Future Of Rail Service In Northeast Corridor Subject Of Public Meeting In Philadelphia
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Federal railroad officials will be in Philadelphia this week to outline proposals for the future of service on the Northeast Corridor.
There are four alternatives under consideration. They range from the status quo to "transformative:" expanded capacity and high speed rails that would cut travel time in half. Tony DeSantos of the Delaware Valley Rail Passenger Association says key information, such as the cost, is missing.
"In general principle, the more rail service the better," he says, "but until we see the numbers, I don't know if we can actually make a judgment."
Program manager Rebecca Reyes-Alicea says that sort of detail will be part of the final proposal scheduled to be released in 2016, but officials want input as the plan moves along.
"We wanted to put some options on the table now for folks to think about, 'what's the role that we as a region want rail to play,'" she says, "and then as the process continues and we refine the alternatives and compare the benefits and the impacts, we will have to bring in an element of cost."
Reyes-Alicea is holding meetings on the plan in all the corridor's major cities. The meeting in Philadelphia is scheduled for Wednesday evening (4p.m. to 7 p.m.) at SEPTA headquarters (1234 Market Street in Center).
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