[Wilton2ParkAve]

Where is the funding coming from? The US is running a trillion plus deficit for 2012 FY.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Where is the funding coming from? The US is running a trillion plus deficit for 2012 FY.

Mix of Feds , State and Private....the country isn't broke if where spending close to 800 billion on defense...a year..

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Mix of Feds , State and Private....the country isn't broke if where spending close to 800 billion on defense...a year..

Actually, that IS a reason why we're broke. That, and spending $ on ill-conceived projects that either won't materialize or will be little-used (like the New Britian-Hartford busway, which is projected to lose $10 million a year and carry a whopping 15 riders an hour.) I'm all for improving public transit in this country, but the current way we're going about it isn't working.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

Actually, that IS a reason why we're broke. That, and spending $ on ill-conceived projects that either won't materialize or will be little-used (like the New Britian-Hartford busway, which is projected to lose $10 million a year and carry a whopping 15 riders an hour.) I'm all for improving public transit in this country, but the current way we're going about it isn't working.

This isn't a botched Busway , this is a corridor that carries close to 700,000+ on a daily basis along its the current route , eats away at the travel share by 75%.... Its also in a region where Transportation is decent and could be better....which why Amtrak went with this plan. Its not like Ridership is decreasing , its been exploding for the past 8 years.... Its about 45,000 for the entire Northeastern Network , while still far below Euro Levels , it was only 15,000 back in 2000. Its Projected to hit 250,000 by 2030.... The Day Before Thanksgiving since 2007 , Amtrak carries about 1.2 Million passengers , the all services corridor carries close to 3 million.... Thats been growing fast due to the Flexibility of Amtrak and 3rd world style airlines in this region , along with speed improvements... The New line will connect secondary cities to Mega Cities thus generating billions in new economic projects and jobs...also raising real state values. Which would explode for the people living in these small cities and along the lines feeding into them. The Amtrak Northeastern Network generates enough to cover daily and yearly operations...

Before you say why doesn't Private step in , well the Railways have a lot of old outdated regulations that make building and operation a passenger system expensive and burdensome unlike in Europe or Asia. They tried several times to get rid of the oldest ones like the Weight regulations , Track sharing rules and speeds rules , but congress refuses to budge. These regulations also raise costs by 100s of millions and apply to Transit aswell... Its just another problem with Washington... The FRA should be replaced with the UIC which most of the Globe listens to...without any issues to date...

[Mike 75]

Not gonna happen in my lifetime. There's no money. And the litigation this will trigger will go on forever. People will sue on the eminent domain issues, the environmental issues, cities that are not included in the project will sue, etc.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Since when does living near Amtrak increase real estate values. Commuter lines such as Metro North are a different story. Based on the estimated costs, I don't expect a dramatic increase in ridership as fares will likely exceed airlines. I'm also pretty confident that once the Feds fork over billions to fund the NEC expansion, the TSA will become much more prominent at the main terminals. I'm also not seeing how this helps the secondary cities since this is not a commuter line... No one is going to be commuting on the super express or express segments.

What is really needed is dollars being directed at the existing MTA/Amtrak lines that serve the population centers and commuters. I can also understand the overall opposition even removing cost from the equation. I am a daily commuter into NYC and I travel on the Acela regularly in both directions. Yet I don't see the need for an arms race to build a 300mph rail in an alternate location when a consistent 120mph on the existing infrastructure would suffice.

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

This isn't a botched Busway , this is a corridor that carries close to 700,000+ on a daily basis along its the current route , eats away at the travel share by 75%.... Its also in a region where Transportation is decent and could be better....which why Amtrak went with this plan. Its not like Ridership is decreasing , its been exploding for the past 8 years.... Its about 45,000 for the entire Northeastern Network , while still far below Euro Levels , it was only 15,000 back in 2000. Its Projected to hit 250,000 by 2030.... The Day Before Thanksgiving since 2007 , Amtrak carries about 1.2 Million passengers , the all services corridor carries close to 3 million.... Thats been growing fast due to the Flexibility of Amtrak and 3rd world style airlines in this region , along with speed improvements... The New line will connect secondary cities to Mega Cities thus generating billions in new economic projects and jobs...also raising real state values. Which would explode for the people living in these small cities and along the lines feeding into them. The Amtrak Northeastern Network generates enough to cover daily and yearly operations...

