Building Another Link

Now that we've branched the Northeast Corridor off into lines serving Scranton, Toronto, Norfolk, and Albany, it is time to consider building another link in our growing imaginary high speed rail network.

As ridership increases it is important to form alternate routes between large urban areas to relieve congestion and to serve more communities. Studies have shown that many people are hesitant to change forms of transportation or even between different carriers that share the same form; this is the reason that most people where I live (Lexington, KY) won't drive 60 miles to the nearest Amtrak station (Maysville, KY) to take the train.


So the next line upgraded to true high speed rail should run between New Haven, CT to Springfield, MA. This line would connect the current Northeast Corridor as it bends to the east from New York City to the Albany-Springfield-Boston connection.


As it stands today the state of Connecticut is already moving forward with plans to upgrade the line to make it accessible to commuter trains with an eye towards providing high-speed rail service in the future.


The cost of upgrading and electrifying the 65-mile line is certainly within reason as most of the route is double tracked and is currently in use as part of an Amtrak route.