Metro-North Stimulus Priorities/Projects

[MACTRAXX]

JS: Thanks for the thought...What is good is that the MTA has at least reliable funding sources
and being an essential service the system will remain in operation.

I would much rather think ahead into the future because what is going on currently frankly sucks...
MACTRAXX

[HAMMER77777]

R36, you're right about Monsey. And that ROW I think may be getting a trail if it hasn't already, and is likely in dire shape. A new ROW from Suffern would likely be better.

Why was that ROW ever left unused, leaving 2 major lines (to SV and Suffern) completely isolated from each other though only 5 miles apart?

[dha10001]

This thread deserves a bump with Biden's infrastructure plan hitting the main stage this week.

I'll offer my hopes for different levels of investment in rail (CT Only):

Low
- Bridge replacement funding stream
-Barnum station-level projects (a lousy project, in place of addressing the real needs of the route through the core city)
- Funds for amfleet replacement
- Hartford Line final phase north of Hartford
-Corridor development funds.. targeting East-West rail, NNEIRI-level projects.. few trains per day.

Middle
-Penn Station Access
-Some funding to redesign/rebuild urban interstates / some kind of major inner city infrastructure fund
-- Hartford, Bridgeport urban core highway / rail and station issues
-Funds supporting transit hubs, major train station redevelopment/expansion, infrastructure for adjacent TOD
--- New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Stamford, Sunnyside Queens
-Branch line, Hartford line electrification (general electrification program)

High
-Funding stream for NEC future tier 2 projects
-- New Rochelle rebuilt station, high speed bypass (portion of HSL)
-- New Haven - (Hartford) - Providence capacity study funds
-Branch line expansion - Housatonic line, Waterbury - Hartford, Norwich, Manchester

[Ridgefielder]

High
-Funding stream for NEC future tier 2 projects
-- New Rochelle rebuilt station, high speed bypass (portion of HSL)
-- New Haven - (Hartford) - Providence capacity study funds
-Branch line expansion - Housatonic line, Waterbury - Hartford, Norwich, Manchester

By New Haven - (Hartford) - Providence do you mean something using the old Midland Route through Bolton Notch to Willimantic and then the Providence Branch through Plainfield? Or something using existing trackage through Springfield and Worcester, MA?

[dha10001]

I'm just referring to the put-off study to close the gap left by NEC future. I don't know what the route options should be, though my reading of the topic of the last several years is that there is a greater desire at the state level to route the line through Hartford than along the shore. The initial proposal to route along the shore line and its disastrous reception at defeat at the hands of NIMBYs and environmentalists conveniently shifts focus to a Hartford alignment as the preferred alternative. I know the arguments in favor of the shoreline alignment, but the economic and cultural impact of a centralized routing through the state capital are integral to the conversation.

I think there are a lot of interesting approaches to bridging the gap. A high speed route could also serve Hartford while bypassing the city to the south and using the Hartford line and old Midland route as connectors to Union Station. Would also lend itself to construction in phases, reactivating and utilizing portions of legacy roads, though a phased approach would be unlikely to deliver a faster routing than the existing shore line until late in the process.