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Its looking like private will come in build the New England NEC which is still disputed...and badly planned in that it bypasses UCONN & Worcester and heads for a small town called Woonsocket then merges into the overcapacity Providence line. What many people think it should do and Amtrak studied this it was cheaper to go this route but RI complained of being left out so they threw in Woonsocket. In truth Rhode Island gets an upgraded Shoreline NEC and a regional rail network which by 2030 would reach Worcester so its not like there left out... Hopefully they change there minds on the New England segment , the Worcester / MetroWest alignment is cheaper since it rides the Interstate Median or ROW except a 15 mi section were it curves...from I-84 to I-90. Worcester is one of the largest cities in New England and deserves more then the planned Mini HSR that would run between Albany and Boston with connections to New Haven via Springfield. The New England NEC will be completely Train separated between Mount Vernon ,NY and just near Boston , about 240 miles....from GCT to Mount Vernon it would share 4 - 6 tracks with Metro North and from Framingham to Boston 3-5 MBTA Commuter Rail tracks... The New NEC operating on its own tracks will hit 220mph+. The route mainly runs next to Interstates the entire way , I-684 , I-84 , I-90....
Now for the Southern NEC , Amtrak plans on building a New HSR track next to the Existing NEC , how this will be possible in NJ idk know. PA , DE , MD are easily...decent amount of room. In NJ there are sections where the NEC is 6 tracks that can easily be extended , its mostly 4 tracks...the Problem areas are from Rahway to New Brunswick where its 4 tracks and no room to Expand. From New Brunswick to Philly you can add or reactivate the abandoned tracks to create a 6 track segment. And From Linden to Newark with some minor improvements like Straightening the NEC at Elizabeth and extending the 6 tracks from Linden to Newark would although for 180mph speeds... So from Philly to Newark Trains would be going 160-180mph..... In Newark trains would slow to 90mph , and curse through the station which is unlikely. A Newark Bypass between the Airport and Portal Bridge would allow Trains to bypass at 130mph at least to the Portal Bridge were it would drop to 100mph to NYC. The Existing NEC in Newark will be grade separated where the Raritan Valley line Merges with the NEC to allow inbound trains to cross over 5 tracks without causing a bottleneck and this with allow for more Western NJT trains and future Amtrak Lehigh trains to be added without causing a bottleneck. From Newark to Kearny the NEC will be 5 tracked , Amtrak getting 2 tracks and NJT 3 tracks. Kearny JCT / Waterfront Connection will be replaced allowing Amtrak to sail through without dealing with NJT , NJT would get 4 Flyovers to connect the Hoboken Network to the NEC instead of the 1 ramp it has now and 2 replaced ramps to connect to the NEC Portal Approach...from the Morristown line and add a switch for Future Kingsland Branch service. Amtrak would merge with the Newark Bypass HSL just north of Kearny JCT.. The Portal Bridges would be replaced with 2 bridges one 3 track bridge for NJT and 2 tracks for Amtrak. The New Tunnels would have a max speed limit of 90-100mph....
From NY Penn Station there would be an underground interchange built most likely grade separated to allow the New NEC to break off and head North to GCT while the existing NEC would head east to Long Island. The New Interchange would be attached to the end of New Penn Station South... Heading East the NEC would exit the East River in Sunnyside , and would be Train separated from the Long Island Railroad and NJT by using New Tracks and a Interchange Under Construction. Metro North would share tracks with them as part of Hell Gate service... From Harold Interlocking to the Hell Gate Bridge the line would be 3 tracked , and Constant Tension Catenary put in to allow speeds up to 125mph...which is underway as we speak end of decade target goal for the whole Hell Gate line upgrade. From the Hell Gate Bridge to New Rochelle JCT , the line would be overhauled , and upgraded to 125mph....Constant Tension , 4 tracked , and 4-7 stations restored as part of Metro North's Hell Gate line. New Rochelle Interlocks will be grade separated to allow Amtrak to sail through @ 125mph without dealing with slow New Haven line trains. From New Rochelle to Norwalk the Wires are almost done being replaced along with Tracks to handle up to 125mph... The Danbury line will have to grade separated to reduce Congestion and allow for the MNRR to add more trains to that Branch. Several Bridges in CT will need to be replaced at the expensive of CT who owns this part of the NEC and by 2030...2 are being replaced although there in Eastern CT along the new NEC... In Bridgeport the Curves need to be Straightened to allow trains to maintain 125mph....current limit is 80mph. From Just East of Bridgeport to New Haven a 4th and 5th track are being re-installed to add capacity... There are plans to create a 4 track section from New Haven Union Station to Springfield line or Knowledge corridor Interchange to free up Capacity although for faster trains.
