NEC FUTURE: Preliminary Alternatives Report: A Second NEC via Long Island?

"NEC FUTURE" is a planning initiative started a couple years ago by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) which is "a comprehensive planning effort to define, evaluate and prioritize future investments in the Northeast Corridor."  Basically, it is a planning organization set up by the FRA and the US Department of Transportation that's basically going to come up with a way to spend any future funds (if any significant funds ever become available).  NEC FUTURE attempts to provide the US Department of Transportation with a concrete and workable plan to grow and improve the Northeast Corridor to be able to meet the ever escalating demand for rail travel along this rail corridor that connects many of the nation's largest industrial centers.  You can read more about NEC FUTURE as a whole on its website.

Today NEC FUTURE released their "Preliminary Alternatives Report" which details a bunch of different ways they could spend money (if they were to somehow scrounge up a couple hundred billion dollars).  Reading through the report you can see the many different alternatives ranging form the small improvements to the massive public works projects.

The first couple alternatives (called Level "A" alternatives) just involve spending money on basic improvements for the NEC, like improving track standards, increasing speed, installing constant-tension overhead wire systems along the entire corridor.  These improvements would simply help reduce congestion and allow for more trains along the Northeast Corridor.

The next couple alternatives (the Level "B" alternatives) involve more intensive improvements to the physical NEC that exists today.  These movements would be more involved and would aim to maximize capacity and train frequencies, as well as minimize travel times between destinations.  Further plans among the Level "B" alternatives involve maximizing one-seat rides to destinations on and off the Northeast Corridor, meaning more funding to "off-corridor" destinations (like the Virginia Regionals, Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR), etc.)

The Level "C" alternatives then go forward and start evolving how services along the NEC would be structured to go along with all these improvements (and further improvements on top of those).  Currently three types of services exist along the Northeast Corridor: Acela Express high-speed service, regional service (a la Northeast Regionals and Amtrak Long-Distance trains that operate over the NEC), and commuter services (like NJTransit, Metro-North and the LIRR).  The Level "C" alternatives aim to diversify the types of services along the NEC.  Under these Level "C" alternatives, NEC FUTURE would develop a bunch of different types of services along the NEC.  Some of these possible alternate future service types include (click to enlarge):

 

The Level "D" alternatives is where it really gets interesting (and where it starts to pertain to us Long Islanders).  The Level "D" alternatives involve constructing a whole alternate Northeast Corridor, two completely separate tracks that would run on an entirely dedicated right-of-way running between Washington and Boston.  Along this entirely new NEC (a NEC "second spine") very special super high-speed rail trains would sprint between major cities along the NEC connecting cities within a matter of a couple hours.  (One plan even estimates that you could go from New York to Philadelphia in as little as 37 minutes!).

This second spine would run entirely separately from the current NEC and all of those bottlenecks and speed restrictions.  So gone would be the days of an Acela Express being stuck behind a Metro-North Stamford Local or NJTransit MidTOWN direct, delaying the train further.

NECFUTURE Alternative 13, via inland Connecticut

Alternative 12 would involve a second NEC spine pretty much along the same exact route that the current NEC takes.  But alternative 13 involves the second NEC spine splitting off the current NEC right before it would join the Metro-North New Haven Line and taking a brand new route via White Plains, Danbury, Waterbury, and Hartford before finally rejoining the normal NEC in Providence.  (see diagram at right; click to enlarge).
 
Now Alternative 14 gets really interesting.  Take a look at the map for Alternative 14, as seen in the report (click the image to enlarge):

NECFUTURE Alternative 14, a second NEC spine that would go via Long Island, across the LI sound, then up to New Haven, Hartford, and Boston.

This alternative involves sending the second NEC spine through Long Island!  Under Alternative 14, the second NEC spine would come up the Northeast Corridor on a similar route to what it takes now then right after leaving New York Penn Station, super high-speed rial trains would travel along Long Island, stopping at Ronkonkoma and a place called "Nassau Hub" along the way.  From just looking at the Map, it appears that the supposed "Nassau Hub" looks like it would be right around where Hicksville station is today.  It's worth noting that Ronkonkoma and Hicksville are ranked #4 and #5 in terms of ridership in the whole system (only behind Penn Station, Jamaica, and Atlantic Terminal).  So its easy to say that if there were to be NEC second spine stations in those locations they would likely get ridership, but how many people going from Ronkonkoma are headed to Boston or Baltimore?  That is a question that would need to be determined (my guess is not many).

Now one's things for sure, we're not going to see Acela II's blasting at 220 m.p.h. past our little old M7's.  If SHSR would come up through Long Island, it would very likely be on a dedicated right-of-way either right above or below existing LIRR tracks--but probably taking a much more direct ("as the crow flies") route on its way.

After stopping at "Nassau Hub" and Ronkonkoma, the train would hang a left and head due north, presumably under the Long Island Sound (or over it if the Oyster Bay or Port Jefferson NIMBY's would allow).  The second spine would then intersect the current NEC at New Haven before proceeding due north again along the NHHS route (New Haven-Hartford-Springfield) (again, most likely on a much more direct and separated right-of-way).  After Hartford it wold cut across Rhode Island towards Worcester, where it would thence follow a route along the lines of the Lake Shore Limited into Boston Station.

Alternative 15 is similar, however it has the NEC second spine hanging a left after "Nassau Hub," not Ronkonkoma, and taking a more inland route in Conneticut, going through Stamford, Danbury, Waterbury, Hartford, and Springfield on its way to Boston:

NECFUTURE Alternative 15, which would involve the NEC taking a much more straightline route on Long Island traveling via "Nassau Hub" then cutting across the Long Island Sound right into Stamford before heading up to Boston via Danbury, Waterbury, and Hartford.

This plan would have the second spine cross under the Long Island Sound in the area of Oyster Bay, then intersecting the NEC near Stamford, turning north near Norwalk, CT, then going as the map shows via Danbury, Waterbury, and Hartford.  This plan also involves the second spine taking a more coastal route across Maryland and Delaware between Washington and Wilmington.  (See map at left; click to enlarge).

In conclusion, do I see Acela II's racing at 220 miles per hour past my morning Montauk train at Hicksville sometime in the future?  No.  Frankly, most of these alternatives are interesting ideas, but many of them are still in the "pie in the sky" stage of development, meaning that it's very, very unlikely that any of this would come to be in our lifetimes, but it is interesting to think about.

We do have to get one thing straight, something needs to be done with the NEC very soon to respond to the ever increasing demand for local, regional, and long distance rail travel along this extremely busy section of railroad in the United States.