Report shows benefits of commitment to N.J. rail

Written by jrood

The Obama administration's recent decision to award $38.5 million in high speed rail funds to New Jersey is the first step towards a stronger, faster rail system that will reduce congestion, oil use, and carbon emissions, but there is much still to be done, local media report. That was the message that New Brunswick's Mayor Jim Cahill and New Jersey Public Interest Research Group Program Associate Rebecca Alper made clear when they gathered at New Brunswick Train Station to release "The Right Track," a new research report from NJPIRG.

"Mass transit is an
essential component to New Brunswick’s efforts to be a sustainable, walkable,
high-density, mixed-use urban center. Our residents rely on rail service to
connect them to their jobs, to our region or to the entire world. New Brunswick
is also a destination for thousands of people every day. High-speed rail will
make it easier for residents and visitors to travel to and from our City and
leave their cars at home," said Mayor Cahill.

The new report analyzes the
potential of high-speed rail in nine different regions, including the
Northeast, and presents 11 public-interest recommendations for how to spend
high-speed rail investments in the future. According to data cited in the
report, the completion of a national high-speed rail network would reduce car
travel by 29 million trips and air travel by nearly 500,000 flights annually.

Last month, the Obama
administration announced that 31 states would receive a portion of $8 billion
in funding to build and plan for high-speed rail under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act. New Jersey will receive $38.5 million towards the Portal
Bridge Capacity Enhancement project, opening up an infamous bottleneck on the
Northeast Corridor between Newark Penn and Secaucus stations.

"We are long overdue
in adopting a 21st century transportation system that will relieve congestion
and reduce traffic on our highways," said Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, who
authored the federal law that created the High Speed Rail grant program.
"High speed rail is one of the best solutions to many of our transportation
problems. The development of a robust high speed rail network will put people
back to work and give the public a sound alternative to our heavily congested
highways and skyways."

According to the NJPIRG
report, the Northeast Corridor carries approximately 10 million passengers per
year, but their high-speed travel hinges on the replacement of the rail line’s
aging and inadequate infrastructure, like the century-old Portal Bridge.

United Transportation
Union’s Daniel O’Connell knows first hand. "As a locomotive engineer, I
have operated hundreds of trains across the span. There is no question that it
needs to be replaced in order to alleviate the delays that plague NJ Transit
and Amtrak riders on a daily basis."

Noting the economic
benefits of passenger rail Congressman Frank Pallone added, "These
upgrades create much-needed jobs and are necessary to keep our public transit
system state-of-the-art, so that New Jersey can continue to be a leader in
public transportation for the country. With the cost of gas rising, it is
important that we work to give commuters other options that are affordable,
reliable and fast. I look forward to working with NJPIRG, NJTRANSIT and all
others involved in advocating for public transit as we work towards increased
investment in public transportation on other important projects throughout New
Jersey."

"The Portal Bridge
project might one day be part of a national network of high-speed rail on a par
with the bullet trains of Europe and Asia, but it is going to take a long-term
commitment from all levels of government to plan and fund the system,"
concluded Alper, "Without such a commitment, this recent momentum could be
lost. We simply cannot afford a false start on high-speed rail."

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