My thesis examines the historical decline of passenger rail in the United States and evaluates the feasibility of a coordinated regional rail revival in New England through the creation of an interstate compact. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, railroads formed the backbone of American economic development by linking regional markets and enabling large-scale passenger and freight mobility. However, federal transportation policy in the mid-twentieth century increasingly prioritized highways and aviation, particularly after the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Combined with the expansion of automobile ownership and regulatory constraints on railroads, these policy choices gradually displaced rail as the dominant mode of American transportation.
Despite renewed interest in rail in recent decades due to concerns about congestion, climate change, and regional economic decline, major passenger rail expansion in the United States continues to face substantial institutional and political barriers. Fragmented governance structures, inconsistent funding streams, and partisan polarization at the federal level have contributed to policy drift that limits coordinated infrastructure investment. This research analyzes these barriers through theoretical frameworks, including path dependency and Kingdon's multiple streams model of public policy, illustrating how institutional veto points and funding fragmentation inhibit transportation reform.
My thesis also examines comparative examples of regional rail governance in the United States and abroad, demonstrating that successful rail systems rely on sustained public investment and coordinated institutional frameworks. Drawing on this analysis, the project proposes creating a New England interstate compact to overcome governance fragmentation. The proposed compact would establish a multistate advisory and planning authority responsible for coordinating rail modernization, conducting economic and environmental impact studies, standardizing procurement and signaling systems, and pursuing federal transportation funding. By enabling the six New England states to collectively plan and finance a regional passenger rail network, such a compact could strengthen regional economic integration, reduce transportation GHG emissions, and demonstrate how interstate cooperation can address large-scale infrastructure challenges within contemporary American federalism.