(Source: Wall Street Journal)

Image Courtesy: WSJ.com

The Bloomberg administration is exploring a plan to build a new tunnel under the Hudson River that would extend the no. 7 subway line to Secaucus, N.J,  building on existing work being done on the no. 7 line, which is undergoing a $2.1 billion extension from Times Square to 34th Street and 11th Avenue.

The plan is an attempt to expand rail capacity and grab some of the $3 billion in federal money that had been set aside for a rail-tunnel project between New Jersey and Manhattan, according to multiple people familiar with discussions over the project. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spiked the rail tunnel three weeks ago due to concerns about cost overruns. Click here to read the full story

The WSJ also has a nice story that looks in to how the subway extension would transform traveling options (at least in the region) for the commuting public.

Related articles

• Extending No. 7 subway to Secaucus could provide alternative to killed ARC tunnel (nj.com)
• New York City proposes extending subway to New Jersey (reuters.com)
• Bloomberg administration looks at extending No. 7 subway line into Hoboken and Secaucus (nj.com)
• NY City proposes extending subway to New Jersey (reuters.com)
• “New York City-Secaucus Junction Transit?” and related posts (bridgeandtunnelclub.com)
• Transit pros say feds won’t pay to extend subway (nydailynews.com)
• Amtrak Won’t Revive Trans-Hudson Rail Tunnel Project (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Amtrak, NJ Transit break off talks on reviving ARC Hudson River rail tunnel (nj.com)
• It’s Time for a Transcontinental Subway (blogs.forbes.com)
• Malloy Eyes Funds Marked For Hudson River Rail Tunnel (newyork.cbslocal.com)

(Source: AFP via Yahoo News; The National)

The Mashair Railway, also known as Mecca Metro, rolls out on Sunday to serve pilgrims beginning the annual hajj rituals near the Muslim holy city, bringing a new solution to crowding.

The dual-track light railway, with its initial number of nine stations, connects the three holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat — areas that see massive congestion during the five-day pilgrimage.

Some other interesting nuggets:

• The new system will replace 4,000 buses previously used. Initially, the trains will be only be used during 5 days of a year,
• The rail system is accessible only to Saudi and Gulf pilgrims (forecast at some 130,000 Saudis, 10,000 Kuwaitis and 10,000 Bahrainis) during the first phase and other nationalities will be allowed to ride during the next phase.
• It will operate at 35 per cent capacity, carrying up to 175,000 pilgrims between Mina and Arafat, over a distance of 18km at a speed of 80-120kph. When it is completed next year, the automated metro and its yellow-and-green carriages are expected to carry half a million pilgrims every six hours.
• Overall, the Metro is expected to eliminate between 30,000 and 50,000 cars and buses from the roads near the holy sites. The most common modes of transport are buses, in which different nationalities travel separately, with mingling occurring mainly during the rituals themselves.
• Cost of the project is pegged at $1.8-billion project. Ticket fares for the Metro are about 250 riyals (Dh252), but there are plans by the Saudi Haj Commission to reduce it to 90 riyals.
• The team behind this system development/operations is truly multi-national – Built by China Railway Construction Corporation, operations and maintenance will be managed out by British firm Serco.  The control systems and platform operations will be manned by Egyptians and Saudis.

Image Courtesy: Go-makkah.com

This will be the first of two rail links aimed at easing pilgrim traffic. The much larger Haramain High Speed Rail, which will travel through the Red Sea city of Jeddah, is set to stretch 444 kilometres (275 miles) between Mecca and Medina, the second Muslim holy site.  The first phase of the high-speed rail network expected to cost $1.8Billion, will be built by another multi0national team, including local Al-Rajhi construction group, France’s Alstom and China Railway Engineering. The trains are expected to reach an operational speed of 225 miles/hr and ease traffic of pilgrims between the two sites.

Click here to read more.

