IP: Re: Bailout Bill full of Pork [why am I not surprised djf]

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 19:46:30 -0500
> To: farber () cis upenn edu
> From: Richard Jay Solomon <rsolomon () dsl cis upenn edu>



> If Cherry thinks this pork barrel bill is going to alleviate congestion 
> anytime soon, he has little understanding of the difficulties of building 
> new tunnels and rail lines. The proposed SINGLE-TRACK tube to Penn Station 
> is 5 to 10 years off. The connection in the Meadows that has been underway 
> for years now is merely an expensive transfer station for commuters to 
> change trains to shuttles, not to travel directly to Manhattan. Since 
> there is no spare platform space in Penn Station during peak hours for new 
> trains to shuttle from Meadows, the crowding on existing trains will be 
> worse when it finally opens, which is now postponed indefinitely due to 
> the WTC crisis and the closure of the downtown PATH tunnels.
>
> Plans for a direct track connection to Penn Station from the northern NJ 
> commuter lines will require complete rebuilding of the not-yet-opened 
> Meadows transfer station -- no provisions were made for complicated track 
> connections since that would have increased the already 1/2 billion$ cost. 
> The bean counters thought that futures planning was unnecessary, since 
> there was no assurance that the future would really come (they might be 
> right). Indeed, even a new tube is not enough -- it is proposed that Penn 
> Station itself would have to be enlarged to accommodate any new trains, 
> Amtrak or commuter. That will take probably an additional decade and there 
> is no money in the current bill for that. Rebuilding may be more expensive 
> than the single track tube. As usual, there has been no coordinated 
> planning in NY, and the current crises hasn't really changed that.
>
> But the pumpkin growers will get their subsidy immediately.
>
> What the WTC II disaster has underlined is that we've been sorely 
> deficient in providing for infrastructure. We have no redundancy, So the 
> closure of the almost century-old downtown PATH rapid transit line has 
> dumped everything on facilities that already were running to capacity.
>
> You can't make up for 50 years of negligence overnight. But you can sure 
> scare the Congress into spreading money we don't have around willy-nilly.
>
> Richard


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