The FRA committed to an open and transparent public involvement process for NEC FUTURE. From 2012 through 2017, the FRA held over 40 public meetings and hearings and over 250 meetings with agencies, public officials, and railroad operators. The FRA will continue to coordinate with stakeholders as corridor-wide planning continues.
Information on the public meetings held throughout the NEC FUTURE process, including presentation materials, can be found below.January-February 2017 The FRA held informal public meetings to share information about the Preferred Alternative described in the NEC FUTURE Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Open houses were held in Springfield, MA, and Baltimore, MD on January 25 and February 1 respectively, and two virtual meetings were held via webinar on February 13 and 16.
December 2015-January 2016 The FRA held public hearings in each of the states within the NEC FUTURE Study Area during the public comment period on the Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Tier 1 Draft EIS). The hearings included a brief presentation about the Tier 1 Draft EIS, and provided a forum for members of the public to make formal comments on the document. The materials presented at the hearings can be viewed at the following links:
Public hearing dates and locations:
September 2015 The FRA held a webinar on September 17, 2015 to share information about the alternatives being evaluated in the Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The webinar included an update on NEC FUTURE, the latest information on the No Action and Action Alternatives (refined since last year's Open House Meetings), and an opportunity to ask the FRA NEC FUTURE team questions
November 2014 In November 2014, the FRA held a series of open house meetings to introduce the alternatives that would be evaluated in the Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement. At each open house, display boards were presented outlining the NEC FUTURE program, the Tier 1 EIS Alternatives, and the next steps in the environmental review process. In addition, two informational videos were available. One provided an overview of the NEC FUTURE and the other presented an animation of existing train movements along the NEC. FRA representatives and other NEC FUTURE team members were available to discuss the material and answer questions.
View the Open House Meeting Display Boards [48 MB]
Please note, different connection speeds may require additional time for this document to download.
The open houses were held from 4-7 p.m. in the following locations:
April 2013 With the release of the Preliminary Alternatives Report in early April, the FRA held a series of informal workshops to maintain an ongoing discussion with the public.
The April Dialogues were designed to provide a project update, specifically, the process used to develop 15 Preliminary Alternatives. During the workshops, staff presented the components of these alternatives: program levels, services options, and routes. The program levels vary from modest capital investment and service options to dedicated high speed rail and robust regional service. At each level the alternatives present different service options, including new types of service to increase frequency, minimize travel time, or increase the number of "one-seat rides". The routes connect key travel markets. The meetings included small group discussions of these components, as well as potential criteria for use in screening the Preliminary Alternatives. The FRA received valuable feedback at these sessions, which was considered in the alternatives development process.
As with the December Dialogues, workshops were again held in each of the three project regions:
December 2012 In early December 2012, the FRA held a series of informal workshops to continue the discussion with the public that began during the Scoping process.
Two webinars were also offered to accommodate interested persons unable to travel to one of the meeting sites. These took place during the afternoon and evening of December 6.
The December Dialogues were designed to help inform the analysis to be undertaken by the FRA and the development of rail alternatives. During the workshops, staff provided an overview of the project and its focus on travel markets, presented a summary of the comments received during Scoping, and reviewed the framework being used to develop alternatives. The three live meetings included small group discussions of the goals for NEC FUTURE and the passenger service characteristics important in developing and evaluating alternatives. The NEC FUTURE team greatly appreciates the valuable feedback received at these sessions, which will help inform the technical work to be undertaken in 2013. Future workshop locations will rotate to include other states and cities along the corridor.
Workshops were held in each of the three project regions:
August 2012 The first public meetings for NEC FUTURE were Scoping Meetings held in August 2012 in nine locations from Boston to Washington, D.C. Comments received at these meetings and since by email, mail and through this website helped to define the scope of study for the Tier 1 EIS, which was conducted in accordance with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts. The materials presented at the Scoping Meetings are available at the adjacent links.
The Scoping Meeting Presentation provided an overview of the study and process to be followed. Narrated by Rebecca Reyes-Alicea of the FRA, the presentation lasts approximately 7 minutes and outlines some of the issues the corridor faces. The Scoping Meeting Display Boards provided additional information on the study purpose and need, the environmental process being followed, the alternatives development process, and the study schedule.
The information posted on this website includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. The FRA provides these links and pointers solely for information and convenience. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the NEC FUTURE website and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website. The FRA does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website, or endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, the views they express, or the products/services they offer. The FRA cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites and is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
