MassDOT has undertaken a planning and design effort for a future intercity passenger rail station serving the Town of Palmer and surrounding communities that will enhance mobility and connectivity, support local planning goals, and drive economic development. The potential station would be served by Compass Rail trains, namely the West-East Rail corridors of the Inland Route and the Boston & Albany Corridor. The project will propose a location for a future intercity passenger rail station in the Palmer area and develop a conceptual design. Construction funds are not yet identified.
Primary study components:
- Alternatives analysis to identify a station site
- Conceptual design at station site
- Environmental scoping for conceptual design
- Market analysis to support planned investment
Since beginning this effort in early 2024, the project team, guided by a steering committee of local residents and officials, has been working through an alternatives analysis of potential station locations. From a beginning list of eleven potential sites, five sites were eliminated due to being located off-corridor or having insufficient right-of-way to accommodate MassDOT's required infrastructure (an 800’ high-level platform located on a 1,775' siding track).
These six remaining feasible sites were presented at a public meeting at the Palmer Public Library on December 16, 2024:
- Site A: East of Crane Hill Road, Wilbraham
- Site F: Palmer DPW lot
- Site B: South of Palmer Yard (1199 South Main Street)
- Site I: North of Palmer Yard (1181 Park Street)
- Site C: US-20, East of Nipmuck Street (1511 Park Street)
- Site D: Boston Road, solar panel site
After the public meeting on December 16, the project team and local steering committee members eliminated Site A, the sole Wilbraham site, as a potential station location. This is because Site A demonstrated challenges with constructability and station access and had not received any community support neither written nor verbal. The remaining five sites in Palmer continue to be evaluated.
Throughout January 2025, the project team has concluded the comparative evaluation of the remaining five sites. This effort included reviewing and understanding public feedback (shared at the public meeting and directly online) and coordinating with the local steering committee.
MassDOT has identified Site B (South of Palmer Yard), which is about ½ mile from downtown Palmer, as the preferred site to advance to conceptual design. Based on the comparative evaluation of sites, Site B appears likely to be the least costly and most straightforward to construct and is among the sites with the least anticipated permitting. Of the sites included in the Level 2 Comparative Evaluation, public feedback also seems to favor Site B for its relative proximity to downtown and simplicity.
In selecting this site, the project team will begin to develop a conceptual design which will allow MassDOT to meaningfully engage railway owner CSX, the site property owner, and proposed operator Amtrak on the feasibility of constructing a future station. The conceptual design phase will begin to outline the details for a station, including access and amenities, and its potential implementation. This project is still in the planning stages, and construction funds have not been identified.