High speed rail: Our generation's Erie Canal Lost Valuable Jobs for Rochester Because of Albany!

HARRY DAVIS ON THE ISSUES

High speed rail: Our generation's Erie Canal

Recently, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden went to Florida for a town hall. At that town hall, they unveiled the recipients of high speed rail funding throughout the country.

Of the $8 billion doled out to several states, New York only received a small sliver of that. While the $151 million New York received is better than nothing, it is not as good as it should be and is a far cry from the almost $600 million requested.

"The awarding of high-speed rail money by the federal government in February turned into a test of which state officials could transcend partisan bickering and agree to pony up a bit of their precious local resources -- and which couldn't. States along the Northeast corridor failed to get much funding, despite their overwhelming objective need."

from: How Florida Cashed In On High Speed Rail http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/10/how-florida-cashed-in-on_n_4544...

In other words, the current mess in Albany caused Rochester to lose the $116 million that Governor Paterson requested for Rochester's share of high speed rail money! That means our representatives in Albany, and in Washington, DC, failed to secure much needed, high paying JOBS for Rochester!

High speed rail can be the Erie Canal of the 21st century. With high speed rail comes many benefits:

(1) Economic development. One of the obstacles to development in upstate New York and in the Rochester area is accessibility. Rochester has an airport, bus station and train station, but high speed rail would offer greater accessibility. Having HSR coming through Rochester would attract businesses looking to start up or move to Rochester.

(2) Job creation. In order to construct high speed rail lines, you need the manpower. That is where jobs come in. Also, as mentioned in the economic development point, businesses would bring jobs to the area. So while construction jobs are good paying jobs, they will only last for as long as the project. Once the lines are constructed, the appeal of HSR will bring businesses to the area and, thus, create jobs.

(3) Transportation. Right now, rail service is mediocre at best. High speed rail would change that. High speed rail would enable tourists to travel from New York City, Albany, Buffalo or anywhere in the state to Rochester. Likewise, tourists from Rochester would be able to venture elsewhere.

So why is New York lagging behind?

The failure to get more money from the federal government to fund high speed rail lies with state leaders who have not invested in high speed rail. Many leaders, whether they are in the Assembly, Senate or Congress, have endorsed the idea of high speed rail in New York and believe, as I do, that it would be a boon for our economy. But these same leaders have not fought for the funding we need and the infrastructure we need to make high speed rail a reality.

New York isn't the only one lagging behind. As evidenced in a recent New York Times article, China and other international nations have been far ahead the U.S. in high speed rail construction. According to that article, China will have 42 high speed rail lines by 2012. The United States will have their first high speed rail line in 2014 - a line connecting Orlando and Tampa, Florida.

We need someone in Albany who will advocate and demand more funding for high speed rail. While our state's fiscal situation is dire, we can afford to invest in areas that will have a good return on our investment. We need to invest in high speed rail and we need it now. China and other countries have shown that high speed rail leads to increased tourism, job creation and economic growth. The quicker we get on board with the idea and invest more in high speed rail, the quicker we will see the benefits.

High speed rail is potentially the biggest economic development for upstate New York in 150 years, since the Erie Canal.

It can and will be our generation's Erie Canal. Let's get on board with this effort NOW!

Please, also see:

Rochester Subway
http://www.rochestersubway.com

Reconnect Rochester
http://reconnectrochester.org

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tim Truscott says:
March 3, 2010 at 3:56 pm

I must respectfully state that I am not satisfied with Congresswoman Slaughter’s conciliatory posting.

I wrote to Congresswoman Slaughter on January 23, 2009 and never received a reply or acknowledgement from her staff. I did order a Deliver Confirmation on that piece of mail, so I know her office did receive it. I also wrote similar letters to all the Representatives along the Empire Corridor, as well as our two U.S. Senators, and did not receive responses or acknowledgements from any of them. It makes me wonder as to the depth of their interest in and understanding of rail passenger transporation in Upstate New York and whether it goes further than press releases and sound bites.

In contrast, I will say that my communications with the Amtrak Executive Offices in Washington have been received warmly, respectfully and given careful consideration. Unfortunately, with regard to high-speed rail funding, the Amtrak Executive Office does not call the shots.

Ridership on the Empire Corridor has declined over the years for a variety of reasons. Reliability of service is an important reason.

Trains between New York and Albany-Rensselaer were cancelled or delayed for several days beginning February 24, 2010 because of weather-related problems. The ice storm of December 11-12, 2008 also shut down passenger service on this line. The area between Poughkeepsie and Rensselaer has been vulnerable to weather for years. Historically, the public perceives trains as weather-resistant, as they should be.

The Empire Corridor between New York City and Albany-Rensselaer unfortunately is no longer able to maintain that tradition. If this part of the Empire Corridor is unable to function, then there is no rail passenger service between New York City and Utica, Syracuse, Rochester or Buffalo. The Poughkeepsie-Rensselaer signal system is the most urgent of projects on the Empire Corridor.

The signal system, the principal source of problems, needed to be replaced over 20 years ago, but it wasn’t. It should be pointed out that New York State abolished its DOT Rail Division nearly 25 years ago.

What is the point of talking about high-speed rail if New York State is not capable of providing basic, reliable service? The most important thing is not how fast trains are capable of going. What is important is how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B. There’s a difference. To state it another way, it is pointless to be able to go 120 or 150 mph between Rochester and Buffalo when the trains coming from New York are unreliable. It’s not a regional political argument over who gets the project funding, or favoring one part of the state over another. It’s simple common sense.

The second project I suggested to our Congresspeople was the second track between Albany and Schenectady. That did receive some of the HSR funding. However, once again, a second track between Albany and Schenectady is not terribly useful without reliable service between Poughkeepsie and Rensselaer.

And the third most-important project, which would improve running times between New York and Buffalo, involves some signal and switch work in the Utica area. This could have a great impact on the reliability of service between the Buffalo area and Albany-Rensselaer.

Where did I get the information on which I based my suggestions? I got it from the dispatchers, signal maintenance personnel and track maintenance personnel who know first-hand, on a day-to-day basis, how the railroad operates. These weren’t the ideas of consultants or executives sitting in far-off offices whose thoughts are more theoretical than practical.

It appears that no one in the decison-making process for New York’s high-speed rail planning and funding has a good overall picture of how the system needs to work. I hope that in the near term, NYDOT is able to establish something comparable to the 100+ employee Rail Division it had before 1986 and get New York “back on track” again. A new signal system between Poughkeepsie and Rensselaer is the first order of business.

Tim Truscott
empirestate@att.net
131 Jay St.
Albany NY 12210
VA:F [1.6.5_908]