(Source: The Telegraph, UK)

Living under a flight path with noisy planes whizzing over your head could jeopardize your heart health, according to a new study from Switzerland.

Researchers found that dying from a heart attack was more common among people with increased exposure to aircraft noise.

The group of experts, led by Dr. Matthias Egger from Univ. of Bern (Switzerland) identified 15,532 heart attack deaths among 4.6 million Swiss residents between late 2000 and the end of 2005 using detailed information from an ongoing mortality study called the Swiss National Cohort.

Some of the study results include:

• People exposed to a daily average of at least 60 decibels of noise had a 30 per cent greater risk of dying from a heart attack compared with those exposed to less than 45 decibels, the researchers report in the journal Epidemiology.
• Among those exposed to the higher decibel levels for 15 or more years, the risk was actually 50 per cent higher.
• The average of 60 decibels is about what you would expect in a crowded, noisy bar.

Living within 300ft of a major road also increased the risk of heart attack but the researchers found no impact of particulate-matter air pollution on the heart.  Mr Egger said road and air traffic produce different noise patterns that might not be easily comparable as road traffic noise was more constant and arguably easier to get used to.

Click here to read more.

Transportgooru Musings:  This makes rail travel to/near urban hubs (relatively) more appealing over aviation.  Propulsion systems technology in the commercial aviation sector is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels and conventional engines.  On the other hand, many new train sets in today’s rail market are amazingly quiet and smooth. This could be a good marketing point for many pro-rail advocates and politicians lobbying for big investments in High-speed rail  connecting the big cities.

Related articles

• ‘Want to live long: Stay away from noisy plane’s path’ (topinews.com)
• Noise from aircraft is bad for your health (telegraph.co.uk)
• Is Living Under a Flight Path Bad for the Heart? (nlm.nih.gov)
• Living under a flight path ‘can increase your risk of heart attack’ (dailymail.co.uk)
• Study: Manhattan Street Noise May Be Deafening (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Study: Some NYC Street Noise Can Hurt Hearing (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• New York City noise may be deafening (msnbc.msn.com)
• Living under a flight path increases heart attack risk (physorg.com)
• Wind Power’s Foe: Wind Noise (247wallst.com)

Related articles

• Paul Krugman Goes To War With Chris Christie Over Planned Tunnel To New York (businessinsider.com)
• Governor of New Jersey Blocks Hudson Tunnel Project (nytimes.com)
• Hudson River tunnel project is officially canceled by Gov. Christie (nj.com)
• New Jersey’s Tunnel Vision (theatlantic.com)
• NJ gov. scraps long-planned NJ-NY rail tunnel (sfgate.com)
• Chris Christie Is Really A Fool For Canceling The New York Rail Tunnel Project (businessinsider.com)
• NJ Gov. Scraps Long-Planned NJ-NY Rail Tunnel (nytimes.com)
• You: Christie’s Silence Spurs Worry for Train Tunnel (nytimes.com)
• Christie to Construction Workers: Drop Dead (news.firedoglake.com)
• N.J. governor scraps $10 billion rail tunnel (msnbc.msn.com)

(Source: WSJ)

How do you deliver rail safety message to the General public in the age of twitter and YouTube.  Here is one such effort and it’s called Gap Rap (Warning: Geeky & Corny Video and Lyrics).

The music video, which premiered online Thursday, features LIRR Medical Director John Clarke — an army of fifth graders from Long Beach accompanying him as backup dancers — giving safety tips to railroad riders from Times Square, trains and LIRR stations. Here it is:

Dr. Clarke has a history of public-service raps.  He’s taken on psoriasis (“No one knows the cause or why is brings drama”) and H1N1 (“If you have it stay at home so you don’t spread none”).  The effectiveness of this effort is definitely worth watching in the months to come.

(Transportgooru’s Review: A full 10/10 for the thought to promote safety; 0/10 for the execution.  Summary: Doc, please spend a couple of $$ and find some pros can can really deliver and pls. stick to what you know best – medicine).

