United States
Obama’s February 2011 pledge to allocate $US 53bn to improve passenger services over the next six years. The NEC was one beneficiary of the
returned funds. $US 450m is now being spent on improving track, signalling and electrification systems between New Brunswick and Trenton which will increase speeds to 257km/h. In Maryland $US 22m is being spent to replace the Susquehanna bridge, while $US 295 million was allocated to construct a new line in the New York borough of Queens allowing Amtrak services to bypass a busy passenger junction. Yet Amtrak recognises that securing funds in this manner is not sustainable for an infrastructure project like the NEC. It favours a long-term funding structure which provides consistent support throughout the duration of the project by avoiding the uncertainty of an annual appropriations process. Tax credits and federal funding guarantees for private investors could also be used to encourage support.
The outcome of this November’s
presidential election might ultimately prove crucial to the realisation of the entire programme, particularly with Republicans continuing to label infrastructure projects as too expensive, and dismissing Amtrak’s ability to deliver.
Mr Pat Toomey, a conservative Republican on the Senate’s
transportation committee, might be best placed to alter this mindset. Yet this does not seem likely. “The idea of high- speed rail is intriguing,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirerin July, “but I have doubts that Amtrak has demonstrated the ability to manage
A new Gateway to New York City A
MAJOR element of Amtrak’s plans to revamp the NEC is improving access to Manhattan for NEC and commuter services by 2025. Its new $US 14.7bn Gateway Programme to New York City is an alternative to
the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project which was shelved by the state of New Jersey in November 2010. Like the ARC, the Gateway programme involves constructing two new rail tunnels under the Hudson which would provide a direct connection to a consolidated Amtrak operation on the west side of Manhattan at the expanded Moynihan-Penn station complex. This involves a two-level expansion of the existing Penn station tracks and platforms as well as a direct connection to the new Moynihan terminal, an extension of the existing Penn station across 8th Avenue into the Farley Post Office building. Other improvements in New Jersey include construction of two bridges over the Hackensack River to replace the existing 100-year-old moveable portal bridge, doubling capacity. The Newark - Seacaucus section of the NEC would also be improved to include a four-track segment, better connections to NJT Morris and Essex lines, and various bridge enhancements. A number of NEC stations would likewise be upgraded to handle greater capacity. Amtrak says that the plan is flexible so as not to preclude a range of design and operational options. This could include additional Trans-Hudson tunnels beyond 2040, and further capacity improvements, including at Penn station. The stair-step phasing strategy also proposes an extension of the new Trans-Hudson tunnels to the north to connect with the new high-speed line to Boston.
and execute it in an economically- friendly manner.”
In light of such sentiments Amtrak
recognises that one way to gain momentum is by delivering some early successes. Elements of the Gateway programme and NEC New Jersey section improvements certainly provide the opportunity to do this. Portions of dedicated high-speed route are also thought to provide sufficient benefits to guarantee long-term support at an early stage.
It is clearly now or never for Amtrak
and the NEC. The Amtrak Vision for the Northeast Corridoris a strong start. It provides a focused and realistic vision to solve existing problems and offer the reliable and fast inter-city and high-speed rail services so desperately needed in one the of United States’ most important economic regions. But Amtrak must now build on this to convince as many investors, residents, and politicians as possible that this particular American high-speed dream should one day become a reality. The fight for the NEC is on. IRJ
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126