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CAPITAL REGION
Stimulus funds may aid local rail travel
Plan would add second line between Sch’dy, Albany
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    The proposed federal stimulus package is expected to put on track a long-discussed second rail line between Schenectady and Albany, local officials said on Friday.
    The second line would eliminate a delay-causing bottleneck and would improve passenger rail and freight rail services between the two cities, officials said.
    The Capital District Transportation Committee last week added the project to its list of regional programs. The rail line would be built using only federal economic stimulus package funds and would not be built using allocated money for existing projects, CDTC officials said.
    The state Department of Transportation requested that the CDTC put the project on the list during its planning meeting on Wednesday. It said that the second rail line would stretch 18 miles between the two cities and would cost $60 million to build.
    In a letter to the CDTC, DOT Region 1 Planning Manager Robert Hansen said the new track will improve passenger and freight rail operations “at this critical point.” Hansen wrote, “Reductions in delays … will improve service and make rail travel in the Empire Corridor more attractive.”
    Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton said the second rail line “would help to invigorate our economy and make us a more appealing destination.” The second line would tie into a new Amtrak station to be built at Erie Boulevard and State Street. The station also would tie in to bus service.
    Stratton said the city has $5 million committed toward the project. The city is seeking another $8.7 million in federal stimulus money to finish the project.
    Schenectady County Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, called the proposed second rail line “phenomenal news for Schenectady. It would help the whole eastern end of the Capital Region by providing faster and better service.”
    Stratton said the need for a second rail line between Albany and Schenectady has been a long-standing issue. The lack of a second track has “impeded the ability to travel more effi - ciently between the Schenectady station and New York City because you have to wait for trains to pass.”
    Hughes said many people drive directly to the Rensselaer Amtrak station to board a train to New York City because the service is better. A second line would allow people to board in Schenectady and head straight to New York City without delay.
    Ray Gillen, commissioner of the Schenectady County Department of Planning and Development, said the second rail line would also further develop the county’s industrial parks.
    “Freight is very ............................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00101

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SCHENECTADY
Rail projects delayed again
Second track, station work now set for 2013
BY BETHANY BUMP Gazette Reporter

    Construction slated for this year on a second railroad track between Rensselaer and Schenectady has been stalled once again and is now expected to start in 2013.
    In addition, construction on a new platform and track layout planned for Schenectady’s Amtrak station off of State Street and Erie Boulevard has also been delayed until next year.
    Both projects are contingent on a lease agreement announced in October being finished between CSX Railroad and Amtrak, said Empire State Passengers Association President Bruce Becker; he spoke at the Holiday Inn, where the ESPA and National Association of Railroad Passengers 32nd annual meeting was held Saturday.
    The construction of a new Amtrak passenger station was expected to occur alongside the massive Erie Boulevard renovation project, which is set to start again in May.
    Ray Gillen, chairman of the Metroplex Development Authority, said the delay should not pose a serious problem, “because from an economic development perspective, the project is fully funded so it will get done.” The delay should not affect the Erie Boulevard work planned over the next two years.
    One paperwork hurdle has been cleared. The lease between Amtrak and CSX has been settled with the state Department of Transportation, which will soon give Amtrak control of train tracks from Poughkeepsie to Schenectady, among other rail improvements.
    The agreement was presented to state DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald on Thursday and now needs to go through state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, said Becker.
    “It will allow improvement projects to move forward,” said Becker to the group of railroad offi cials and passengers who mostly arrived to Schenectady by train Saturday. “I have physically touched the hard copy of the lease agreement, so I know this is a major accomplishment and a step forward.”
    High-speed rail advocates breathed an excited sigh of relief last September when the Federal Railroad Administration announced an obligation of more than $149 million in high-speed rail funds that included the long-sought second track between Albany and Schenectady.
    The 17 miles of new and upgraded track will eliminate decades of bottleneck in Amtrak’s upstate system, but spending continues to be tied up until agreements among all agencies are reached on leasing, operations and maintenance of new facilities.
    Though it’s been slow going, a final lease agreement with CSX will allow Amtrak to gain full operational control of the 85 route miles of the Empire Corridor. Though CSX will retain full freight rights on the leased line, Amtrak will have operational, dispatching and maintenance responsibilities.
    Passenger traffic was up at many stations across the state during fi scal year 2011, with Albany-Rensselaer the 9th busiest Amtrak station in the nation. ...........................>>>>......................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01103&AppName=1

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The 17 miles of new and upgraded track will eliminate decades of bottleneck in Amtrak’s upstate system,

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The second line will lead to growth -- because it will enable a high speed train connection from NYC through Schenectady to Buffalo.   When that happens - commuter time between NYC ans Schenectady will be cut in half or more -- and thus allow for people to live in Schenectady and work in NYC.    This phenomenon has been a tremendous boom for Columbia, Ulster and other Mid-Hudson River Counties --- new home construction rises, existing home are in demand and it leads to population growth near rail centers that will lead to increased demand for retail and other commercial business ventures.

The high speed train has been waiting for the second rail line -- and once that is built .. then it is just a matter of getting funding for the high speed train.

Oh -- and if you have to ask "Do people ride the trains?" than you need to get yourself informed -- because they are and as fuel prices rise --- even more people will be riding the trains.

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Passenger traffic was up at many stations across the state during fi scal year 2011, with Albany-Rensselaer the 9th busiest Amtrak station in the nation.

HIGH-SPEED PLANS
    Also discussed at the annual meeting was ESPA’s “90 MPH NOW” initiative, which received lukewarm reception in Washington and Albany when it was fi rst launched in June 2011.
    Becker and other high-speed rail advocates hope that high-speed rail would reduce travel time and boost ridership along New York’s routes, where the top passenger speed is currently 79 mph.
    Becker reported several updates from a tier one environmental impact study commissioned by the state DOT last year for the High Speed Rail Empire Corridor project, which remains under review. The study was narrowed down to several high-speed alternatives, ranging from 90 mph up to 125 mph, for rail improvements west of Albany toward Buffalo.
    “From our perspective, 90 to 125 miles per hour is reasonable,” said Becker.
    One of two 90 mph options includes using CSX’s two current main freight tracks and adding cab signals, which replicate wayside signal lights from inside the cab of a train. The other option would use a new third track, but require nearly $4 billion more capital.
    A third alternative would include a 110 mph top speed option, which would also make use of a new third track. A final option would allow passenger speeds of up to 125 mph, using a new and fully electrifi ed third track. This option would require nearly $15.6 billion.
    A draft of the tier one study will be released later this spring, with a series of public hearings to come afterward.
    “Overall, we are pleased,” said Becker. “I have conveyed to folks at DOT that we are impressed and pleased at the direction this is headed.”
    Rail officials outlined advances in 2011 and ongoing updates to the nearly 100 railroad advocates at the Saturday meeting.
    ESPA experienced a $4,000 revenue loss last year, largely due to donations that never came through, said ESPA’s financial secretary Richard Kulla. It’s 2012 budget is
set at $37,000.
    The association is looking to boost revenue through its “Bring a New Member to ESPA” campaign, which helps bring in new revenue from membership dues. Newly enrolled members receive a free one-year membership to the organization, but ESPA has found that retention rates from the campaign are successful.
    It’s also looking to cut expenses by moving much of its printing operations online.
    “We’re still on relatively good grounds fi nancially,” said Kulla.