Lawmakers and residents from towns across southern Rhode Island gathered in the statehouse for what was supposed to be a rally protesting a planned federal railway bypass. But the event turned into a celebration after a surprising turnaround from Governor Gina Raimondo.
Dozens of people crammed into the Statehouse lobby expecting to protest when Charlestown Town Councilor Virginia Lee told the crowd the governor agreed with them “and is officially making ‘Keep the train to Providence, but drop the bypass’ the position of the state of Rhode Island.”
The plan is part of the federal Northeast Corridor Expansion project, which would expand rail capacity and speed up trips from Boston to Washington D.C. Raimondo still supports the larger plan, which expands high speed rail through Providence.
But many residents opposed the plan over concerns about green space, homes and tribal land in the path of the proposed railway.
Charlestown resident and member of the Narragansett Tribe Loren Spears says a proposed railroad cuts through tribal lands.
“For the Narragansett Tribe, really sovereignty was at stake, when you are crossing tribal lands without the permission of tribal government or tribal people, then you are breaking sovereignty laws.”
Charlestown resident Kim Coulter says the rail proposal runs through her cattle farm.
“We would have been out of business. The train would have divided the farm right down the middle, leaving all of the rest of the land unusable. So our farm, our heritage, would have been gone.”
Now residents say they must petition Rhode Island's congressional delegation to pursue the changes with the Federal Railroad Administration.