Posted on 04/17/2009 12:15:43 PM PDT by Chet 99
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced Thursday that it is proceeding with plans to allow 10 rail corridors — including one linking Buffalo and Albany —to compete for up to $13 billion in federal high-speed rail funding.
The announcement gives the new administration’s stamp of approval to rail corridors that were designated as eligible funding candidates as far back as 1991. The Empire Corridor, linking Buffalo and Albany, won its designation in 1998.
While only six of the 10 corridors are expected to receive funding, local lawmakers touted the Obama announcement as a hopeful sign.
And perhaps most hopefully of all, the White House invited Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, the Fairport Democrat who is spearheading the upstate New York high-speed rail effort, to attend Thursday’s White House announcement.
Other commitments prevented Slaughter from being able to attend, but both she and Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N. Y., said they were excited about the president’s announcement.
“The development of high-speed rail will create an economic development engine in upstate New York for decades,” Gillibrand said.
While competition for the funding is expected to be fierce, local lawmakers believe the upstate route has an advantage because it could be built on a third track along an existing right of way.
That means it could be built more quickly than other highspeed rail corridors — which is important because the first $8 billion in federal funding will come under the economic stimulus bill, which aims to fund projects that are “shovel-ready.” The Obama administration aims to announce that first round of funding by the end of summer.
“The ‘third track initiative’ is deserving of federal support and I intend to fight tooth and nail to make high-speed rail in upstate New York a reality,” Slaughter said.
Obama likened his highspeed rail plan to the unveiling of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.
“My high-speed rail proposal will lead to innovations that change the way we travel in America,” he said. “We must start developing clean, energy-efficient transportation that will define our regions for centuries to come.”
The Buffalo-to-Albany rail proposal will compete with proposals linking Chicago with several Midwestern cities, a link between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and other proposals in New England, the Southeast and Pacific Northwest.
Both Gillibrand and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., have been pushing the upstate rail proposal, and Slaughter has formed an upstate caucus to push for the plan on a bipartisan basis.
“I’m glad we got to the next step,” said Rep. Chris Lee, RClarence, who also has been pushing the upstate route. “I know they will take a close look at the economic feasibility of this, and I hope that gets us to the final gate.”
Like a lot of people, I used to live in Buffalo. I suppose a high speed rail system there will help families move out more efficiently.
$13 Billion?
That wouldn’t buy 25 miles of federally funded rail.
Twenty years from now...
The high speed rail consortium announced today that it will have to file for bankruptcy within 24 hours unless the federal government extends a grant or loan guarantees in the amount of $250 billion dollars.
High speed rail, once thought to be a viable alternative to other means of transportation has waned in recent years.
The President today said that the nation had wasted enough taxpayer dollars on the rail system, and it was on it’s own.
A chicken in every pot....but I want a pony.
Only Obama could bufallo the entire nation into willingly being railroaded.
***“The ‘third track initiative’ is deserving of federal support and I intend to fight tooth and nail to make high-speed rail in upstate New York a reality,” Slaughter said.***
Slaughter better take a look at a map of NYS. Buffalo is in Western New York, not in “upstate New York.
It should connect Buffalo and Toronto, so the Bill’s fans can get to their games.
Nobody wants to go to Albany or anywhere south of it!
Heck, we want downstate to secede, or we should do it!
It is a giant money sucking drain for us!
The train to nowhere.
I’d fly if I were going. Not much reason to take a high speed train, unless you want to get there slower, or there’s some nice scenery to look at.
Zero, thanks a-hole for wiping out my children's future with your Marxist spending!!!
When in those western cities we say upstate about each other...it is recent years that confusion over the use of “upstate” meaning anything above NY City has occurred.
Kid a ping to you!
That's the other factor that works against railroads. Jets have surpassed trains as a more efficient and far less costly means of travel. If we extend your example, why would anyone spend 2-3 days on a train to go cross country when you can fly it in 5 hours?
If passenger rail was practical, you'd see at least one private passenger railroad company operating in this country.
10 corridors? Is that All?
This stuff is not cheap and will need to be heavily subsidized no matter how much you are lied to about the cost and maintenance.
I live in Buffalo. PLEASE, do not send these vampires any more money to squander. They put in an underground rail line years ago and it is a waste of money and is way under utilized. All the locals will do with this money is hire more non-productive civil service people, hire relatives, plan and ask for more money. They will NEVER do anything constructive with the money. There are more government jobs here than private sector jobs. They need to lay off, not plump up.
DON’T SEND ANY MONEY.
BUFFALO? ALBANY? Oh yeah, right up there at the top with TROY and Schenectady as bustling, modern metropolitian hives of innovative commerce and activity...</sarc>
I hope Cleveland and Cincinnati get one,, and Minneapolis and St. Paul too. :-)
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