Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, September 2010

This report from Amtrak dated September 2010 presents a possible concept for Next-Gen High-Speed Rail in the NEC, with new dedicated high-speed rail alignments, stations and equipment that can provide significant travel time savings and attractive premium service by rapidly connecting the Northeast’s major hub cities (Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.) along with its smaller cities, airports and suburban hubs.

Upon completion in 2040, Next-Gen High-Speed Rail ridership would be roughly 5 times current Acela levels, with overall NEC network ridership at 3-4 times current levels. The system’s construction would support 44,000 jobs annually over the 25-year construction period and approximately 120,000 permanent jobs, while generating an annual operating surplus of approximately $900 million.

The economic value of improved intercity mobility, fewer highway accidents, reduced air service delays and other benefits would exceed the overall costs of the system’s development.

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