(Source: Reuters & The Transport Politic)

China and Argentina have agreed to invest about $10 billion over several years to renovate the Latin American country’s dilapidated railway system and build a subway for its second-largest city. Funds come from the China Development Bank and will require a 15% match from the Argentinian government.

The $10B breaks down as follows:

Argentina will receive $4.35 billion to renovate three freight railroad lines, including $1.85 billion to improve conditions on the Belgrano Line, which links the country to Bolivia and is an important link for the nation’s agricultural producers.  Argentina’s once-extensive rail network was largely dismantled during the privatisations of the 1990s. But as agricultural output soars, farmers and grain elevators — who send more than 80 percent of grains by costly road transport — have been calling for investment to revive the railways.

Road transport costs about 7 U.S. cents per tonne per kilometre in South America’s No. 3 economy — about twice the cost of rail cargo and four times what it costs to transport grains by boat, according to the grains exchange in the country’s biggest agricultural port, Rosario.

More than four billion dollars for the improvement of the Buenos Aires Subway and the creation of a four-corridor Metro in Cordoba — projects.

China in recent years has been dipping into its deep pockets to fund infrastructure projects in poor and emerging economies that bolster relations and often further Beijing’s own economic goals by helping bring goods and raw materials to market faster.  I’d not be surprised if the Chinese are looking to export their rail technology to not just the developing parts of the world but also to advanced economies such as the USA.  The world better learn fast how to say Ni Hao!

Click here to read more.

Related articles by Zemanta

• China splashes billions on Argentine rail, subway (reuters.com)
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• China to invest $10B in Argentina’s railways (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• China signs deals to $10B invest in Argentina’s railways but no progress on soy dispute (taragana.com)
• China to invest $10B in Argentina’s railways (sfgate.com)
• Argentina Is Latest Country To Outsource Its Infrastructure To China (businessinsider.com)

The Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management is pleased to announce High Speed Rail: Leveraging Federal Investment Locally, a symposium to be held on June 16th, 2010.

Following the January 2010 rail funding announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation, interest in rail investment – and what it means for American communities – has continued to expand. Conversations are taking place across the country, bringing in new participants as well as experienced professionals from around the world to discuss the new corridors. In focusing on how to implement new rail corridors there is a risk of overlooking the need to manage the regional impacts of the nodes that comprise these systems. Leveraging Federal Investment Locally will enhance the national dialogue on high-speed rail investment through a focus on how new facilities will be linked to existing regional transportation infrastructure and economic development efforts. In addition, there will be an examination of the political context of establishing new rail infrastructure in a democratic nation where land use is controlled locally.

Presenters include:

• Polly Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation
• David Levinson, University of Minnesota
• Anthony Perl, Simon Fraser University
• Frank Zshoche, Managing Director, Civity Management Consultants, Hamburg Germany

The event is co-sponsored by Parsons Brinckerhoff and presented in Partnership with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

When: 6/16/2010 8:30am-2:00pm
Location: The Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion, 60 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012  map

To participate, click here

(Sources: Transportation for America)

Image Courtesy: T4America

Today, I came across a tweet from someone that talked about T4America’s latest national poll results that said majority Americans support  increased access to public transportation and safe walking and biking.  As a curious mind would do it, I went on to explore the survey results and the press release issued by T4America and here is the summary of what I saw: American voters overwhelmingly support broader access to public transportation and safe walking and biking, according to this new national poll conducted for Transportation for America.  This must be a ton of good news for pro-transit & bike-ped folks, especially given all the activities that are happening on the next transportation re-authorization bill.  My favorite finding of this survey:  79% of rural folks support improved public transportation.  Now, who would have expected that from our American voters!

