee's first meeting is set for October 14, according to Allen's notice.