Approximately $4.8 billion
in High Speed Rail infrastructure investments in New York State are being
pushed for in order to enhance travel in the Empire Corridor – connecting
Niagara Falls to New York City, by way of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and
Albany – and the Adirondack Corridor – connecting Montreal and Plattsburgh to
Albany. Construction would begin
in Spring 2010 and end by 2018, with the majority of this funding going to the
State’s ‘Third Track Initiative’, which will construct a third rail line along
the existing line, dedicated to enhanced passenger service – at 110 miles per
hour.
According to
the High Speed Rail New York Coalition (including Representative Louise
Slaughter and Assemblyman Sam Hoyt), New York is uniquely positioned to
leverage substantial impact from federal High Speed Rail investment. Specifically:
· New York state residents who live within a 30‐mile radius of the Empire Corridor; this includes
more than 80 percent of all 19.4 million state residents.
· The planned $2.25 billion in public and private
investment in Upstate cities by encouraging commerce and travel to our urban
centers.
· More than 130,000 students educated by the 35 colleges
and universities within the 12‐ county
Central Upstate region of New York; the third highest concentration of college students
in the nation.
· Small and large businesses through increased tourism
and the creation of jobs in fields such as rail operation, research and
development, manufacturing and construction/maintenance.
Jobs
· The New York State Department of Transportation
anticipates the creation of 247,825 jobs during the construction period of the
Empire Corridor.
· High Speed Rail, for example, will ultimately create
two distinct labor markets in the Buffalo‐Niagara
Falls and Rochester metropolitan areas employing a combined total of more than
1.7 million workers.
· The New York State Senate Task Force on High Speed Rail
estimated that a program of high speed rail investment could produce 6,500 “person
years”* of employment in New York state communities over the course of the 10‐year implementation period. *One person year is equivalent to one
person working a full year.
· Federal investment in the national High Speed Rail
network will result in new business for rolling stock manufacturers. The Empire Corridor alone will require
81 coaches, 21 café cars and 25 locomotives.
Funding
· The New York State Department of Transportation
estimates the total project cost to be $4.8 Billion with inflation adjustments
and contingencies not included.
· The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $8
Billion for High Speed Rail investment across the country. The Federal government is currently investigating
future sources of funding to complete a country‐wide
network of High Speed Rail corridors.
Travel
· The Empire Corridor connects the Chicago Hub network of
the Midwest with the country’s only existing High Speed Rail line – the Acela
Express train on the Northeast corridor.
Since its creation in December 2000, Acela annual ridership has increased
by 329 percent.
· A recent report by the Brookings Institute called for
increased investment in High Speed Rail to alleviate air congestion and delays
in the Northeast.
· High Speed Rail would dramatically decrease the length
of travel time between metropolitan areas across New York State