About 50 people attended a meeting in Concord Tuesday night, to hear consultants and transportation officials from Vermont and New Hampshire discuss high speed rail service between Boston and Montreal. NHPR�s David Darman attended the meeting, and files this report.
Organizers of the meeting wanted people to know that high speed rail is possible in Northern New England, and that Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Canada are interested in the project. Carol Murray, New Hampshire Transportation Commissioner, told the audience that the high speed project marks a big change in the way New Hampshire and the other states think about transportation needs.
02 615 for too long we have been reactive to transportation mobility needs. What we�re trying now is to be proactive, and to in fact, may not be 5 years ten years, it may be 15, 20 years, but let�s plan for it, let�s provide for it and above all, let�s start thinking regionally, and, in fact internationally about how we�re going to move around in the future�02 638
President Clinton designated the Boston to Montreal Corridor through New Hampshire and Vermont as a high speed rail option in 2000. The corridor, if not the tracks themselves, exists along the whole route, since New Hampshire saved an important part of the right of way between Concord and White River Junction, Vermont.
But the establishment of high speed service will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and Senator Clifton Below, Democrat of Lebanon, says no matter how attractive the project may be, the state�s constitutional dedication to fund highways and no other modes of transportation leaves little money for trains.
01 105 state government, the way it is in nh now, is going to be very limited in its ability to invest large amounts of money in something like this. Obviously, the federal government�s going to have to play a role, as would other states. 01 119
Consultants helping to plan the high speed corridor say they have to study possible ridership of the line, and also gauge how fast the train must go in order to be competitive with other forms of transportation. Their studies may also help state officials decide what kind of high speed service to offer, from traditional trains to possible monorail or mag lev.
Project manager Ron O�Blenis of the engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas says his group thinks the potential huge cost of the line could be managed by using service already planned for New Hampshire, and by increasing service over time.
02 300 �one of the things that we�ll be looking at is there opportunities to expand the system and do it in phases. We might actually see that the extension of commuter rail service to Manchester and beyond, is the first phase if you will, of a consolidated plan, which includes the high speed rail� 02 322
Planners for a high speed line between Boston and Montreal could easily find themselves constructing the system in stages. Amtrak�s president recently announced that he may have to cut intercity rail service, because of financial problems. And while planners of the high speed line don�t have to use Amtrak to run the new service, Congress has shown it is running out of patience with funding unprofitable passenger railroads. Despite this, New Hampshire Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray says the long time frame for the high speed project may work in it�s favor, since the Congressional mood toward funding rail service needs to change.
05 215 is any long term rail line going to operate unsubsidized? I really doubt it. What form that subsidy takes, is up for debate. That subsidy could be an up front investment in capital expenses, for example, buying the train sets that need to operate the route. �05 232
The project may also overcome resistance from lawmakers because of the terrorist attacks last fall that used commercial passenger jets to destroy the World Trade Towers in New York, and damage the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Tom Irwin of the Conservation Law Foundation, which favors the project, says he hopes Congress sees that Boston to Montreal high speed service is necessary for practical reasons, and as a response to terrorism.
07 36 I think for purposes, when you�re talking these 300 mile corridors, in light of the changes that have arisen as a result of September 11th, diversifying the transportation system is crucial. 07 50
Planners of the route between Boston and Montreal say its technically possible to build the line right now. But as the consultants and transportation officials know, building the line will take more than just technical knowledge.
