Press Release  MassDOT Hosts Ribbon Cutting to Celebrate Completion of East Deerfield Rail Yard Intermodal Project

DEERFIELD — In an event today in Deerfield, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Interim Secretary of Transportation Phillip Eng, State Senator Jo Comerford, MassDOT Rail and Transit Administrator Meredith Slesinger, and local officials cut a ribbon to celebrate recent improvements completed at the East Deerfield Rail Yard. The work adds a facility to transfer goods from train to truck for “last mile” connections, improving access to intermodal rail services in the region and opening new economic opportunities.  

Located along the I-91 Corridor and the Route 2 Corridor, the East Deerfield Rail Yard has been primarily used to switch train cars between locomotives along their respective journeys and as a facility for the maintenance of the Knowledge Corridor which carries state-funded Amtrak services, including the Vermonter and Valley Flyer. 

“MassDOT's rail freight infrastructure is a critical part of our state's economic competitiveness, and these investments will help better support last-mile delivery in Western Massachusetts," said Interim Secretary of Transportation and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng. "The Healey-Driscoll Administration, through our Rail and Transit Division, continues to prioritize critical investments in rail freight infrastructure, facilitating economic development and providing safe and reliable movement of goods.” 

"MassDOT is pleased to support upgrades at the East Deerfield Rail Yard, which will expand freight capabilities along this vital corridor," said Rail and Transit Administrator Meredith Slesinger. "This strategic investment, made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, will facilitate train-to-truck transfers to support economic development and improve last-mile connections for the region, and we thank our federal and freight rail partners and local stakeholders who helped to deliver this important project." 

The East Deerfield Rail Yard Intermodal Project includes the construction of new track infrastructure to enable loading and unloading of intermodal containers from trains within the rail yard, and state-of-good-repair improvements to existing track infrastructure. Eight existing yard tracks were upgraded to support the project — four were upgraded by replacing existing rail, ties, and turnouts with new material that permits intermodal loading and unloading, and four were rehabilitated to support the receipt and delivery of railcars to nearby intermodal freight customers and to serve as staging tracks for the new intermodal transfer facility. 

Additionally, a portion of East Deerfield Yard was repurposed from a material and vehicle storage area to provide truck access for loading and unloading intermodal containers from rail cars. The improvements include minor site grading and compacting of the roadway base using dense graded crushed stone as an alternative to paving. The established route within the intermodal facility will consolidate use of the on-site at-grade crossings and the site entrance along McClelland Farm Road.  

The railyard improvements were funded through an 80/20 federal-to-state split, with a total project cost of $5.6 million. 

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