[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

Part of the problem is that the Vision plan is overpriced. That Philadelphia tunnel needs to be thrown under the bus (Gateway must stand--a new tunnel under the Hudson is needed). Each of those is singlehandedly 10% of total project cost.

Here's Alon Levy's take on it:
http://pedestrianobservations.wordpr...lan-b-for-hsr/
http://pedestrianobservations.wordpr...sr-90-cheaper/

Is it just me or did anyone read the plan , they combined the Northeastern Master Plan with the Old HSR Plan hench the cost increase then they got rid of 20 billion in fat. They can still trim some , like 20 Billion , but the HSR Plan didn't explode in costs. Alot of his proposals have been looked at and deemed to expensive for with little benefit. And Sharing with the MNRR is out of the question , its too slow and congested...hench the bypass. And By 2030 that part of the NEC with improvements will be over capacity like its I-95 neighbor. Theres no room for adding 2 more expensive... He seems out of touch with reality...once again , while the Amtrak Proposal is bold and huge , its not ridiculous they have trimmed alot of the fat from it....so more like ive said could be and probably will be trimmed. But the New England NEC must be bypassed there's no way you could straighten it out cheaply or add capacity cheaply... The NEC Master Plan calls for all bridges along the Shoreline NEC to be replaced and speeds increased on curves and curves straighten along with Constant Catenary which is all underway courtesy of MNRR.