From Trenton to Philly the NEC will be 6 tracked continuing south from Newark. There is room for 6 tracking in alot of places....the original NEC was 6 to 10 tracks in parts PA and the feeder lines were the same. PA was like Chicagoland when it came to Rail... From Trenton to North Philly the NEC will be 6 tracked , at North Philly near the area where NJT AC line meets the New NEC will split and enter a 19 mile long Tunnel under Philly , with 2 stations one being Market East in the Heart of Philly and the Next would be Philly Airport. Both would be connected to the Regional Rail , Trolley and Subway network in Philly... After the Airport the New NEC would merge back into the NEC and 6 tracking would continue south to just north of Wilmington where it would break off and bypass Wilmington with a Wilmington South station in the Industrial area or future New Downtown. The Reason bypassing Wilmington is it sits on a S curve that limits speed to 70mph....and its only double tracked with very little wiggle room. After the Wilmington Station the line would merge back into the NEC , and from there to MD the NEC would be 6 tracked. A Grade Separation is needed near Newark,DE to allow future Amtrak Downstate service to Ocean City to cross over the NEC. A Loop track is also needed in Newark to allow Septa and Future MARC trains to turn around without disrupting the NEC. Same will be needed for Septa in Trenton.
Once in MD , 2 Bridges will need to be 5 tracked and replaced , 3 tracks for Regional service and MARC and 2 tracks for Amtrak. The MD part of the NEC only needs to be 5 tracked due to less Traffic. When the NEC reaches East Baltimore the New NEC will split and enter a Tunnel which will continue under Baltimore stopping at Charles Center or Downtown Baltimore with connections to Subway , Light Rail and Future streetcar along Bus.... The Existing NEC will be overhauled and the Baltimore Tunnels replaced to speed up service and add capacity... A Grade Separated Interchange will be built just South of Baltimore Penn Station to allow future Warminster MARC service and Amtrak Northwest service to enter and exit the NEC smoothly... The New NEC would emerge in West Baltimore and Merge back into the Existing NEC which would be 5 tracked down to DC. 2 Center Tracks for HSR only , the rest for Amtrak and MARC...the speed limit would be 160-180mph...
