An old Western Mass rail line could find new life with the help of federal stimulus money. A unanimous vote put into motion a bid to rehabilitate a rail line that parallels Interstate 91 thru the Pioneer Valley.

The passenger service would link White River Junction, Vermont with Springfield on a more direct route, but would also restore rail service to Greenfield and Northampton, connecting those cities to Springfield. The tracks along this route already exist, but they only carry freight trains and are in poor repair.

"Trains that go from Springfield to the Vermont line, that stay on the main line which parallels I-91, are restricted to a ten mile per hour speed limit," says Tim Brennan, Executive Director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

Because of that, the daily Vermonter train must make a detour East to Palmer before heading North thru Amherst and finally onto Vermont.

"It's a big detour," says Brennan. "It costs in time 45 to 50 minutes. It's expensive, you burn more fuel."

The Pioneer Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization met and voted to apply for 25 million dollars from the President's Federal Stimulus plan to restore the original line thru Northampton and re-align the region's rail system.

"Our region economically works North to South, and it would be wonderful to have a rail line from Connecticut all the way up to Vermont," says Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins.

The "yes" vote does not secure the funds. The Commonwealth will now compete for the money with projects from across the country. But transportation officials believe the Vermonter plan is a perfect fit for stimulus funds.

"This is a way to improve infrastructure, but it's also a way to stimulate the economy, either save jobs or create jobs," says Brennan.

Officials hope this plan will compliment a plan to connect Springfield and New Haven, Connecticut with a Commuter Rail.