With the Westfield station empty, the mayor sets up MassDOT at the passenger train stop

WESTFIELD – Mayor Michael McCabe met with Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials Oct. 15 at the former train depot at 16 N. Elm St. to discuss the possibility of an East-West Rail stop in Westfield.

At the meeting was Andrew Koziol, director of East-West Rail; MassDOT Intergovernmental Affairs Chief Gus Bickford; and Kristen Elechko, director of Governor Maura Healey’s Western Massachusetts office, who arranged the meeting.

MassDOT officials responded mutedly to the idea, McCabe said. He said the problem was that a stop in Westfield was not in the original plans for the proposed intercity rail service between Boston and Pittsfield. That’s why, he said, MassDOT officials were cautious about their involvement.