Amtrak High-Speed Rail Plan and $151 Billion Bill: NYC to Philly in 37 Minutes?
Commuters from Philadelphia to New York may have their dreams realized one day with a commute that clocks in at 37 minutes.
At current those who live in the Philadelphia area and commute to work in New York City, possibly every morning, spend more than an hour one way to reach their destination. For a round trip, five days a week, that's over 10 hours of commuting or 40 hours a week; it also the equivalent to one whole work week - which for many, is unpaid.
With Amtrak's new lofty plan, however, commuters may be able to get from Philadelphia to New York City in a comparatively quick 37 minutes. While the plan will cost $151 billion and calls for a complete redevelopment of the entire Northeast Corridor, for some commuters it may all be worth it.
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Unfortunately, commuters are also in for a hefty wait.
"In a report released Monday, Amtrak revised its projections for costs, ridership, and the alignment of its proposed new 438-mile high-speed corridor. The high-speed segment between New York and Washington would be completed by about 2030, and the route between New York and Boston by 2040, according to the plan," Philly.com reported.
On the bright side, in the meantime, the long-term construction also means a number of new jobs. Amtrak speculated that over 40,000 construction jobs would be created for the next 25 years in addition to 22,000 new permanent jobs.
Amtrak president Joseph Boardman believes that without new rail lines, the economies in the surrounding area could be "stifled."
"I think what's at stake here is the global economic engine of the Northeast," Boardman said in an interview with Philly.com. "The business community in the Northeast has to wake up - they're at risk."
Amtrak hopes to secure funding from the local, state, and federal government in order to support the project. In return, the company projects that it will earn a surplus of $928 million by 2040, a growing number which it hopes would more than compensate the initial costs over time.
