Only the most expensive alternative, dubbed “Transform” and costing somewhere between $267-$308 billion, would provide for full high speed rail (HSR) along the entirety of the Northeast Corridor’s 457 miles, which would reduce travel times between Boston and Washington DC by nearly three hours.Īlternative 2, or “Grow”, would cut that same trip by about an hour it would cost around $130 billion.įor a scant $65 billion, Alternative 1 would fix-or “Maintain”-enough of the Corridor’s chokepoints and other glaring problems, like century-old bridges. FRA program manager for NEC Future Rebecca Reyes-Alicea told PlanPhilly that, based on feedback from the public and other key stakeholders, a preferred alternative based on the three presented would be announced later this year.Ĭosts for the three alternatives presented in the EIS range from $64 billion to $308 billion, spent between now and 2040. This draft Tier 1 EIS is the latest study in a series called NEC Future.
“ great in the land of infinite money, and if you let me know how to get there, I’ll emigrate at the first opportunity” said Michael Noda, who writes the transit blog,, “but, in the meantime, we live here.” The Economist recently took a trip through the snowy forests of the Russian psyche via the Moscow-Archangel line, writing how trains “rumble through Russian literature and poetry with remarkable frequency.”Īt SEPTA’s headquarters on Monday night, officials from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) listened to public feedback on their draft Tier 1 Environmental Impact Study (EIS), a planning document providing three alternative visions for the future of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC).įrom the crowd’s statements last night, it sounds like the FRA may have spent a little too much time on trains, dreaming big dreams for the Northeast Corridor’s future. Such flights of fancy-so rarely enjoyed on actual flights-are why Amtrak created its Residency program, which sends writers on long train trips, free of charge (that, and it’s effective marketing). Long train rides have an almost magical ability to free the rider’s thoughts from quotidian concerns, to let one’s mind wander unworried with the primary task at hand, arrival at some predetermined destination, and flirt with lofty ideals.
0 kommentar(er)