Here are some interesting findings:

• More than four-in-five voters (82 percent) say that “the United States would benefit from an expanded and improved transportation system, such as rail and buses” and a solid majority (56 percent) “strongly agree” with that statement.
• On a personal level, two-thirds (66%) say that they “would like more transportation options so they have the freedom to choose how to get where they need to go.” Along these same lines, 73% currently feel they “have no choice but to drive as much as” they do, and 57% would like to spend less time in the car.
• A majority (58 percent) say that more should be allocated to public transportation, while 35% feel that this is about the right amount. Only 5% say that less should be allocated to other transportation options.

Image Courtesy: T4America

As I said earlier, it will be interesting to see how these findings play into the next reauthorization bill.  While we wait to find that out, let’s take a moment to check out some more survey findings. You can download by clicking here.

When:  Wednesday 24 February 2010; 6:00-7:30 PM

Where:  Capitol Visitor Center Room SVC-20 , E Capitol St NE & 1st St NE, Washington, DC

Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT) is pleased to announce the February 2010 Leadership Seminar on Transportation Policy featuring leading industry figures in shaping the nation’s surface transportation vision.  This panel discussion will feature representatives from three major recent efforts that examine the current state of the transportation system and offer policy recommendations moving forward based on a series of testimonies and rigorous research.

In addition, panelists will offer their thoughts on professional development and leadership skills necessary to make a difference in the arena of national decision-making.

Featured Panelists:

Jack Schenendorf, Of Counsel, Covington and Burling – Representing the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission

Jack Schenendorf’s practice concentrates on transportation and legislation with a particular focus on legislative strategy, legislative procedure, and the federal budget process. He was recently appointed by Speaker Hastert to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, where he serves as Vice-Chairman. For nearly 25 years, Mr. Schenendorf served on the staff of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Chief of Staff from 1995 to 2001. In BNA’s Daily Report for Executives, Mr. Schenendorf was described “as one of the most powerful staffers on the Hill, [who] has played a large role in crafting every piece of major transportation legislation in the past decade.” Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mr. Schenendorf served on the Bush/Cheney Transition where he was Chief of the Transition Policy Team for the U.S. Department of Transportation and was responsible for reviewing all transportation policies and issues for the incoming Administration.

Kathy Ruffalo, President, Ruffalo and Associates LLC – Representing the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission

President of Ruffalo and Associates, LLC – a government affairs consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Ms. Ruffalo has 20 years of experience in the public policy arena at both federal and state levels of government. From 1989 to 1999, she served as a senior advisor to the United States Environment and Public Works Committee – for then Chairman Senator Max Baucus – with the primary responsibility for developing, drafting and negotiating federal transportation policy. From 1999 to 2004, she was a senior policy advisor to Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne. In 2004, she was recruited to return to Capitol Hill where she was a key drafter and negotiator of SAFETEA-LU. She is a 1989 graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences.

Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy – Representing the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project

Emil H. Frankel is an independent consultant on transportation policy and public management issues. He serves as Director of Transportation Policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center. Mr. Frankel was Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy of the United States Department of Transportation from 2002 to 2005. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Mr. Frankel played a key role in the coordination and development of the Administration’s proposal to reauthorize the Federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs. From 1991 to 1995, he was Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Between state and Federal service, Mr. Frankel was Of Counsel to Day, Berry & Howard in the law firm’s Stamford, Connecticut, office. During that time he was also a Management Fellow of Yale University’s School of Management and a Senior Fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, engaged in teaching and research on issues of transportation, energy and environmental policy and public management. Also at the Yale School of Management and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Mr. Frankel will be a visiting lecturer in Spring 2008. From 1999 to 2001 he was a Selectman of the Town or Weston, Connecticut. Mr. Frankel received his Bachelor’s Degree from Wesleyan University and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and was a Fulbright Scholar at Manchester University in the United Kingdom. From 1981 to 1997 he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University, where he is now a Trustee Emeritus.

