Sasha's non-commentary for March 18, 2014: NYSDOT High Speed Rail Open House

On Wednesday March 12th, I took a day trip to Poughkeepsie to view and give feedback at the New York State DOT's open house. To make a long story short, it was a success, even though I didn't quite network to the extent I wanted.

The morning didn't start out too great as I had in general a hard time getting out of bed. And to make matters worse was the tragic news out of East Harlem, where a building explosion had killed eight people and closed the Park Avenue Viaduct in and out of Grand Central Terminal. So may day became more complicated: I would now have to travel to the new Yankees-East 153rd Street station to catch what I thought was going to be a shuttle train at Croton Harmon. As it turns out, the train to Poughkeepsie was a ways behind us.


The weather was just nasty and raw and not long after I got on the train, it started raining. What was supposed to be an interesting trip to Poughkeepsie became a hike. By the time I got to Croton Harmon, the platform was packed. While I'd assume something similar is normal during the peak of rush hour, this had to be the exception. Boarding the "shuttle" (which turned out to be a through train which originated in the Bronx and was packed) took longer than expected. 


While spring is on its way (it's also, despite my November birthday, my favorite time of year), the Hudson River is still frozen. The train passed by the ruins of Bannerman's Castle, an important landmark along the Hudson Line.

As it turned out, I had a nice surprise on my hands: the ticket from East 153rd to Poughkeepsie had not been collected, and so I went to the ticket clerk to see what I could do. Her advice was for me to use the ticket and pay an additional $2 on the train. Since I didn't have cash, I was able to use my bank card to "extend" the ticket. And that's why I'll never take the ticket booth for granted. Next time I take the train, I'll be sure to get it for the full length of the trip, as you never know!

The open house, held at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, was a low-key event, almost like a small local government hearing sort of event. I believe the low turnout was a consequence of the weather, Metro-North's earlier in the day issues, the Hudson Valley's familiarity with Metro-North, and the fact that most of the improvements are west of Albany. Several questions I asked were able to be answered: for instance, there are five choices: a base alternative (which means on minor improvements and none of that is speed related), two which allow for a 90MPH top speed (one of those includes 250+ miles of dedicated passenger track), a 110MPH option (which adds more track and gentler curves) and a 125MPH dedicated right of way from Buffalo to Albany (which is useless for local service). I'm siding for the time being with the 110MPH option, as while it's $750 million more for extra track and improvements, also offers the least subsidy demands. The problem? $750 million is a HUGE chunk of change for a state dealing with public education issues.

Included in the program was free water and cookies (a great thing as I eaten a quick lunch on my way to Poughkeepsie) and a brochure on the project which I will end up archiving in the future, once I have a safe place to put it. Several speakers gave their testimony, including myself. Each of us that gave testimony had good reasoning, including the vice president of the Empire State Passengers' Association, an organization I hope to join in the near future. 
The importance of high speed rail to Upstate New York in the coming years is crucial to not just the survival of Upstate New York, but its recovery as well. I would like to plead to the DOT again to be prepared twenty years down the road for a dedicated right of way, because that day will come, so no matter what choice is made, keep all options on the table. I expect ridership in all cases to exceed expectations if the state can continue on the path to both fiscal sanity and stability, along with continuing to make New York an attractive place to live and also do business. I left knowing that if the state can get the funds for the project, higher speed rail in New York will be a true possibility. For that to happen the state needs to get its affairs straightened out, and by those affairs I mean fiscal stability for all state agencies and local governments. That includes Governor Cuomo listening to local governments, because in my opinion, they know best on what is needed.

While I was at the affair, I met a man not much older than me. His name was John, and despite being an evangelical small government conservative he is fully in favor of the project, although by what he told me, he might be back down South by the time the project comes to fruition. We chatted the entire way down to Grand Central. That was the surprise of the night, although not a big one. The trip was worth the slight hassle and it ended up costing less than I thought because of the issues Metro-North was having with operations that day.

*This post was rushed and I might edit it to add more content, clarity purposes, etc.