Amtrak wants a train from NYC to Philly in 30 mins..but they need the $$$

[mixiboi]

I love to see that day, it would transform Philadelphia forever(Live here, work in NY) but of course this is still the same old pipe dream, but at least they are still pushing it.....
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Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor plan at $151 billion

Amtrak's updated plan for high-speed train travel on the East Coast envisions 37-minute trips between Philadelphia and New York, after a $151 billion redevelopment of the entire Northeast Corridor.

Faster service would be phased in gradually, as Amtrak improves existing tracks, signals, bridges, and power lines and then builds a separate high-speed corridor between Washington and Boston to accommodate trains traveling at 220 m.p.h.

In a report released Monday, Amtrak revised its projections for costs, ridership, and the alignment of its proposed new 438-mile high-speed corridor. The high-speed segment between New York and Washington would be completed by about 2030, and the route between New York and Boston by 2040, according to the plan.

In Philadelphia, Amtrak envisions bullet trains traveling in tunnels beneath the city, with stops at a new airport station and an expanded Market East station. The plan calls for 30th Street Station, now the city's main intercity rail hub, to be used for slower regional train service.

[concourse]

I'm excited at the prospect. A lot of the work and some decent time reduction can be done on smaller projects than digging a massive tunnel under Center City (e.g. constant-tension catengary, Portal Bridge). Unfortunately our new highway bill funds all surface transportation at $50 billion a year which won't even repair what we have so you can bet we're not going to be building any new rail projects on this scale very soon.

[mixiboi]

Yeah, Amtrak has big dreams, but like NASA...they ain't happening in this era...


Which is sad coming from a country that built the Empire State Building and the Hoover Damn during the Great Depression....

[seand]

We only have money for military-related boondoggles, these days. Like impractical jet designs and adventurist excursions into every Arab spring country in the Middle East. Civilian infrastructure sounds like "stimulus".

[mixiboi]

And don't forget $5 billion dollars in pixeled clothes that don't work...


Anyway from the PR:

Amtrak NEC Capital Investment Program (Program)

Since the release in 2010 of The Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan and A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak has continued its work and has now integrated these two plans into a single, coherent $151 billion service and investment program called the NEC Capital Investment Program. It calls for investments to be made over the coming several decades to improve and expand the NEC, and affirms the Amtrak commitment to implementing critically needed near-term Master Plan projects while advancing the long-term development of a 220 mph (354 kph) NextGen HSR network through incremental "Stair-Step" improvements to its current high-speed rail service (see attached chart).

Amtrak received feedback from states, commuter rail agencies and other NEC users and stakeholders, and has made several changes to its planning since 2010, including: announcement of the Gateway Program to increase track, bridge, station and tunnel capacity from Newark, N.J., to New York Penn Station; a revised alignment of the proposed NextGen HSR route to travel through Providence, R.I., rather than Woonsocket; and changes to various proposed stations.

Amtrak NEC Business and Financial Plan (B&F Plan)

The 2012 Update Report also discusses key findings from the recently completed NEC Business and Financial Plan to guide Amtrak on how to potentially fund and finance its integrated vision for the NEC. Scientifically, the B&F Plan finds greater than anticipated ridership demand for, and associated revenue from, the planned Amtrak services levels supported by the NEC Capital Investment Program, forecasting a 25 percent increase in ridership and revenue over 2010 projections. However, the B&F Plan also finds that the schedule and large annual capital expenditures in the peak period of planned construction should be modified to strengthen opportunities for public and private sector funding, to take into account resource constraints and to ensure effective management and delivery of the Program.

To advance the Program, the B&F Plan concludes that Amtrak should pursue a phased approach and strategically advance specific elements with the biggest impacts on improved reliability, increased capacity and reduced trip-time as quickly as funding allows, while deferring remaining elements to subsequent phases. This approach will help Amtrak achieve early successes that strengthen revenue and financial performance and create additional capital funding to support other Program elements.

For example, the proposed Amtrak Gateway Program to improve travel to and through New York City via new tunnels under the Hudson River and the expansion of the Moynihan Station and Penn Station terminal complex is essential to the entire NEC network. Its completion will deliver many key benefits for intercity and commuter rail service and set the stage for future NextGen HSR expansion.

The B&F Plan also recommends that a combination of funding, policy decisions and cooperation from federal, state, and local governments, NEC users, regional partners, the private sector and Amtrak are necessary to advance a program of this size and regional and national significance. Further, public sector leadership and funding is essential during the early years.

While the B&F Plan finds that current Federal, state, and local transportation investment programs are insufficient to support the Program presently, strategies are available to generate funding, including enhanced access fees paid by NEC users to support state of good repair other improvement projects to the existing corridor that provide the greatest benefits to their services.

Current Amtrak NEC Improvement Projects

Several major projects are now underway that will improve existing services and support the Amtrak NEC vision, including $15 million for Gateway Program planning, design and preliminary environmental review and utility relocation to support construction of a new Portal Bridge in New Jersey, which itself is currently in the final design stage.

