Archive for the ‘High Speed Rail’ Category
State puts Central Terminal back on list as possible rail hub
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009Breaking News! From the Buffalo News…
Buffalo’s Central Terminal cannot be ruled out as a train hub if New York snares stimulus funds to build high-speed rail, a state transportation official said today in what terminal restoration advocates hailed as a welcome about-face.
One week earlier, Rep. Louise M. Slaughter said state transportation officials had concluded that the long-vacant East Side landmark would be ill-suited for high-speed rail.
On Tuesday, the Common Council passed a resolution reaffirming the city’s support to make the Central Terminal a regional rail stop. Lawmakers criticized project planners for striking a “nasty blow” to a distressed neighborhood. They accused state officials of basing their finding on faulty information.
Skip Carrier, the state DOT’s communications director, made it clear today that the Central Terminal has not been ruled out as a possible site.
Read the full story
Council pushes Central Terminal for high-speed rail
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009Just posted at BuffaloNews.com
Claiming state transportation officials have struck a “nasty blow” to Buffalo’s distressed East Side, the Common Council wants decision-makers to reconsider the Central Terminal as a hub for a proposed high-speed rail line.
The Council today unanimously reaffirmed its support of a plan to use the long-vacant train station as a regional hub if New York receives stimulus funds to build high-speed rail.
Last week, Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, who heads the Upstate New York Caucus, said the Central Terminal is ill-suited to become a rail hub again. The group has made bringing high-speed rail to Western and Central New York a top priority.
Council President David A. Franczyk said the station was ruled out based on flawed information supplied by the state Department of Transportation. Franczyk said the officials referred to problems that would occur as a result of freight tracks located at the northwest corner of the terminal. There are no tracks in that spot, Franczyk insisted.
CTRC Response to July 15th article on high speed rail
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009This morning, the Buffalo News published an article entitled
“Central Terminal won’t serve as rail hub“. An excerpt is below:
“At first I had hoped [it could be], but I don’t think it’s situated in the right place,” said Slaughter, DFairport. “[State] transit officials tell me it would not be suitable, which is too bad. I can tell you they absolutely love it; it’s the last of its kind left in the United States.”
Skip Carrier, a state Department of Transportation spokesman, later explained that the presence of several freight tracks at the northwestern section of the Central Terminal rail yard made the return of passenger service there unlikely.
“It is a very, very difficult situation, given the congestion with freight rail traffic,” Carrier said.
However, Slaughter said she “loves the building” and held out hope for the iconic Art Deco building’s future on Buffalo’s East Side.
“We have to do something for that terminal,” she said. “It is a jewel, and I am very excited about seeing what we can do. I think there will be some help down the road, but not in the high-speed rail bill.”
The Central Terminal Restoration Corporation’s response, as stated in the article, is as follows:
“Things haven’t been finalized. Until they are, we remain optimistic that the Central Terminal will play an important role with high-speed rail in Western New York. We are still proceeding to prepare the terminal for future development”
Mark Lewandowski
Vice President, Central Terminal Restoration Corporation
July 14, 2009
The full article is available on the Buffalo News website, which now allows comments from users. Supporters of our efforts are encouraged to share their opinion.
