New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority

New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority

The New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority (NHRTA) is an administrative agency attached to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT), created in 2007 to oversee the development of commuter rail and other passenger rail service in New Hampshire.[1]

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Capital Corridor

The initial focus of the NHRTA has been on the proposed Capital Corridor, which would connect Concord, New Hampshire, with Boston, Massachusetts, via Manchester and Nashua and the existing Lowell MBTA Commuter Rail line, and would also include a stop at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. The route would also be shared with a possible future high-speed rail line connecting Montreal and Boston. In October 2010, the NHRTA received grants in the amount of $2.24 million from the Federal Railroad Administration and $1.9 million from the Federal Transit Administration to study and plan the Capital Corridor, marking the first time that the two federal agencies committed to work jointly on a planning grant.[2]

Additional current projects of the NHRTA include the possible extension of the Haverhill MBTA Commuter Rail line to Plaistow, New Hampshire along the Coastal Corridor. Possible longer term projects include assessing the need and desire for passenger rail service elsewhere in the state, and updating the state Rail Plan with a vision for restored and improved passenger and freight rail service throughout New Hampshire and connecting to neighboring states.[3]

Support

The Granite State Poll, conducted by the UNH Survey Center from January 27-February 6, 2011, showed overwhelming support for the Capital Corridor project generally, and strong support from all areas of the state and across all political parties and ideologies.[4] There is also strong support for the project among the business community in Nashua and Manchester, including the respective chambers of commerce and New Hampshire Businesses for Transportation and Infrastructure. Local elected officials of both parties have also expressed support for the project, including supportive resolutions by the town councils of Bedford and Merrimack, both largely Republican communities, and the Nashua Board of Aldermen.[5]

2011 legislative repeal attempt

Following the 2010 election, some members of the New Hampshire General Court (the state legislature) began efforts to repeal the NHRTA. The new Republican majority in the House passed HB 218, an act to repeal the NHRTA, by a vote of 190-119 in March 2011. Following a promised veto by Governor John Lynch, a Democrat,[6] and a committee recommendation to kill the bill, the Senate passed an amended version of HB 218 in May 2011. The amended bill would maintain the NHRTA, but drastically reduce its responsibilities and powers.[7] Following a House vote to concur with the bill as amended by the Senate, Gov. Lynch vetoed HB 218 on June 15, 2011, citing support for the project from community and business leaders and the economic development that the project would generate.[8]

References

External links


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