NEW YORK—Trains traveling so fast between Washington, D.C., and New York City that they shave an entire hour off the two and a half hour trip. That’s the idea Amtrak came up with in 2010, after releasing a $52 billion master plan, only to realize increased ridership projections couldn’t be handled merely by upgrading the current system.
So, in September 2010 Amtrak unveiled a conceptual plan for a new 427-mile track connecting D.C., New York City, and Boston that could handle trains traveling at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.
Amtrak released an updated look at its conceptual plan Monday.
It includes more information about the Gateway Project, which came up after governmental and transportation entities shot down the proposed extension of the No. 7 subway line and the New Jersey–New York Access to the Region’s Core plan, which would have built a new passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
The Gateway Project would include new tracks in New Jersey, two new tunnels under the Hudson River, and an expanded Penn Station.
“It’s the key bottleneck to the entire corridor,” said Dan Schned, associate planner with the Regional Plan Association. “If you don’t start with New York you’re in trouble.”
Amtrak’s focus on the project in the revised plan is noteworthy and significant, according to Schned. “They understand that the two tunnels under the Hudson are the front door to Penn Station, the largest commuter hub in the Northeast,” he said.
Step by step
Amtrak’s 2012 plan update breaks down a long transportation route, which will involve numerous municipalities, into smaller incremental steps.
The first step in 2015 would add 40 Acela Express trains to its fleet. Work between 2015 and 2025 would increase maximum speeds for trains from 135 mph to 160 mph.
Then the Gateway Project would be completed in 2025. Express tracks between Washington, D.C., and New York City are projected to be finished by 2030, allowing trains to fly up to 220 miles per hour between the two cities in 96 minutes—about 1 hour faster than today.
Ridership for the full track is expected to grow to 43.5 million riders annually, with $4.86 billion in ticket revenue by 2040.
Funding options
As with all mega-transportation projects, a big concern is where the funding comes from. The projected cost was lowered to $151 billion through 2040.
The updated design predicts, among its benefits, 40,000 construction jobs annually and $33 billion in wages over 25 years, as well as 7,000 new permanent jobs with Amtrak—along with the shorter travel times for the area’s commuters.
But, funding remains uncertain. The federal government has shown support for high-speed rail nationwide and in the region, such as providing $450 million in May 2011 for Amtrak improvements in the Northeast Corridor, but “Amtrak has acknowledged in its plan that federal grants at the moment are scarce,” Schned said.
New York and New Jersey have expressed support for improving infrastructure but funding remains a contention, as seen with the decision by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to stop the trans-Hudson Access to the Region’s Core plan because of the high ticket price for New Jersey taxpayers.
Amtrak did list user access fees as a funding source, and Schned said there are other ways the entity can raise funds. User access fees occur when Amtrak, as the primary owner of the Northeast Economic Corridor, charges commuter agencies to run their trains on Amtrak infrastructure. Amtrak could charge these agencies more. Schned said another potential funding source is charging utilities to run broadband or transmission lines along the rail line. He said it’s convenient for the utilities because there are fewer things in the way.
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