Greats Lakes : 54.1 - 64.7 - 71.6 Million
Northeastern Megapolis : 49.5 - 58.1 - 75.8 Million
Southern California : 24.9 - 34.8 - 39.3 Million
Texas Triangle : 16.5 - 26.8 - 38.1 Million
Florida : 14.7 - 21.4 - 31.5 Million
Piedmont Atlantic : 14.9 - 20.5 - 31.9 Million
Northern California : 12.7 - 17.3 - 21.1 Million
Gulf Coast : 11.7 - 15.8 - 23.6 Million
Cascadia : 10.2 - 12.5 - 24.6 Million
Arizona Sun Corridor : 5.7 - 7.4 - 12.3 Million
Front Range : 4.7 - 6.8 - 10.5 Million
United States Population in 2000 : 281.4 Million
Urbanized Suburban and Urban Population in 2000 : 219 Million
Public Transit Usage in 2000 : 15 Million
United States Population in 2010 : 308.7 Million
Urbanized Suburban and Urban Population in 2010 : 250 Million
Public Transit Usage in 2010 : 34 Million
United States Population by 2025 : 340 Million
Urbanized Suburban and Urban Population by 2025 : 286.5 Million
Public Transit Usage by 2025 : 70 Million
United States Population by 2050 : 440 Million
Urbanized Suburban and Urban Population by 2050 : 380 Million
Public Transit Usage by 2050 : 190 Million
Current / Proposed , Planned , Under Construction Stations
Next Gen High Speed Rail Northeast
Next Gen Super Express (Max : 220mph : Average : 190mph) Washington DC Union Station Philadelphia Market East Station
New York Penn Station New York Grand Central
Boston Back Bay Station
Boston South Station
Next Gen Express (Max : 220mph : Average : 180mph) Washington DC Union Station
BWI Airport Station Baltimore Charles Center
Wilmington HSR Station
Philadelphia In't Airport
Philadelphia Market East
Trenton Transit Center
Newark Liberty Airport
Newark Penn Station
New York Penn Station Grand Central Station
White Plains HSR Station
Danbury HSR
Waterbury HSR Station
Hartford Union Station Tolland (UConn)
Worcester HSR Station
Metro West HSR Station
Back Bay Station
South Station
Next Gen Shoreline Express (Max : 160mph : Average : 130mph) Washington DC Union Station
BWI Airport Station
Baltimore Penn Station Wilmington HSR Station
Philadelphia 30th Street
Newark Penn Station
New York Penn Station
Stamford Station
New Haven Union Station
Providence Union Station
Boston Back Bay Station
Boston South Station
Next Gen Long Island Express (Max : 160mph : Average : 130mph)
Washington DC Union Station
BWI Airport Station Baltimore Charles Center
Wilmington HSR Station
Philadelphia In't Airport
Philadelphia Market East
Newark Liberty In't Airport
Newark Penn Station
New York Penn Station
Jamaica - JFK Airport Station Nassau Hub
Farmingdale - Route 110
Ronkonkoma - Mac Arthur Airport
Terryville (SUNY Stony Brook)
New Haven Union Station Meriden Station
Hartford Union Station Tolland (UConn)
Worcester HSR Station
Metro West HSR Station
Back Bay Station
South Station
Intercity Amtrak , Entire system will be Electrified Eventually
Max : 125mph : Average : 100mph
Northeast Regional - Main line Boston South Station
Boston Back Bay Station
Route 128
Providence
Kingston
Westerly (Limited)
Mystic (Limited)
New London
Old Saybrook (Limited)
New Haven Union Station
Bridgeport
Stamford
New Rochelle
New York Penn station
Newark Penn Station
Newark Liberty International Airport (Limited)
Metropark
New Brunswick (Overnight)
Princeton JCT (Overnight)
Trenton
Cornwells Heights (limited)
North Philadelphia (Limted)
30th Street Station
Wilmington
Newark
Aberdeen
Baltimore Penn Station
BWI Airport
New Carrollton
DC Union Station
Alexandria
Woodbridge
Quantico
Fredricksburg
Ashland
Richmond Staples Mill Road
Richmond Main Street
Williamsburg
Newport News
Northeast Regional - Springfield Shuttle Springfield Windsor Locks (shifted to commuter rail in 2018)
Windsor (shifted to commuter rail in 2018)
Hartford Berlin (shifted to commuter rail in 2018)
Meriden (shifted to commuter rail in 2018)
Wallingford (shifted to commuter rail in 2018)
New Haven Union Station
Bridgeport
Stamford
New Rochelle
New York Penn station
Newark Penn Station