Another major ongoing effort is a $450 million project funded by the FRA high-speed and intercity passenger rail program to improve service reliability for intercity and commuter trains, modernize the electrical system and boost top speeds from 135 mph (217 kph) to 160 mph (257 kph) along a 24-mile section of the NEC between Trenton and New Brunswick, N.J. - making it the fastest passenger track in North America. It also will reconfigure track switches at the western entrance to New York Penn Station to mitigate congestion issues. Major construction work is to begin in 2013 with anticipated project completion in 2017.

In addition, Amtrak is nearing the completion of a $140 million project to replace the 104-year old movable Niantic River Bridge in East Lyme, Conn., to improve reliability, increase speeds on and near the bridge and minimize traffic delays. Rail traffic will begin to shift to the new structure in late summer 2012 with full project completion scheduled for spring 2013.

[Naveen]

We only have money for military-related boondoggles, these days. Like impractical jet designs and adventurist excursions into every Arab spring country in the Middle East. Civilian infrastructure sounds like "stimulus".

It's remarkable how a small group of stubborn, wrongheaded people have been able to hijack our nation's priorities.

Anything that improves America's schools, infrastructure, healthcare: waste.

Anything that kills foreigners (or at least keeps them out of the U.S.): the only thing government should do.

Back to the OP, I've long thought about a move up to NYC for the sole-purpose of expanding my employment opportunities. I love my quality of life in Philly, but the job market for my industry is 1000x stronger in New York. A 37-minute ride to NYC would mean any question of me leaving Philly would be over.

[mixiboi]

Here the Philly parts of the PDF











Amtrak - About Amtrak - Reports & Documents

[TLP]

The goofy Amtrak bullet trains are really just too much

[mixiboi]

I know, they look out of place in the first pic in that old station...

[MariusPontmercy]

They're way too phallic for my liking.

Also, way to go us, we got on Amtrak's "super express" route. Woo Hoo. Suck it Baltimore, only getting regular express service.

[eldondre]

thank god the keystone express stops at harrisburg, who'd want to go any further? I mean Harrisburg is a sensible terminus right?
Amtrak's plan to aid NY world domination

[Sean]

Also, way to go us, we got on Amtrak's "super express" route. Woo Hoo. Suck it Baltimore, only getting regular express service.

I imagine this has to do with the current Keystone express and the possibility of HSR service to Pittsburgh in the future. Which I know is an even bigger pipe dream than this proposal.

[eldondre]

I imagine this has to do with the current Keystone express and the possibility of HSR service to Pittsburgh in the future. Which I know is an even bigger pipe dream than this proposal.

which is sad since it'd be a whole lot cheaper than this.

Amtrak is proposing to build a station under union station because commuters are using the station. this is unnecessary and enormously expensive. first of all, it's amtrak station so the commuters should pay for a new station. second, electrifying would allow vre and marc to run through, increasing capacity. maybe this will be necessary in 20 years, I don't know, but it isn't necessary for fast trains to DC.
they want to build a new south station but there's no mention of a run through to north station and what that would do for south station capacity since it would allow for run throughs for mbta.
on the whole, there are some pretty sensible improvements to the nec buried in there. Pennsylvania needs to push to have the Keystone Express extended to pittsburgh

[FrankStar]

I know, they look out of place in the first pic in that old station...

Which is the recently renovated Wilmington station.

[mixiboi]

thank god the keystone express stops at harrisburg, who'd want to go any further? I mean Harrisburg is a sensible terminus right?
Amtrak's plan to aid NY world domination

Since this is about the NEC, Amtrak cut out the HSR to Pitts, which is the grey Lin on the diagram. They just wanted to focus on there existing lines and the NEC in this.

[mixiboi]

Which is the recently renovated Wilmington station.

It looks like a Regional Rail station.

[FrankStar]

It looks like a Regional Rail station.

It's the Wilmington station - I'm there twice a day. That's the upstairs track area, of course. There is a largish area inside and downstairs. But still no bar or restaurant.

[five apples]

This plan is pure tyranny and would infringe on my freedom.

[Marc]

What I heard: there's a pie in the sky plan that could, in 20-30 years, implement technology that is currently in production in Europe and Asia.

I get that car is king here but that it just stunning.

[MariusPontmercy]

This plan is pure tyranny and would infringe on my freedom.

Yeah! I don't want my tax dollars funding no penis trains! Uhg, and when it goes into the giant tunnel under Philadelphia it'll be symbolically violating our fair city. I just won't stand for it!

Honestly though... does anyone get the feeling that this plan is sort of... stupid? Like its a bunch of completely conjectural, poorly thought through collection of concept art? I feel like Amtrak knows this isn't happening, but wants to aim high and get people used to the idea of high speed rail. Once we're comfortable with the concept it'll make for more support in maybe getting funding for the actual upgrades the NEC needs.

Just my thought on the matter.