Thin crowds at Warwick’s InterLink facility; commuter interest growing

MISSING LINK: Warwick resident Lawrence Cohen settles in for his commute to Cambridge, Mass., departing from the InterLink facility in Warwick. The number of commuters is slowly growing, officials say. /
MISSING LINK: Warwick resident Lawrence Cohen settles in for his commute to Cambridge, Mass., departing from the InterLink facility in Warwick. The number of commuters is slowly growing, officials say. /

About 15 passengers had their pick of seats as they entered the Mass. Bay Transportation Authority’s 7:15 a.m. train, departing the new InterLink facility at Warwick’s T.F. Green Airport for Boston on Jan 10.
The crowd is thin most days, says Bill Powers, a parking administrator who greets commuters at the platform each weekday. Powers, who works for parking-garage contractor Standard Parking, has a front-row view of the action at Rhode Island’s newest commuter rail station.
Imbedded in a $267 million facility that also includes a commuter parking garage and space for rental-car companies, state officials herald the MBTA station as a potential catalyst for economic development.
Trains started rolling on Dec. 6 with three trains departing each weekday morning and three arriving in the evening. The MBTA also operates two trains in the morning from Providence to Warwick and three trains in the evening on the reverse route.
How many people board the trains is unclear. The MBTA was able to provide ridership figures only for some trips. According to the limited data available, ridership has varied between one and 56 for the trains to and from Boston. The trains moving between Warwick and Providence typically have just a handful of passengers, if any.
But Powers said interest is growing.
“Every day I see three, four or five new customers,” he said.
Powers said he typically watches about 20 passengers board the earliest train to Boston – departing at 6:13 a.m. About 40 people board the next train – at 6:52 a.m. – and another 15 or so the last train at 7:15 a.m. Those numbers closely match official figures the MBTA provided for a smattering of trains.
The passengers, Powers said, tell him they come from as far south as South Kingstown to as close as 10 minutes away. Most are headed to jobs in Boston, taking the train in lieu of a car or as an alternative to hoping on at Providence or South Attleboro.
Commuters pull into the 640-space, commuter-parking garage – largely empty on a recent morning visit – or are dropped off at a driveway a few feet from the platform. Some scurry to machines to pay for parking while others hustle onboard or stop to chat with Powers. Jeff Gordon typically gets dropped off, on his way to a job as an energy consultant at PowerAdvocate in Boston. Gordon, a Warwick resident, drove to work before the station opened. The train avoids wear and tear on his car and, because he does not need to pay for parking, the $16.50 ride is a deal. Traffic jams are also avoided.
“It’s just a convenience factor,” Gordon said.
But Gordon said the floors of empty parking spaces make him wonder if the millions of dollars the state and federal government invested in the facility were worth it. And critics have noted the train schedule is of little help for people wishing to take a train and connect with a flight from T.F. Green.
State and airport officials say ridership – and by extension parking – will increase with time. The schedule launched in December is a preliminary one. Officials at the R.I. Department of Transportation, which manages the relationship with the MBTA, said track work must finish before the schedule can be expanded.
The current schedule is designed “to give Rhode Islanders an option to get up to the city and the fact that it’s at the airport is an extra bonus,” DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin said. “As we do expand the schedule there will be more opportunities to make a flight connection.”
DOT Chief of Intermodal Planning Stephen Devine said the track work, which consists of building switches to allow trains to change tracks, is expected to be completed this summer. Shortly after track work finishes, DOT plans arrivals and departures totaling 20 trips a day, service that will eventually be extended to a new station under construction in North Kingstown, St. Martin said.
The DOT and the R.I. Airport Corporation, which manages the Warwick facility, have been pleased with the train service so far, officials at both agencies said.
“What we’re seeing is there’s a good level of demand and I fully expect that demand to continue to grow, and grow quite a bit,” said airport corporation President and CEO Kevin Dillon.
The corporation is also exploring adding amenities, such as a vendor selling coffee. Right now, the passenger counts may not justify that but for shivering commuters like Gordon it would be a welcome addition. The corporation and DOT also plan to tweak and add signage to the facility, actually two connected labyrinth-like garages.
All that should help commuters find their way to the trains and, hopefully, encourage them and others to use them.
More commuters would be welcomed by nearby businesses.
“It’s a beautiful thing to have here and you want it to work,” said Donat Coutu, whose family owns Donat’s Place, a diner across the street from the InterLink.
Coutu said he has seen a handful of customers drop by for breakfast before boarding a train. But those customers are few and far between. Still he – and other nearby business owners – is hopeful that more riders and customers with come with time.
“A lot of people are still not used to it,” said Hang You, a manager at the nearby Tea Garden Chinese restaurant.
Things may also change when work finishes on a crosswalk on Jefferson Boulevard that divides the InterLink from many nearby businesses. Lori Piscopio, owner of the Iron Works Tavern across the street from the InterLink, likened the increased traffic alone on the boulevard to free advertising. The crosswalk, she said, may just encourage commuters to venture outside the facility.
“It’s going to help,” she said. “Every day it’s going to get better.”
The number of commuters will surely increase if Michael D’Ambra Sr., president of D’Ambra Construction, proceeds with a project to build office towers, retail space and a hotel next to the InterLink. D’Ambra envisions a day when office workers at the complex arrive at work via commuter train. Or executives from around the region debark from trains and head to the hotel for a conference.
D’Ambra said the project, which would include a pedestrian bridge to the station, has secured the major permits required and the company is “fully ready to roll” when the traffic picks up at the InterLink and the economy turns around.
“We’re very impressed with the station,” he said. “We think it’s a great economic plus for the state, the city of Warwick and our property.” •

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