Comments on: Potential New York HSR Service Puts Rochester in a Quandary

By: N

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:49:08 +0000

The actual ‘problem sections’ for high-speed trains are found largely east of Albany and between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. There are also some ‘problem sections’ in farmland between Syracuse and Rochester. Rochester downtown is plenty straight enough for stopping service (and any service bypassing Rochester would bypass downtown).

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:27:12 +0000

The New York Central ROW is pretty straight between Depew and the eastern suburbs of Rochester, with only three turns that would upset Shinkansen trains or TGVs. Apart from a The sharp turn near the station is no big deal – trains don’t travel at high speed right outside stations. It’s unlikely any high-speed train will ever skip Rochester; even if it does, it’s unlikely it’ll go at full speed through Rochester’s city center.

By: Adirondacker

Adirondacker — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:48:06 +0000

A few weeks ago I surfed over the route between Albany and Buffalo using Google maps. I just wanted to see if the ROW of the Thruway was very much straighter than the old New York Central ROW. Without looking very closely and not being an expert I would say they are both about the same. Except for Rochester cities along the corridor are near the Thruway and the railroad goes through downtown. . . if HSR ever comes to NY Rochester’s Station may be south of downtown out where the ROW is straighter. So arguing over whether the buses should go to the train station may be moot. There won’t be a train station downtown. Rochester will trade faster service on HSR for a bus ride to the HSR station outside of downtown. They do it for the airport…..

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:13:56 +0000

Anyone with an understanding of required turn proportions of HSR want to comment on what looks like an overly sharp turn that takes the current ROW into the existing Amtrak station? can that even handle HSR? If not, what would a re-alignment look like? Could it be rerouted to ren square?

Or, what can those familiar with the Rochester development scene tell us about what potential exists on Clinton between Ren square and the train station?

By: Rochester Subway

Rochester Subway — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:16:54 +0000

I give Mayor Duffy a lot of credit here. Standing up and saying we should stop and reassess Ren Square is not the easy thing to do but is absolutely the right thing. But Brook’s and her supporters are like a runaway locomotive. As a community we have to voice our support for the Mayor and let the county know where we stand. Yes, buses CAN travel between two stations… but two stations of the capacity and proximity in question would not practical. A consolidated, intermodal station at the perimeter of downtown will allow for more attractive development at the core of downtown (Main and Clinton). It’s that simple.

By: Andy Lynch

Andy Lynch — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:58:33 +0000

Offer a free ride between the Amtrak terminal and the bus depot w/a recent Amtrak ticket. When given lemons….

By: BruceMcF

BruceMcF — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:58:17 +0000

The buses are … hmm, how to put it politely … buses. A number of them surely can go to both?

The HSR and regional bus terminal should be a single multi-model terminal, but the regional multi-model makes for only one local transport anchor. It should be on the local transport trunk grid, and ideally within one connection of all main local transportation routes, but there’s no reason why a regional multi-model terminal and a downtown bus terminal cannot both be on grid.