North Atlantic Rail praises Northeast Corridor report

The North Atlantic Rail Alliance on Wednesday congratulated the Northeast Corridor Commission for its new CONNECT NEC 2035 report, which highlights many critically necessary projects to ensure the existing Northeast Corridor route is brought into a state of good repair, with some reductions in trip times and increased capacity for Amtrak and local passenger service.

"At the same time,” NAR Alliance President Robert D. Yaro said, “it is important to acknowledge: CONNECT NEC 2035 does nothing to advance the kind of true high-speed rail service that New England and New York need and that our states are asking for to remain globally competitive in the 21st Century and to achieve our 2050 net-zero emissions goals. North Atlantic Rail, backed by the U.S. House of Representatives, is the only plan on the table today to advance 200 mph/100-minute service between New York and Boston via Long Island, New Haven, Hartford, and Providence, the high-speed spine of a North Atlantic Rail Network reaching and connecting to smaller cities throughout all seven states.’’

The 274-page CONNECT NEC 2035 report identifies more than 150 projects to be pursued between now and 2035 along the Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor and its extensions to Harrisburg, Penn., and New Haven to Springfield,Mass.. These include station expansions, signal and power upgrades, additions of third and fourth tracks in certain locations to ease congestion, elimination of grade crossings, bridge replacements, and other measures to improve Amtrak and commuter rail service.

Completing these projects, the Commission says in the report, “will result in a modern and resilient railroad with safe, reliable, and more frequent service; connections to new markets; and reduced travel times between communities.’’

"CONNECT NEC 2035 identifies worthy and much-needed measures to return rail travel times on the New England sections of the Northeast Corridor to what the New Haven Railroad offered back in the 1950s,’’ Yaro said. “North Atlantic Rail is the vision for a transformational, passenger-rail-based economic growth strategy for New England and downstate New York, grounded in the pursuit of environmental justice and sustainability, that connects New York City, Boston, and all the mid-sized cities of New England in one integrated market for ideas, capital, and talent."

North Atlantic Rail is a $105 billion plan for a new network of high-speed and high-performance intercity and regional rail service connecting smaller cities throughout all six New England states and New York, including a new 100-minute rail service from Boston to New York via Providence, Hartford, New Haven, and Long Island. North Atlantic Rail's vision is to drive jobs and economic opportunity throughout the region with a 21st century rail-enabled growth strategy, taking on climate change with a more sustainable, resilient, efficient rail network, and ensuring the region gets its fair share of federal infrastructure investment. The North Atlantic Rail Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization backed by a growing coalition of foundations, unions, and civic groups to advocate for the NAR Network.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives approved creation of a North Atlantic Rail Interstate Compact in its five-year, $715 billion INVEST in America infrastructure legislation. North Atlantic Rail Alliance supporters are now encouraging the U.S. Senate to advance the NAR Network as the Senate takes up its own infrastructure bill.

The Northeast Corridor Commission’s full Connect NEC 2035 report may be found at https://nec-commission.com/app/uploads/2021/07/CONNECT-NEC-2035-Plan.pdf.