"Station Plan Called Dead, but It May Just Be Napping&q

Article in today's NYT on "Moynihan station." I realize Amtrak is on reconrd as having no interest in being part of this, but I thought forum members would be interested to see what's going on (or not going on, as the article says)


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/nyreg ... ref=slogin

Will Governor Spitzer use this issue as his test case to show Rep. Silver just who is the "big man up the River"?

While Amtrak may not have "interest" it certainly is paying attention as it will be affected. It might ease conditions at NYP as far as some NJT traffic is concerned but certainly will cause major changes if other traffic picks up (LIRR, NJT) from other sites. In part Silver is right, it won't be enough in the very long run. But what he misses is that it is a step in the right direction. Some feel that NJT is the only ones to benefit but really all public transportation in the city will be helped. If Silver thinks it is only an NJT plan he is missing the fact that there are NY projects from Port Jervis east and, hopefully and in the future, from the Southern Tier which are NY constituants who will benefit.

Noting Henry's comments, while Amtrak passengers may be happy to have NJT "outta 'dere", I'm not sure if Amtrak's financial interests would be so enhanced. After all, there is a specific portion of the terminal allotted to NJT (a Member showed it to me during Oct '04), and I would rather guess there is a lease at market rates between NJT and Amtrak for that space, rather than NJT simply paying a portion of the "overhead" based upon passenger count.

It is not just the financial part but rather also the operations: rail traffic congestion on the two track apporach from New Jersey. Even if no Amtrak trains would be added, at least the number of trains would be reduced enough to allow for more breating room in the schedules, especially at critical rush hour times. The reality though is that even with another NYC station for NJT the corridor will continue to be overcrowded. In some ways Silver is right for the wrong reasons. Its not MN, LIRR, and MTA, but also the total future of them plus NJT and Amtrak that is short changed in the proposition. The Moynahan station will help some, as I said, and all will receive some, if moderate, benefit. The question he poses is whether or not this project is really enough for the future tasks.

MODERATOR'S NOTE:

Just like the previous thread on the same topic, this one is being moved too...

Please refer any general station inquiries that are not specific to Amtrak to the Stations, Terminals and Yards forum.

Thank you,