Newark Liberty International Airport
Metropark
New Brunswick
Princeton JCT
Trenton
Cornwells Heights
North Philadelphia
30th Street Station
Wilmington
Newark
Aberdeen
Baltimore Penn Station
BWI Airport
New Carrollton
DC Union Station
Northeast Regional - Lynchburg Branch Boston South Station
Boston Back Bay Station
Route 128
Providence
Kingston
Westerly
Mystic
New London
Old Saybrook
New Haven Union Station
Bridgeport
Stamford
New Rochelle
New York Penn station
Newark Penn Station
Newark Liberty International Airport
Metropark
New Brunswick
Princeton JCT
Trenton
Cornwells Heights
North Philadelphia
30th Street Station
Wilmington
Newark
Aberdeen
Baltimore Penn Station
BWI Airport
New Carrollton
DC Union Station
Alexandria
Burke Centre
Manassas
Culpepper
Charlottesville
Lynchburg Roanoke
Bristol
Vermonter
St. Albans
Burlington-Essex Junction
Waterbury-Stowe
Montpelier-Barre
Randolph
White River Junction
Windsor-Mt. Ascutney
Claremont
Bellows Falls
Brattleboro Greenfield
Northampton
Holyoke
Springfield
Windsor Locks
Windsor
Hartford
Berlin
Meriden
Wallingford
New Haven Union Station
Bridgeport
Stamford
New Rochelle
New York Penn station
Newark Penn Station
Metropark (weekends only)
Trenton
30th Street Station
Wilmington
Baltimore Penn Station
BWI Airport
New Carrollton
DC Union Station
Keystone Service New York Penn station
Newark Penn Station
Newark Liberty International Airport (Limited)
Metropark
New Brunswick (Overnight)
Princeton JCT (Overnight)
Trenton
Cornwells Heights (limited)
North Philadelphia (Limted)
30th Street Station West Philadelphia
Ardmore
Paoli
Exton
Downingtown
Coatesville
Parkersburg Atglen
Lancaster
Mount Joy
Elizabethtown
Middletown
Harrisburg
Pennsylvanian
New York Penn Station
Newark Penn station
Trenton
30th Street Station
Ardmore (train 44 only)
Paoli
Exton (trains 42 & 44 only)
Downingtown (train 44 only)
Lancaster
Mount Joy
Elizabethtown
Middletown
Harrisburg
Lewistown
Huntingdon
Tyrone
Altoona
Johnstown
Latrobe
Greensburg
Pittsburgh
Empire Service New York Penn station
Yonkers
Croton Harmon
Poughkeepsie
Rhinecliff-Kingston
Hudson
Albany-Rensselaer
Schenectady
Amsterdam
Utica
Rome
Syracuse
Rochester
Buffalo-Depew
Buffalo-Exchange St.
Niagara Falls
Downeaster Service Boston North Station
Woburn
Haverhill
Exeter
Durham
Dover
Wells
Saco-Biddeford
Old Orchard Beach
Portland Freeport
Brunswick
Proposed / Planned lines
Lackawanna line New York Penn Station
Newark Board Street Station
Summit
Dover Delaware Water Gap
East Stroudsburg
Analomink
Pocono Mountain
Tobyhanna
Scranton
Binghamton
Cape Cod Service New York Penn station
New Rochelle
Stamford
Bridgeport
New Haven
New London
Westerly
Kingston
Providence Pawtucket
Taunton
Buzzards Bay
Barnstable
Norfolk Service (Opens DEC 2012) Boston South Station
Boston Back Bay Station
Route 128
Providence
Kingston
New London
New Haven Union Station
Bridgeport
Stamford
New Rochelle
New York Penn station
Newark Penn Station
Newark Liberty International Airport (Limited)
Metropark
New Brunswick (Overnight)
Princeton JCT (Overnight)
Trenton
Cornwells Heights (limited)
North Philadelphia (Limted)
30th Street Station
Wilmington
Newark
Aberdeen
Baltimore Penn Station
BWI Airport
New Carrollton
DC Union Station
Alexandria
Woodbridge
Quantico
Fredricksburg
Ashland
Richmond Staples Mill Road
Richmond Main Street Chester
Petersburg
Suffolk
Norfolk
Lehigh Line New York Penn station
Newark Penn Station Easton
Bethlehem
Allentown
Emmaus
Macungie
Lyons-Kutztown
Fleetwood
Reading
Wyomissing (Could be shifted to Regional Rail after Reading line restored)
Lebanon
Hershey
Harrisburg
Northwest Service Harrisburg New Cumberland
York
Riestertown
Owing Mills
Baltimore Penn Station
California High Speed Rail Network Size : 800+ Mi (1,300kms)
Number of lines : 6
Stations : 25+
Projected Ridership : 95 Million a Year or 260,730 Daily
Projected Revenue : N/A
Top Speed : 220mph (350Km/h)
Cost : 68.5 Billion $
Midwest High Speed Rail Network Size : 1,800 Mi+ (1,296Kms)
