The Town Council of Charlestown has called a special meeting Tuesday. Residents are hoping to find out more about a federal proposal to expand railroads running through their rural town.
Residents say they don’t know much about the proposed $120 billion program from the federal Railroad Administration, known as the Northeast Corridor Expansion. The project would refurbish and reconstruct rail lines stretching from Boston to Washington D.C. –the most heavily trafficked passage in the nation.
The proposal includes new track through parts of Westerly and Charlestown. Residents have concerns that the rail would cut through farms, preservation lands and residents’ homes, and some residents say they feel the federal government has failed to include them in the process of creating the proposal.
The expansion is intended to allow faster train speeds through the corridor, cutting down travel time between Boston and New York.
The expansion is currently undergoing an environmental impact study.