Before you say why doesn't Private step in , well the Railways have a lot of old outdated regulations that make building and operation a passenger system expensive and burdensome unlike in Europe or Asia. They tried several times to get rid of the oldest ones like the Weight regulations , Track sharing rules and speeds rules , but congress refuses to budge. These regulations also raise costs by 100s of millions and apply to Transit aswell... Its just another problem with Washington... The FRA should be replaced with the UIC which most of the Globe listens to...without any issues to date...

[LRPct]

Originally Posted by Mike 75

Not gonna happen in my lifetime. There's no money. And the litigation this will trigger will go on forever. People will sue on the eminent domain issues, the environmental issues, cities that are not included in the project will sue, etc.

All those reasons and more are exactly why I said the same thing on page one. I swear, people are delusional if they dont realize how much land it would take to make that happen.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Since when does living near Amtrak increase real estate values. Commuter lines such as Metro North are a different story. Based on the estimated costs, I don't expect a dramatic increase in ridership as fares will likely exceed airlines. I'm also pretty confident that once the Feds fork over billions to fund the NEC expansion, the TSA will become much more prominent at the main terminals. I'm also not seeing how this helps the secondary cities since this is not a commuter line... No one is going to be commuting on the super express or express segments.

What is really needed is dollars being directed at the existing MTA/Amtrak lines that serve the population centers and commuters. I can also understand the overall opposition even removing cost from the equation. I am a daily commuter into NYC and I travel on the Acela regularly in both directions. Yet I don't see the need for an arms race to build a 300mph rail in an alternate location when a consistent 120mph on the existing infrastructure would suffice.

Amen. Consistent 120mph and more cars for TRUE express commuter service from multiple stations. New Haven to Grand Central should take 45 minutes or less. Opening up large metro areas beyond hyper-local job opportunities would be a huge injection for the economy in our area.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Since when does living near Amtrak increase real estate values. Commuter lines such as Metro North are a different story. Based on the estimated costs, I don't expect a dramatic increase in ridership as fares will likely exceed airlines. I'm also pretty confident that once the Feds fork over billions to fund the NEC expansion, the TSA will become much more prominent at the main terminals. I'm also not seeing how this helps the secondary cities since this is not a commuter line... No one is going to be commuting on the super express or express segments.

What is really needed is dollars being directed at the existing MTA/Amtrak lines that serve the population centers and commuters. I can also understand the overall opposition even removing cost from the equation. I am a daily commuter into NYC and I travel on the Acela regularly in both directions. Yet I don't see the need for an arms race to build a 300mph rail in an alternate location when a consistent 120mph on the existing infrastructure would suffice.

Any line tied to NYC increases the value of real estate , the towns along the Empire Corridor have a slight bump due to being connected to NYC , so do the Main line towns in PA.... They are upgrading the current line , it will be completed by 2020 , but Capacity will still run out by 2030 hence why Amtrak needs a new route. The Coastal line is being bumped up to 130mph....but that's the max it can handle. The State of CT has plans for a state network , this new Amtrak line would tie all the lines in. I doubt the TSA will every move to Amtrak , you can't hijack a train.... I'm sure with all the whining Amtrak will allow the Proposed Bristol and Manchester Commuter rail Branches to piggy back off the New line. This Me Me Me culture in CT is disturbing and is probably why all the Rail Projects in the state get watered down and or scrapped.... CT and PA are the only states moaning over this project , everyone else supports it , you don't see Rhode Island or Massachusetts moaning or crying over the plans they embrace them , so does New York and New Jersey , even Delaware and Maryland...

[JayCT]

First of all, the same questions are being asked in New Jersey so don't just say it is the "me me me culture" in Connecticut . The new corridor will basically just pass through Connecticut with no major stops. So we will be getting all the aggrevation but none of the benefits. Same goes in NJ. The difference is they are not publicly questioning the plan but doing it behind the scenes. Wait a bit and it will come out. Jay