Stations : 76+ (Feeders factored in)
Lines : 6+ with 7 Feeders
Projected Ridership : 43 Million a year or 120,000 daily (Feeders factored in)
Projected Revenue : 2.2 Billion
Top Speed on Trunk lines : 220mph (350Km/h)
Top Speed on Secondary / Feeder lines : 125mph (201Km/h)
Cost : 70 Billion $
Texas High Speed Rail Network Size : 680 Mi+ (1,259kms)
Stations : 15
Lines : 5
Projected Ridership : 18.5 Million a year or 55,000 Daily
Projected Revenue : N/A
Top Speed on Trunk lines : 220mph (350Km/h)
Cost : 35 Billion $
Cascadia Corridor Size : 407 Mi (753km)
Stations : 11
Lines : 1
Projected Ridership : 12.8 Million a year or 35,000 Daily
Projected Revenue : N/A
Top Speed on Trunk lines : 170mph (273Km/h)
Cost : 20 Billion $
Northeastern High Speed / Intercity Network Size : 2,280 Mi+ (4,222kms)
Lines : 2 trunk lines + with 10 Feeders
Stations : 150+ (Feeders factored in)
Projected Ridership : 200 Million a year or 550,000 daily (Feeders factored in)
Projected Revenue : 7.5 Billion
Top Speed on Trunk lines : 220mph (350Km/h)
Top Speed on Secondary / Feeder lines : 125mph (201Km/h)
Cost : 152 Billion $ (Revised)
Taken from MWHSR , CAHSR and AMtrak Next gen sources and other sources
Various systems of the Northeast in 2012 and 2030...includes Regional Rail , Subway / Metro , Light Rail , Streetcar and Bus rapid Transit , Regional Bus and Urban / Suburban Bus
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
System Size in 2012 : 2,282 miles
System size by 2030 : 3,580 miles
Stations in 2012 : 751
Stations in 2030 : 823
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 11.6 Million
Projected Ridership by 2030 : 16.2 Million
New Jersey Transit / PATH / PATCO / Private Bus operators
System Size in 2012 : 1,390 Miles
System Size by 2030 : 1,720 miles
Stations in 2012 : 690
Stations by 2030 : 883
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 1.8 Million
Projected Ridership by 2030 : 4.7 Million
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority & Bus Operators in Eastern Massachusetts
System Size in 2012 : 1,193 miles
System Size in 2030 : 1,660 miles
Stations in 2012 : 270
Stations in 2030 : 349
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 1.6 Million
Projected Ridership by 2030 : 3.7 Million
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
System size in 2012 : 567 miles
System size by 2030 : 720 Miles
Stations in 2012 : 280
Stations by 2030 : 370
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 1.5 Million
Projected Ridership by 2030 : 4.2 Million
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority & Northern Virginia Transit
System Size in 2012 : 195 Miles
System Size by 2030 : 428 Miles
Stations in 2012 : 108
Stations by 2030 : 297
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 1.2 Million
Projected Ridership by 2030 : 4.4 Million
Maryland Transit Administration
System Size in 2012 : 232 Miles
System size by 2030 : 664 Miles
Stations in 2012 : 90
Stations by 2030 : 216
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 370,000
Projected Daily Ridership by 2030 : 1.5 Million
CT Transit & CDOT Rail Operations
System Size in 2012 : 157.4 Miles
System Size by 2030 : 510 Miles
Stations in 2012 : 59
Stations by 2030 : 112
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 278,000
Projected Daily Ridership by 2030 : 650,000
Northern Virgina Transit Agencies
System Size in 2012 : 101.5 Miles
System Size by 2030 : 160.8 Miles
Stations in 2012 : 44
Stations by 2030 : 100
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 183,600
Projected Daily Ridership by 2030 : 580,200
Rhode Island Public Transit Authority
System Size in 2012 : 20 Miles
System Size by 2030 : 280 Miles
Stations in 2012 : 5
Stations by 2030 : 59
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 81,070
Projected Daily Ridership by 2030 : 360,000
Amtrak Northeastern Division
System Size in 2012 : 2970 miles
System Size by 2030 : 3650 miles
