SPRINGFIELD - The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said Tuesday that it has retained a consulting firm for $1 million to study the feasibility of east-west rail from Boston through Worcester to Springfield and as far west as Pittsfield.

Victoria Mier, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said work will begin as soon as the deal is final and a notice to proceed is issued.

Timothy W. Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, said he learned Saturday that MassDOT plans to issue that notice in early 2019, with the study beginning soon thereafter. It will take about one year to complete.

"We are certainly very hopeful," state Sen. Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow, said. "What we need is a real blueprint for how to make high-speed service from Boston to Springfield a reality."

Gov. Charlie Baker and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, announced the study in June.

The MassDOT update on east-west rail was one of the presentations Saturday as rail passengers gathered in Springfield for the annual Rail Users Network forum with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and rail advocacy group Trains in the Valley. Lesser and Neal spoke to the group.

Brennan said consultants will look at six options, each with different speeds and a different number of stops along the way. At least one option will include a 90-minute service from Springfield Union Station to Boston's South Station. The goal is trips under two hours.

Critics will say they can easily beat two hours traveling by automobile, Brennan said.

"But the automobile has to be moving, which it is not most of the time," he said. "It's not uncommon to hit multiple traffic tie-ups." Train time can be productive working time with a laptop, and train travelers are relived of parking headaches once they hit Boston.

For trains to make Springfield to South Station in less than two hours, they must hit 60 to 90 mph on at least some stretches of track. That speed makes up for sections of track where such speeds aren't attainable and for time spent at stations letting passengers on and off.

The idea is not just to start train service but to improve connections between eastern and western Massachusetts.

"Boston is obviously white hot in terms of its economic progress but also stratospheric in terms of its housing costs," Brennan said. "This could lift all boats."

Among other updates at the Rail Users Network forum: Connecticut transportation officials are pleased with Hartford Line and CTrail service that began in June from Springfield to Hartford. So pleased, Brennan said, that ConnDOT is exploring the possibility of extending all 17 of its daily trains to Springfield. As it stands, Springfield only gets 12 Hartford Line trains a day. The rest stop in Hartford.

"Again, underscore 'possibility,'" Brennan said. "No promises. "

ConnDOT spokesman Judd Everhart said no decisions have been made.

"We are always looking for ways to improve service, but have no plans right now to announce any service expansions," he said.

If ConnDOT adds more north-south trains, it would make it easier to commute to Springfield, Bennan said. Under the schedule in place, there are more southbound morning trains than inbound morning trains.

Hartford Line service will extend from Springfield to Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield under a two-year pilot program set to start in June 2019.

People backing the Berkshire Flyer also had an update at the forum: Thomas Matuszko, executive director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, said in an interview Tuesday the hope is to have passenger service from Pittsfield to New York's Penn Station in 2020.