Crains New York - April 1, 2013 - (Page 11)
BOB PREVIDI
A different track
for Penn Station
P
enn Station is by far the busiest transportation facility in the nation. It moves 500,000 passengers per
day, twice as many as the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International. Still, there
is a need to increase mass-transit capacity into Penn
Station, which is why Amtrak has been looking to build a dualtrack train tunnel under the Hudson River.
Unfortunately, finding the $15 billion or so for Amtrak’s
Gateway project has proved difficult.
But there is a way to spend roughly
half as much while still doubling
rush-hour train traffic. It involves
taking a regional approach in how
we use Penn Station.
Today, many Long Island Rail
Road and NJ Transit trains terminate
at Penn Station by discharging their
passengers, loading more passengers
and heading back in the direction
they came from.This causes too many
at-grade movements (where trains
cut across each other’s path) within
the station.It slows everything down,
limiting service and inconveniencing
pass-through passengers.
If trains simply kept going in the
direction they came from—with NJ
Transit trains continuing to Long Island and LIRR trains along New Jer-
sey routes—we could streamline operations and expand the number of
destinations each railroad serves. For
example, NJ Transit customers could
reach JFK airport, Citi Field and the
U.S. Open tennis tournament, while
Long Islanders would be able to reach
Newark Liberty airport, MetLife
Stadium and the Prudential Center.
Achieving this would require
changing equipment and updating
operating procedures, but this concept is not new or radical. It’s been
done in the U.S. and around the
globe, including in London and
Paris. Heck, even Philadelphia did
it: Way back in 1984, the old Reading Terminal and Suburban Station
were combined into the Center City
Commuter Tunnel.
New York City should not be
April will be a tricky
month for city pols
R
eliable sources tell me that in the next month:
ⅷ Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo will announce that they have ordered all their staffers working on recovery from
Superstorm Sandy to move to vacant space in a
downtown office building, where they will all work under a single czar to be appointed jointly in the next month.
ⅷ Mr. Bloomberg will say he agrees with complaints that he
is spending too much time on activities beyond his job and will henceforth devote Monday, Wednesday
and Friday and half of Saturday to
city affairs. He will promise to abstain from weekend trips to Bermuda, at least until November, and that
he will let the press know where he
is on Saturday and Sunday.
ⅷ Mr. Cuomo will concede that
the secrecy involved in the extension
of the millionaires’ tax was a mistake
and will force the Legislature to pass
a bill establishing a tax-reform commission whose recommendations
would take effect unless both houses of the Legislature rejected them
and the governor agreed.
ⅷ Mr. Bloomberg will admit he
has left a budget problem for his
successor,saying,“What else is new?
Mayor Koch did that to David
GREG DAVID
Dinkins, Dinkins to Rudy Giuliani,
and Giuliani to me.”
ⅷ The four Democratic candidates for mayor will confess that their
concern for small business is merely
campaign rhetoric, given their support for bills to allow lawyers to sue
three decades behind Philadelphia.
Adopting this approach for Penn
Station would take advantage of the
LIRR West Side Yard’s proximity to
the station, allowing us to meet capacity goals with a new single-track
tunnel at half the cost of Gateway.
Amazingly, nobody has ever seriously demanded that the railroads
(Amtrak,NJT or LIRR) rethink how
they use Penn Station in a way that
would reduce the capital expense of
doubling Hudson River capacity. If
we are concerned about what we can
afford—and how we can leave some
funds to fix the existing station—
then New York’s and New Jersey’s
elected officials should insist that the
agencies find a way to make better use
of the existing track, tunnels and
yards that support Penn Station.
On a recent visit to Germany, I
took an Intercity-Express train to
Frankfurt from Mannheim. My return trip, while booked on ICE, was
actually a French TGV train headed
for Paris. If trains can operate this
way between France and Germany,
surely we can commingle NJT and
LIRR service across the Hudson to
save $7 billion.
Maybe Madison Square Garden
will move someday; maybe it won’t.
No matter what we decide, we need
to expand capacity for trains under
the Hudson as well as fix the way
Penn Station greets travelers, and do
so in a way that makes sense financially for taxpayers and the riding public.
Buy Tickets Online
AutoShowNY.com
Save on combo tickets with LIRR and Metro North at MTA.com
NY Waterway combo tickets also available at AutoShowNY.com
RECORDED INFO: 800-282-3336
For security purposes, NO backpacks allowed. Random security and bag checks. An activity of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.
Bob Previdi is a career public transportation
professional.
companies that are believed to discriminate against the unemployed
and to impose paid sick leave on even
the smallest firms. Instead, they will
note that the city’s economy is so
strong that the companies should be
able to shoulder these new burdens
and thrive. If the firms can’t, others
will take their place.
ⅷ Republican Senate Majority
Leader Dean Skelos will acknowledge to business leaders that while he
needs their campaign contributions
to keep enough seats to be a force, he
won’t stand up for their interests
against the power of Mr. Cuomo.
ⅷ All the candidates for mayor
will acknowledge that they know
that no city in America imposes
higher and more burdensome taxes
on its residents and businesses than
New York. They will promise to require an Independent Budget Office
assessment of the economic damage
from any increases they propose.
ⅷ A state Supreme Court judge
reviewing the city’s prevailing-wage
law will rule that the City Council
does not have the power to regulate
wages or benefits for the private sector—ending the debate over the living-wage and sick-leave bills.
ⅷ All the mayoral candidates will
rule out retroactive raises for city
workers,which could blow a $10 billion hole in the budget, and say any
future raises must be paid for with
concessions on benefits and work
rules.
Oh, in case you forgot, today is
April 1.
FOR
SALE
Condominium Units and Boat Slips
at Ocean Place on the Harbour,
Paradise Island, Bahamas
50 condominium units at Ocean Place on the Harbour on Paradise Island,
Bahamas are available for sale on an en bloc basis. In addition, licences
for 17 boat slips at an adjacent marina are separately available for sale on
an en bloc basis. With breathtaking views, the units are at various stages
of interior completion. Completed units feature top of the line finishings
while boat slips range in size from 45’ to 120’.
The condominium units and boat slip licences are being offered under
a power of sale by the secured lender. Preference is for an all cash
transaction but proposals involving deferred or contingent consideration
will also be considered.
Interested parties should contact the following representatives of the
Joint Receivers and Managers for additional information:
Charlene Lewis-Small
KPMG Restructuring Ltd.
PO Box N 123
5th Floor, Montague Sterling Centre
East Bay Street
Nassau, Bahamas
Telephone: 242-394-9951
Email: clewis@kpmg.com.bs
Bradley Butcher
KPMG Inc.
333 Bay Street
Suite 4600
Toronto, Canada
M5H 2S5
Telephone: 416-777-3819
Email: bbutcher@kpmg.ca
April 1, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 11
http://www.MTA.com
http://www.AutoShowNY.com
http://www.AutoShowNY.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - April 1, 2013
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
BOB PREVIDI
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
HEALTH CARE REPORT
CLASSIFIEDS
SMALL BUSINESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS
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