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With Gillibrand’s and Smith’s Support, High-Speed Rail Project May Be on Track Even with stimulus, full plans and sufficient cash are still in the distance B y Julie S o Be l
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This year, the political calculus may be in the idea’s favor. Championing a major upstate infrastructure investment, with all the economic and environmental benefits, might bolster downstate Democrats’ claim that they are not focused only on New York City.
ucked into Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D) speech about her background and biography at her appointment press conference last month was one clear statement of policy: Gillibrand wants to build the long-discussed high-speed rail link between New York City, Albany and Buffalo. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (DQueens) started nodding so hard his head almost popped off. Smith has been advocating for a high-speed rail line for years. From almost the moment Rochester Buffalo his party won enough seats to take the Senate Syracuse majority, Smith was publicly promoting the Utica Albany project as a priority. Seeing the economic rationale is easy: Upstate New York’s struggling economy would benefit from a high-speed train connecting the cities, both from the new jobs it would create and from the EMpirE Corridor New York City ability it would give people to work farther from Major cities: New York City, Albany, Buffalo their homes. The thinking has some support: a Progressive Policy Institute report released last STaTiSTicS year not specific to the New York proposal found Segment: Mileage: Top Speed: that every $10 billion invested in high-speed rail New York, 439 125 mph Albany to Buffalo projects yield 40,000 construction-related jobs and 112,500 permanent jobs. Increasing the speed and the reliability The proposed high-speed rail line between New of train service could enable people to live in York, Albany and Buffalo could cost up to $15 bilrelatively inexpensive areas upstate and still work lion. The federal stimulus package provides $8 in the state’s major cities, potentially countering billion for 11 projects around the country. upstate’s dwindling population, while at the same time boosting tourism to Niagara Falls, the Finger Lakes and the wine country. Yet even with the caucus, the support from Gillibrand has continued pressing the case, Gillibrand in her new position and the State Senate sketching out the details of her ideal scenario at her majority leader, few transportation experts have a full Feb. 9 speech to the Association for a Better New handle on what the project would look like, when it York. would be completed and how much it would cost. “If we can have a high-speed rail line that goes “From what I know, there really is no project,” said from Manhattan straight to Montreal, stopping in Yoav Hagler, an associate planner with the Regional Albany, and then go west to Buffalo, what you do is Plan Association. “For an entirely new high-speed open up the whole northern part of the state for not rail line from New York to Buffalo, we’re still talking only economic growth but to have partnerships with about years.” downstate,” Gillibrand said. Federal funding for high-speed rail got a boost with Moreover, she said, the rail link would create the passage of President Barack Obama’s (D) stimulus opportunity for companies to move their back offices package, which includes $8 billion for high-speed rail, from Connecticut or New Jersey to New York State. though how this money will be allocated and whether In January, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-Erie/Monroe) any will come to New York remains unclear. Some created the Upstate New York Congressional Caucus. The estimates put the projected cost of the New Yorkbipartisan group, which includes all 11 House members Albany-Buffalo connection at $15 billion. from upstate—Gillibrand was among the founding In response to a call from the U.S. Department members before getting the Senate appointment—has of Transportation for public or private proposals to made high-speed rail a top priority, she said. “finance, design, build, operate and maintain” high“We’ve been dying up here economically, partly speed trains in 11 select areas around the nation, the from lack of transportation,” said Slaughter, who has state Department of Transportation is submitting a 20been working on the issue since she was first elected year forecast for the building and operation of highto Congress in 1986. “High-speed rail would bring us speed rail in the Empire Corridor. The agency has until into this century.” September to make the case in competition with the Slaughter is not the only one: while Japan and other projects. many European countries already have high-speed Assembly Member Sam Hoyt (D-Erie), co-chair of rail transport between cities, the larger discussion the Assembly’s Task Force on High-Speed Rail, said about the proposed rail link has dragged on for years. that the emerging political consensus in the state Gov. Mario Cuomo (D) talked up a high-speed rail in would show the federal government that New York is his 1994 re-election campaign, but he lost to George serious about rebuilding the upstate economy. Pataki (R), who mostly let the issue die. In 2005, then“New York State needs to make clear that we’re Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) not just looking to grab money here,” Hoyt said, “but created a task force to study the issue and make we’re ready to move forward.” recommendations. jsobel@nycapitolnews.com
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