What Will Amtrak Look Like in 2020?

[jis]

I live 15 minutes away and also saw it built. While it originally served just terminals and parking the station was in plans from the outset - just took longer to complete.

That is true. But one thing EWR is not, is well integrated with rail service. For examples of those one has to see airports like Amsterdam Schiphol or Frankfurt Rhein-Main. Newark is basically like JFK but with a shorter ride to a train station.

In the US, Orlando International Terminal C will be better integrated with Brightline. Terminal A and B will be like Newark with an APM ride involved. And in Orlando it won’t cost $7 to just get to the train.

Incidentally, one of the original PA architecture team handling planning for airport circulator and rail access was later a member of NJ-ARP and a colleague of mine on its Board. He showed me documents that were produced by PA back then explicitly stating that PATH will not be used for such, and insisting that the architecture actually take positive steps to prevent PATH from being used. The result of that is the current abomination. Just to prevent PATH they had to restrict access paths to something that would only fit a dinky toy train. Of course after wasting a couple of Billion they will probably not make that mistake of restricting gauge again, but nor will they allow PATH into the airport.

The Regional Planning Association has recently published a plan which would make EWR at par with airports like Amsterdam for multi-modal access, but PA is already trying to find excuses for why that is infeasible. I do not expect EWR to become anything like a world class airport under the tender loving care of the PA. Fortunately it is hard to make it worse, so things will improve in spite of the PA.

 

[neroden]

Incidentally, one of the original PA architecture team handling planning for airport circulator and rail access was later a member of NJ-ARP and a colleague of mine on its Board. He showed me documents that were produced by PA back then explicitly stating that PATH will not be used for such, and insisting that the architecture actually take positive steps to prevent PATH from being used. The result of that is the current abomination. Just to prevent PATH they had to restrict access paths to something that would only fit a dinky toy train. Of course after wasting a couple of Billion they will probably not make that mistake of restricting gauge again, but nor will they allow PATH into the airport.

I'd be interested to understand the internal politics which caused the Port Authority, owners of both the airport and the rail line, to try to prevent the Port Authority rail operation from serving the Port Authority airport. I mean, that's seriously bonkers garbage nuttery.

If anyone were in charge at the Port Authority (it's quite obvious nobody is and nobody ever has been) they would have fired everyone involved in such a bizarre piece of internal self-destructiveness.

 

[railiner]

When Rudy Giuliani was mayor of NYC, he butted heads with Port Authority administration over his perceived mistreatment of LGA and JFK airports, versus Newark Airport.
He made good on his threat to not renew the PA’s 30 year lease on those City of NY owned airports, and did receive proposals from Schiphol and other global operators.

Eventually, the Port Authority made many changes in their bid to renew, ( including the new Airtrain ), and did win a new lease...

 

[Bob Dylan]

When Rudy Giuliani was mayor of NYC, he butted heads with Port Authority administration over his perceived mistreatment of LGA and JFK airports, versus Newark Airport.
He made good on his threat to not renew the PA’s 30 year lease on those City of NY owned airports, and did receive proposals from Schiphol and other global operators.

Eventually, the Port Authority made many changes in their bid to renew, ( including the new Airtrain ), and did win a new lease...

Cue the Theme from "The Godfather!"

 

[jis]

And so the PA and Emperor Cupmo are now building another nutty Airtrain. What can I say? [emoji57]

 

[railiner]

Well, at least JFK and LGA (rebuilding now), have been improved from what they were...
Just saying that the PA can be made responsive to local needs, despite its reputation, otherwise...

 

[Veronica99]

Funny that no one in 2015 predicted that a global pandemic would lead Amtrak to reduce its long distance trains to tri weekly service and briefly suspend the Acela Express between March and June 2020

 

[flitcraft]

Funny that no one in 2015 predicted that a global pandemic would lead Amtrak to reduce its long distance trains to tri weekly service and briefly suspend the Acela Express between March and June 2020

And this is the fundamental problem with long-term predictions about the future. Inevitably some 'black swan' unforeseen event will occur that will upend the predictions utterly. For example, Alvin Toeffler's best-seller, Future Shock, was well researched, by a really smart and well-informed guy, and made lots of predictions about the future. What he didn't see coming? The ubiquity of computers aka 'phones" and the Internet--which have shaped modern life from top to bottom. Like Yogi Berra once said, "Predictions are hard, especially about the future."