Meeting the Transportation Challenge in the Northeast Corridor Frank VACCA Chief Engineer, Amtrak, United States Drew GALLOWAY AVP, NEC Infrastructure and Investment Development, Amtrak, United States July 11, 2012, North American High Speed Rail Corridors, Northeast
Overview The Region The Corridor The Need Our Plan 2
Our Region 1 out of every 6 Americans 4 of the 10 largest metropolitan areas $1 of every $5 in GDP (20%) 80% of the population lives within 25 miles of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) 17% of population, 2% of land area 3
The Route 870 Route Miles 548 Miles Amtrak-owned 2,340 track miles; 71% electrified 5 Connecting corridors 12 states, DC 2,200 daily trains 150 Amtrak 2100 commuter 50 freight 8 commuter operators Class 1 and regional freight Amtrak Acela, Regional, & Long-Distance 4
Complex Operating Environment Amtrak, NJT, LIRR train movements shown separately to keep reasonable scale Includes train movements operating only on NEC spine Right-of-Way Tr rains per Day 5
A History of Development Constructed between 1830s and 1917 Electrified between 1907 and 1999 Improved incrementally since 1976 South End (Washington-New York) early 1980s North End (New York-Boston) late 1990s State of Good Repair, 2000s Top speeds of 125-150 mph (201-241 km/h) 6
The Need Top Ten Airports for Arrival Delays, 2011 Rank Airport Delay % Average delay (min) 1 Newark 34% 66.1 2 San Francisco 30% 63.3 3 LaGuardia 29% 62.3 4 Boston 28% 59.6 5 John F. Kennedy 27% 64.8 6 Chicago O Hare 25% 68.7 7 Philadelphia 24% 57.9 8 Washington Reagan 23% 52.8 9 Ft. Lauderdale 23% 52.5 7 of 10 top airports for delays located in Northeast Degradation of competing modes I-95 / connecting interstates among worst in nation 10 Washington Dulles 22% 61.9 Source: USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. NEC-served locations highlighted in red. 7
The Shift Towards Density Percentage of building permits issued by the city at the core of a metro region Area Early 1990s 2003-2009 average New York, NY 15% 48% Portland, OR 9% 26% Chicago, IL 7% 27% Philadelphia, PA 3% 13% Baltimore, MD 2% 9% Washington, DC 1% 6% By year 2050 20 million more residents in Northeast Trending toward development in urban core or inner suburbs Less dependency on auto (historic shift in US development patterns) Source: EPA, Residential Construction Trends in America s Metropolitan Regions, 2010 8
The Rail Capacity Challenge Projected Growth in intercity and commuter rail Infrastructure limits Many 2 track bridges and tunnels in 3 or 4 track territory NEC Master Plan $52 billion over a 20 year period Can address growth needs through 2030 9
The Infrastructure challenge Electric catenary added and bridge deck rebuilt, 1999 Acela built by Bombardier and Alstom for Amtrak in 2000 Widened with cantilevered addition in 1910 Double-tracked in 1860...on the Canton Viaduct built by George Washington Whistler for the Boston & Providence Railroad in 1835 10
Connecticut River Bridge Portal Bridge Pelham Bay Bridge Major infrastructure needs Built in 1907 Cost to replace: $225 million Most active 4K openings/yr Fatigue issues Built in 1906 Cost to replace: $1.5 billion Major bottleneck 420 trains/day Built in 1907 Cost to replace: $210 million Built in 1906 Cost to replace: $550 million SOGR and capacity needs Built in 1907 Cost to replace: $100 million 2 nd most active Reliability & fatigue issues Built in 1873 Cost to replace:$1.2 billion Major bottleneck 30 mph (48 km/h) speed restriction Water infiltration problems Susquehanna River Bridge Niantic River Bridge Replacement proceeding B&P Tunnel 11
The Terminal Challenge 12
The American Environment Tonnage Train length and weight Infrastructure demand Amtrak Acela Express BR Class 390 (Pendolino) BR Class 373 (Eurostar) Propulsion Electric Electric Electric Composition 6 revenue cars, 2 power cars 9 cars (EMU) 18 revenue cars, 2 power cars Maximum speed 150 mph 140 mph 187 mph Weight 566 metric tons 466 metric tons 752 metric tons empty, 815 metric tons, loaded Total capacity 44 1 st Class 260 Business Class 145 1 st Class 294 Standard Class 206 1 st Class 544 2 nd Class Power Output 8.95 MW 5.1 MW 12.2 MW Width 3.18 meters 2.9 meters 2.81 meters Passengers per Ton 0.54 0.94 0.99 13
Key Questions What is the transportation need? What can rail do for the region? What will the costs and benefits be? 14
