MNRR West of Hudson (WoH) Study - Stewart Airport

[finsuburbia]

According to the feasibility study, double tracking from CP sterling to the new spur (excepting the moonda viaduct) would be included.

It also laid out a number of options for upgrading the line that would lower the time for the Suffern-Salisbury Mills segment to between 18 and 24 minutes, depending on the option.

[SecaucusJunction]

Is the feasibility study online? Is there a link?

[finsuburbia]

Is the feasibility study online? Is there a link?

No, but if you contact Metro North, they will send you a hard copy.

[SecaucusJunction]

I was just looking at some of the "alternatives" from MTA's studies. Some of them are laughable... including one to swing whole the railroad up about 5 miles to the airport and go over the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge to somehow connect to the Hudson Line north of Beacon and come all the way south... or swing north at Campbell Hall and connect onto the CSX River Line where there will be a tunnel built at Palisades NJ to connect to the Hudson Line (I'm sure CSX would be THRILLED about that). On top of that, they think that this would save the rider 30-60 minutes off the trip! I think someone must have been smoking the good stuff when they came up with these figures and ideas.

[NJTRailfan]

But atleast Metro North wised up and didn't take this beyond paper/planing stages. Some commuter railroads will take years to drop a bad idea that was unrealistic from the get go but by the time that's done so much money will be spent that the cost of the study/planning will out cost the construction.

[finsuburbia]

I was just looking at some of the "alternatives" from MTA's studies. Some of them are laughable... including one to swing whole the railroad up about 5 miles to the airport and go over the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge to somehow connect to the Hudson Line north of Beacon and come all the way south... or swing north at Campbell Hall and connect onto the CSX River Line where there will be a tunnel built at Palisades NJ to connect to the Hudson Line (I'm sure CSX would be THRILLED about that). On top of that, they think that this would save the rider 30-60 minutes off the trip! I think someone must have been smoking the good stuff when they came up with these figures and ideas.

Wrong study. That one I believe is from the early '90s. This one (2003) is actually quite reasonable and workable.

[SecaucusJunction]

Isnt tonight at midnight when the Port Authority officially takes over Stewart Airport? I would guess they will make some major positive changes within the next year, such as new airlines/destinations and maybe even moving forward on construction of a larger terminal. I would guess they will search for an airline to base themselves out of Stewart. I think there is a pretty good chance that the rail spur will be built off the PJL, does anyone want to venture a guess when the completion date will be? My guess would be sometime well before any ground is broken on the Lackawanna Cutoff.

[SecaucusJunction]

Today is the official Day 1 of the Port Authority's control of Stewart. New service has already been announced....

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ... S/71101022

[NJTRailfan]

Definantly expect new airline service and that rail connection to be fast tracked. I would expect a brand new Terminal that's larger or the expansion of the older on. I could imagien the major carrirs sendign domestic service and a few internationals like Canada, Mexico, Carribbean maybe even some Euro routes. The PA knows what it's doing and I highly doubt they'll get any problems from NIMBYS like the chronically do near Teterboro.

[Jeff Smith]

I was going to resurrect an old Stewart thread, but thought this deserved a newer thread since the study encompasses more than just Stewart. There will be a public meeting December 8th in Newburgh (why Newburgh?) to get public input. Here's the link to the article:

Poughkeepsie Journal Article

You might get a kick out of the title of this thread on railroad.net, but it does cover Stewart service, and outside of the foamers, the service to Stewart is held in pretty low regard (I agree):

Elliot Spitzer wins—future of Port Jervis Line-Stewart link?

Of course, Spitzer is a laughingstock (hey, NY, you get the government you deserve), and NY is in serious budget trouble.

[Maybrook fan]

Study, study, study if the Vanderbilt's had spent as much time and money doing study's and impact statements. We'd be still be looking out for Indians and Bandits while taking the stagecoach to NYC. They have spent enough money on study's to have laid half the track already.

[Darien Red Sox]

Study means looking at something for 10+ years without doing anything. Look at the Danbury Electrification Studies. What about the station improvement studies in CT, the stations are still falling down. And what about that rail line to springfield?? They completed most of the the study and estimated rail service starting by 2009 or 2010 but have not released any updates sense the announcement was made 2 years ago.

[Ridgefielder]

I agree with Maybrook-- the whole "study" thing seems a bit out of control-- why, exactly, does it take so long for the commuter agencies to actually put ties on the ground and attach rails to them? State government regulations?

[Kaback9]

Study, study, study if the Vanderbilt's had spent as much time and money doing study's and impact statements. We'd be still be looking out for Indians and Bandits while taking the stagecoach to NYC. They have spent enough money on study's to have laid half the track already.

Amen this applies to not just this line but all lines under study.

[Jeff Smith]

Thanks to the tree-hugging liberals and NIMBY's using the out-of-control legal system, studies must be done for everything, and consultants with political connections get rich milking it. Of course, would you want a situation similar to the Robert Moses era when everything was just bulldozed?