Amtrak Plans to Replace Fleet

[Larry H.]

The Fleet amtrak needs is the kind that comes in a bottle, maybe it would open up their clogged way of looking at things outside the east.

 

[afigg]

16 billion to shave 15 minutes off of one rail line? I too wonder how many long abandoned intercity services could be restored to the rest of the country with that money? Amtrak as usual has a mind set of improvements mean northeast corridor. Do they think the rest of us should just pay for their service while being ignored? Well I guess from past example that is exactly what they think.

The 16 billion figure covers a lot more work than just reducing the travel times between WAS-NYP and NYP-BOS by 15 minutes each. Much of the proposed improvements are briefly covered in the interim NEC Master plan report released in October, available on Amtrak's website at http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServe...2/1241245669129. The estimated cost numbers for reducing the travel times for the 2 major parts of the NEC by around 15 minutes each are much lower than 16 billion. I think the press releases and news articles are mixing up what would be a stage 1 NEC improvement effort to reduce the travel times by 15 minutes and the total cost of the Master plan of improvement to the NEC and the feeder lines that connect to the NEC. The long term goal in the interim report is 3 hours from BOS-NYP and 2:15 (or 2:20) from NYP-WAS. I find 3 hours between BOS and NYP to be a very modest goal, but the commission drawing up the NEC Master Plan probably does not see any benefit in picking a fight with the residents of the coastal region of eastern CT and the state government.

In a time when they are throwing around cost figures such as 6 to 8 billion to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge in NY - and that is just one, albeit long bridge - 16 billion for getting the entire NEC up to a state of good repair with a number of new bridges, constant tension catenary from NYP to WAS, a modest amount of track straitening and possibly including major upgrades to the Springfield, Albany, Keystone East, and WAS-Richmond lines is not that large a cost number. Once the complete NEC Master Plan is released, and it was supposed to be released in the winter of 2009/2010, then we will see what the $16 billion really covers.