07-Dec-2010
On September 28, 2010, at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, Amtrak unveiled its vision for next-generation high-speed passenger rail service for the Northeast Corridor of the United States.
To validate its vision, (click here) Amtrak engaged AECOM, a leading provider of professional technical and management support services for government and commercial clients around the world, to conduct a comprehensive technical and economic feasibility analysis for high-speed rail service on the Northeast Corridor.
Under the study’s accelerated 12-week schedule, AECOM worked closely with Amtrak staff to deliver a concept plan for a true high-speed rail corridor extending from Washington, D.C., to Boston. Amtrak’s report, A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, confirmed the viability of high-speed rail service in the Northeast. Trains would operate at up to 220 miles per hour on a new, dedicated, two-track corridor with a trip time of just under three hours and 30 minutes between Washington and Boston, approximately half the current schedule.
Upon completion in 2040, annual high-speed train ridership in the corridor would approach 18 million passengers and generate an annual operating surplus of approximately $900 million for Amtrak. Under the “Next-Gen HSR Vision,” high-speed rail departures would increase from the current average of one per hour to four per hour in each direction, with additional service in the peak periods. Total daily high-speed rail departures would increase from 42 today to as many as 148 in 2040. In addition, full system operation in 2040 would utilize only about one third of the system’s capacity, leaving room to expand service sufficiently to accommodate up to 80 million annual high-speed rail passengers compared with 3 million in 2010.
