Fly New York. According to BR commenters, there are a lot of pros and cons to
high speed rail development. The pros would involve jobs in the short
term and a solid transportation alternative and greater connectivity in the
long term. With a push for high speed rail across the country, is this
something we want to be left out of?
Just today, Governor David Paterson issued yet another
statement calling for high speed rail, reiterating a plan posed by President Barack Obama, and of course,
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt is right on the bandwagon with them.
York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner
Astrid C. Glynn said, “The State Rail Plan provides a contemporary
blueprint for managing and improving New York’s railroad infrastructure, an
integral part of our transportation network of highways, bridges, transit
systems, ports and airports. This far-reaching plan outlines how to utilize
existing resources most efficiently and positions us to improve mobility and
connectivity across the State by creating a network that makes moving people
and goods on rail a truly viable alternative.”
The Plan as presented by Paterson and Glynn outlines
priorities for funding consideration from the $9.3 billion dedicated for
Intercity Rail in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the
reauthorization of the Federal Surface Transportation Act which is due October
1, 2009 and for the development of the next State transportation plan, which
will succeed the current plan following the 2009-10 State Fiscal Year.
The plan calls for the following:
· Doubling the number of intercity rail passengers along New York’s
three major corridors: New York City to Albany, Albany to Niagara Falls and
Albany to Montreal, as well as strategies to increase reliability on all three
corridors;
· Providing frequent and convenient passenger rail service
connecting cities across the State as an energy and time-saving alternative to
driving or flying, helping to reduce congestion on highways and at airports.
Rail plan goals include:
· Achieving on-time
performance of at least 95 percent between Albany and New York City;
· Improving rail service
between Albany and Niagara Falls, with connections in Utica, Syracuse and
Rochester. The Plan includes a Third Track Initiative, which aims to establish
a dedicated third track for high speed passenger rail service across Upstate
from Niagara Falls to Albany with a potential for reducing the travel time by 2
hours or more;
· Shortening the travel
time for rail service between Albany and Montreal. Currently, trains take about
eight hours to make that trip. The Plan’s goal is to reduce that time to 6.5
hours; and
· Establishing new
passenger service, where viable, such as between Saratoga and Albany, Niagara
Falls and Buffalo, and Binghamton and New York City;
· Increasing freight rail usage by 25 percent to reduce growth of
truck traffic and energy consumption;
· Allowing modern freight cars to access the New York City metro
area and Long Island along routes east of the Hudson River;
· Adding at least three new intermodal facilities/inland ports
across the State to serve the rapidly growing container segment of rail traffic,
which will help remove long-haul trucks from highways and deliver products to
consumers faster; and
· Creating the first “green”
short line fleet in the nation.
As
a special point of interest, Central Terminal Restoration Committee President Michael
Miller says he’s been talking to everyone and anyone who will listen about
incorporation the Central Terminal in plans for area high speed rail. The possibility of restored use over
reuse is exciting to imagine.
Bottom photo by Bella Buscarino: Buffalo Central Terminal as seen from an Amtrak train.