Stations in 2012 : 109
Stations by 2030 : 141
Daily Ridership in 2012 : 17,800
Projected Ridership by 2030 : 120,000
Total Daily Ridership in 2012 : 18.5 Million
Projected Daily Ridership by 2030 : 35.9 Million
Actually 151 Billion is to upgrade the whole Northeastern system , so 125mph Service to Scranton / Binghamton , Harrisburg via Reading / Allentown , Harrisburg - Baltimore , Statewide Virginia Network , New Haven - Brattleboro corridor , Cape Cod Service , Concord line , Downeaster line , Jersey Coastal Express , Downstate Delaware line , and Long Island Express to Montauk. These lines would be fingers that tie into the Spine of the Northeast Corridor servicing a population of 57 Million....which grow to 75.8 Million by 2050.
No... its not. It's $151 billion for just the high speed corridor. No idea where you got that idea from.
just for considerations....
Amtrak said the entire 28 year plan would be about $151Billion, and they expect about half of that would come from the federal government (i.e. ~$75Billion). In the 2012 budget the US government has $70Billion in mandatory spending for the Federal Highway Administration alone (1 year!)
Amtrak says this would be about 40,000 jobs per year over that time period.
Is it so outrageous think the federal gov't could just chuck in ~$100 Billion over 6-10 years, and add about a million jobs. It would build something the NE desperately needs much sooner, possibly take unemployment to 6-7%, and Amtrak could start paying back some of the loans sooner. Until you get politics involved it seems like a win-win for everybody.
Yeah... $70 billion for highways and transit and that's not even enough to cover repairs. Where do you think the government will find an extra $5-$10 billion per year just so Amtrak can upgrade one line? There's a backlog of work that's hundreds of billions of dollars long. You would need to generate millions of jobs to lower unemployment back to 6%... not sure where you came up with that. Besides, these are jobs funded with taxpayer money. That's not real growth, although it would hopefully spur real growth in the long run. Still, given Amtrak's cost estimate I think you could find much better uses for the money in terms of realized economic potential. Not to mention you could probably think of a better way to build a high speed rail line as well...
Really I feel like Amtrak is just doing this so the idea of high speed rail is out there. The plan that they laid out seems almost comically bad, but its the concept that counts. Hopefully when the time is right and somebody comes along with an actually feasible plan enough people will be comfortable with the idea.
There is some worldwide High Speed Rail Conference happening in Philadelphia, makes me wonder if this actually has the legs to happen.
If they were to use Market East as the HSR Rail Station in Philadelphia, the first thing that needs to be addressed are the Urine Soaked entrances at 11th and Filbert. There are countless times that I have heard tourists go through those doors and just start bellyaching at the smell.
That will not deter the tourist at all. New York City's system is just as bad, and worse.
No... its not. It's $151 billion for just the high speed corridor. No idea where you got that idea from.
No its for the whole Northeastern Network not just the New NEC , its also for upgrading the existing NEC and feeders and expanding the Feeder system. 30 Billion $$ in upgrades is needed between Newark - Stamford to support Amtrak , MNRR , NJT , LIRR...its not just for High Speed Rail its for Upgrading and Replacing Flyovers , Bridges , Tunnels. Idk why the article doesn't say that....but the long term Amtrak plans do. The 151 Billion is divided half for the NEW NEC and Half for old and Feeders....not all for the New NEC.
So that 70's groovy pit under the stupid Gallery would be our main train station? Yuck.
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