Amtrak Unveils Ambitious Northeast Corridor Plan, But It Would Take 30 Years to be Realized

[marmar]

from the Transport Politic blog:





After months of sitting on the sidelines as states and regional agencies promoted major new high-speed rail investments, Amtrak has finally announced what it hopes to achieve over the next thirty years: A brand-new, 426-mile, two-track corridor running from Boston to Washington, bringing true high-speed rail to the Northeast Corridor for the first time.

The report, released today at a press conference in Philadelphia, suggests investing $4.7 billion annually over the next 25 years on the creation of a route that would allow trains to speed between New York and Washington in 96 minutes and between New York and Boston in just 84 minutes. The line would run along a corridor that could stretch in new tunnels under the city centers of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, and along new rail rights-of-way through Connecticut. New stations would be built in every city the project would serve. This Next-Generation High-Speed Rail, as Amtrak is calling it, would produce overall average speeds of about 140 mph by 2040 (top speeds of 220 mph), compared to 75 mph today. It would undoubtedly significantly expand the mobility of residents of the Northeastern United States.

Amtrak claims that once in operation the line could produce an annual profit of almost $1 billion a year (in 2010 dollars), increasing overall intercity rail ridership along the corridor from about 12 million today to 38 million by 2050.

But it is worth being skeptical of the political chances for the project’s implementation. The timing of the plan’s release could not be much worse. With anti-rail and austerity-focused Republicans likely to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives in this fall’s elections and little serious talk of increasing funds for fast train projects in the immediate term at the national level, a vast increase in capital financing for Amtrak is hard to imagine. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/09/28/amtrak-unveils-ambitious-northeast-corridor-plan-but-it-would-take-30-years-to-be-realized/

[n2doc]

1. America, the can do country n/t

[KamaAina]

2. "Republicans likely to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives in this fall’s elections"

Don't bogart that joint, dude. :smoke:

[gratuitous]

3. Well, the longer we delay this

The cheaper it will get, and the faster the construction will be.

Exhibit 1,234,567 in a continuing series I call "Good Stuff We Could Get Done If We Weren't All Such A Bunch Of Whiners" or more appropriately, "How Republicans Are Motherfuckers And Why We Shouldn't Engage In Bipartisanship With Such Worthless People, So Just Fucking Do It Already And Let Republicans Explain Later Why They Fought It Tooth and Nail."

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Gee.... so many miles..... so many years

High-speed rail in China

The entire HSR network will reach 13,000 kilometres (8,100 mi) by 2012 and 16,000 kilometres (9,900 mi) by 2020.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_China

[bluestateguy]

5. Call it the Blue State Express

Which is probably the good ole' boys in the red state dominated Senate would gum up all the funding for it.

[thereismore]

6. "austerity-focused Republicans likely to retake control" Fuck that. I am tired of everything

that's said and implied by this expression.