RSVP: Due to security restrictions, a list of names for non-Congressional staff must be submitted to the Capitol Visitor Center prior to the event.  Please send your RSVP to ypt@transportation.org with “YPT Seminar” as the subject by COB Monday 22 February 2010.

(Sources: USDOT Sec. Ray LaHood’s Fast Lane Blog; USDOT; NY Times; Wired, Tree Hugger; The Transport Politic)

A day after delivering the State of the Union address, President Obama took his economic message on the road in the first of a series of trips outside Washington. He began his full-scale pivot to the economy by focusing on high-speed rail projects, a tangible thing that many voters can see in their own neighborhoods or states. Joined by Vice President Biden in Tampa, Florida, he announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act High-Speed and Inter-city Passenger Rail grants. Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. both traveled to Florida to announce the projects. The president and vice president rarely travel together, but did so in this case because Mr. Biden has overseen the economic stimulus plan. He introduced Mr. Obama to the crowd at an event that resembled a campaign rally.

The investments, scattered across the country, include startup money for high-speed rail projects in California and Florida. For months, states have been engaged in a bidding war over the money, which comes from the economicstimulus plan approved a year ago.

Image Courtesy:Sec. Ray Lahood's Fastlane blog

Our favorite, Yonah Freemark @ The Transport Politic summarized this seed funding for HSR as follow: After months of speculation about which states will get funding from the Federal Railroad Administration to begin construction on new high-speed corridors, the news is in. As has been expected, California, Florida, and Illinois are the big winners, with more than one billion in spending proposed for each. But other states with less visible projects, including Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Washington will also get huge grants and begin offering relatively fast trains on their respective corridors within five years. The distribution of dollars is well thought-out and reasonable: it provides money to regions across the nation and prioritizes states that have made a commitment of their own to a fast train program.

The bulk of today’s awards go to new, large-scale high-speed rail programs–projects such as Florida, with $1.25 billion to develop a high-speed rail corridor between Tampa and Orlando with trains running up to 168 miles per hour–and California, with $2.25 billion to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco and points in between with trains running up to 220 miles per hour.

In total, 31 states and the District of Columbia will receive awards. In addition to 13 corridor investments, we are also awarding several grants for improvement projects and planning. These efforts on existing routes and emerging corridors will lay the groundwork for future high-speed and intercity rail development.

And here are the stats of the projections for each line via Tree Hugger (via Wired):

California
First Phase – San Francisco to Los Angeless
Ultimate Goal – Sacramento to San Dieago
Estimated Completion Date – 2025
Top Speed – 220 mph
Final Tab – $45B

Florida
First Phase – Tampa to Orlando
Ultimate Goal – Orlando to Miami
Estimated Completion Date – 2017
Top Speed- 180 mph
Final Tab – $11.5+B

Midwest
First Phase – Chicago to Madison, Detroit, and St. Louis.
Ultimate Goal – Hub-and-spoke network: 20 major cities using 3,000 miles of existing railway.
Estimated Completion Date – 2025
Top Speed – 110 mph
Final Tab – N/A

Texas
Ultimate Goal – “T-Bone” connecting Dallas/ Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Houston
Estimated Completion Date – 2020
Top Speed – 220 mph
Final Tab – $12-22B

Northeast
Ultimate Goal – Speed-boosting upgrades to existing lines to get Washington-to-Boston travel time down to five hours, 45 minutes.
Estimated Completion Date – 2023
Top Speed – 150 mph
Final Tab – $12B

Other lines will grace Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

For further details on the major corridor projects, click here (via USDOT Press Release):

• Florida
• California
• Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City
• Madison – Milwaukee – Chicago
• Charlotte – Raleigh – Richmond – Washington, D.C.
• Eugene-Portland-Seattle
• Detroit-Chicago
• Ohio
• Northeast

Please visit here for a complete in-depth analysis of this distribution and for an awesome table that captures salient features (distance, funding amounts, etc). Thanks to Yonah Freemark for his efforts to keep us informed.