Building for the Future Three linked strategies: NEC Upgrade Program Next Generation High Speed Rail Program ( Next-Gen ) Develop within Tier I Multi- state EIS / NEC Commission process 15
A Strategy for Growth Infrastructure development is dual-pronged Invest in existing system Build capacity Cut trip times Renew infrastructure Evaluate new alignments Incremental process Address impact and land use issues over the longer term 316 260 179 Existing Trips & Modal Split NORTHEAST CORRIDOR FORECAST FOR 2050 20 million more residents 150 200 million more rail trips 16
NEC Upgrade Design Characteristics Engineering Criteria 160 mph / 257 km/h maximum speed Tier III HST Vehicle 7 unbalance (eu) through curves Concrete ties, direct fastening systems, 7 aspect signaling / PTC, constant tension catenary Freight and commuter mitigation measures - Safety protocols - Operational enhancements - Infrastructure investments 17
NEC Upgrade - Incremental Investment Portal Bridge Project 7 Miles (11km) west of New York Partnership with NJ Transit Current Structure (1906) Two track swing span today 60 mph speed 450 daily trains Future Bridge Four tracks on fixed bridge (parallel spans) 100 mph speed 800 daily trains 18
NEC Upgrade: Stair-Step to NextGen NextGen HSR: Washington to New York NextGen HSR: New York to Boston 2025 Section Improvements 2025 Gateway Program 2020 New HSR Trains 2015-40 Additional Acela coaches 19
NextGen Design Characteristics Engineering Criteria Up to 220 mph / 354 km/h maximum speed Dedicated alignment Tier III HST Vehicle 5 unbalance (eu) through curves - 25,000 ft radius curve standard Mono or duo block with direct fixation to slab. New or incremental signaling / PTC, constant tension catenary 20
NextGen Features Very high speeds NextGen Program (200-220 mph/ 320-354 km/h) Dedicated new alignment and operation Air-competitive trip times up to 500 miles Alignment shown is Illustrative Alternatives to be evaluated 21
NextGen Terminal Investments Required Expansions / Upgrades Washington Master Plan Boston, Massachusetts Providence, Rhode Island Penn Station, New York Newark, New Jersey Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wilmington, Delaware Baltimore, Maryland Washington, DC 22
Delivering the Program Time Savings (over 2012) Travel Time Minutes 2025 (NEC Upgrade) 10 min HSR North 30 min HSR - South 2040 (NextGen) 100 min HSR - North 45 min HSR - South REG-North Trip Time Savings achieved while frequency of all services grow by 50% 2012 260 million annual riders 2025 375 million annual riders 2040 450 million annual riders 23
Mutual Benefit/ Common Investment Additional capacity for Amtrak and commuter services Energy efficient and environmentally friendly mobility Reserve capacity for future growth Operating surplus (HSR) Tying region together with more transportation choices The Benefits 24
Challenges Some of the most dense urban areas in the U.S. Land use constraints North Philadelphia (off map, above) 120 mph territory resumes at Frankford Junction, 5 miles north of North Philadelphia Funding Public Mantua Interlocking Begin 70 mph territory Private Environmental approvals 30th Street Station Partnership building Limited work time availability in dense operations Phil Interlocking End 110 mph territory 25
Partnership Building Amtrak Finance & Business Plan Concessions Project Implementation NEC Commission Federally chartered States / FRA / Amtrak members Charged with development of coordinated plans and costing for NEC FRA Tier I PEIS Programmatic Environmental Impact Study Undertake environmental documentation of future NEC needs Required process to advance investment 26
Collaborative Effort Programmatic Environmental Impact Study Phased Evaluation Of Alternatives Phase 1 Purpose & Need Stakeholder Outreach Data Collection Scoping Preliminary Alternatives Development Phase 2 Reasonable Alternatives Development Environmental Resource Evaluation Draft EIS Draft Service Development Plan Phase 3 Final EIS Record of Decision 27
Good morning and welcome aboard Amtrak! The current time is 9:00 AM as we begin to depart Washington Union Station. This train will make the following station stops: Philadelphia 30th Street Station in 54 minutes New York Moynihan Station in 1 hour and 34 minutes And our final station stop will be Boston South Station in 3 hours and 8 minutes Please enjoy the journey, and we will see you in Boston for lunch! 28
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