Tuesday's meeting on high-speed rail is still getting some press coverage. WGRZ in Buffalo had a train story in last night's broadcast.
The only high-speed rail line running on standard tracks in the US is Amtrak's Acela Express. Reading through the Wikipedia entry for that train, a few facts stand out:
- Acela runs between cities (DC, New York and Boston), that have excellent mass-transit facilities which connect directly to the rail stations. The upstate cities where high-speed rail is planned have mediocre mass transit. Someone wanting to travel from, say, Orchard Park to Pittsford, is probably going to have to drive their car at one end and take a cab at the other.
- Acela's equipment doesn't run at 150 MPH for much of the route, mostly due to track restrictions related to track width and quality. I wonder if the right-of-way for the new track will be wide enough to let high-speed rail run at full throttle here.
- Acela trains are a joint venture between Bombardier and Alstom. Alstom has a big presence in the 29th, so that explains a lot of why Eric Massa would be gung-ho for this project, and it also explains how it could stimulate the 29th's economy.
Comments
This high speed upstate NY Train to Nowhere could could connect with Buffalo's local Train to Nowhere - the NFTA light rail / subway boondoggle. Who says there is no mass transit at the terminus?
Massa should be pushing high speed rail anywhere in the US, as it could potentially mean work for ALSTOM in Hornell and Rochester. The Congressional Representative for Plattsburgh, NY should join Massa, as the Bombardier plant that built the Acela trains is in Plattsburgh.
Upstate just doesn't make sense for high speed rail at this time. Eventually, say as a part of a NYC - Toronto - Chicago web of rail, yes. But not Buffalo to Albany.
You're right -- I'm sure the mighty NFTA will add a spur to the Amtrak station.
I wonder why a NYC - Albany route isn't getting more attention...