The transcontinental railroad and the US interstate highway system are two examples of transportation investments that yielded massive economic benefits. Recently the Capital Region Council of Governments and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission commissioned a study to look at the economic impact of restoring regular passenger rail service from Hartford to Springfield to Boston. The bottom line is that for a six to eight billion dollar investment, the payback over 30 years would be nine to ten times that investment and yield growth that the region has missed over the past decades.

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