Rising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor at bloomberg.com -- not yet, but over the decades, melting glaciers may raise the sea level enough to flood parts of the NEC.
These vulnerable spots are near cities with vulnerable spots, and nearly all the cities on the Northeast Corridor have some vulnerable spots. Much of the NEC is inland, however, with the exception of NYC - New Haven - Providence. Most of that part of the NEC is very close to the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound.
Outside the Northeast, Amtrak's busiest part is in California, and much of the San Francisco Bay Area is very vulnerable to sea-level rise. Also vulnerable is the Oxnard / Santa Barbara line and the Oceanside / San Diego line. The in-between part, in Los Angeles, is more inland.
Of the cities with less Amtrak traffic, Seattle and Portland have some vulnerable spots, and the entire cities of Norfolk, Charleston, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, and Houston are vulnerable.
“If one of the segments of track shuts down, it will shut down this segment of the NEC,” warned members of Amtrak’s planning staff. “There is not an alternate route that can be used as a detour.”The article showed three vulnerable spots in the NEC: near Wilmington DE, near New Haven CT, and near New York City.
That was the conclusion of a three-volume, multi-year climate study undertaken with first Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and then Stantec Inc. Although the report was completed in April 2017, its conclusions were kept private until this November, when a partially redacted version was obtained by Bloomberg through a public records request.
These vulnerable spots are near cities with vulnerable spots, and nearly all the cities on the Northeast Corridor have some vulnerable spots. Much of the NEC is inland, however, with the exception of NYC - New Haven - Providence. Most of that part of the NEC is very close to the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound.
Outside the Northeast, Amtrak's busiest part is in California, and much of the San Francisco Bay Area is very vulnerable to sea-level rise. Also vulnerable is the Oxnard / Santa Barbara line and the Oceanside / San Diego line. The in-between part, in Los Angeles, is more inland.
Of the cities with less Amtrak traffic, Seattle and Portland have some vulnerable spots, and the entire cities of Norfolk, Charleston, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, and Houston are vulnerable.