High speed passenger rail is the future of transportation in New York State and the nation. The High Speed Rail Empire Corridor Project is good for New York because it will bring jobs to our State, help protect our environment and stimulate economic growth by attracting business and travel to major cities connected on the system. The first step in moving forward with our vision for high speed rail in New York State is to con-duct a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to examine the op-tions for introducing passenger train speeds of at least 110 mph between Schenectady and Niagara Falls.

High speed passenger rail is expected to improve reliability, decrease travel times and increase train frequencies from New York City to Niagara Falls. New York’s transportation leaders making important decisions re-garding what high speed rail will ultimately look like in our State will rely on participation and feedback from: the public; high speed rail partners including Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Metro North and Canadian Pacific Railways; and many interested groups along the corridor. The resulting strategic plan will help spark statewide economic development by com-bining our strong freight system with a competitive passenger system that delivers fast, efficient, environmentally friendly and reliable service.

New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the Fed-eral Railroad Administration (FRA) will examine and evaluate potential improvements and projects to intercity passenger rail service within the corridor. It proceeds north from New York through Albany, turns west to Schenectady, then passes through Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and other cities before terminating at Niagara Falls, a distance of 463 miles.

During the two-year project there will be many

opportunities for corridor residents, transit users, businesses, taxpayers and other partners to learn about high speed rail, and identify local needs and concerns regarding the potential expansion of high speed rail.

High Speed Rail Empire Corridor Project

Key high-speed rail project underway In this issueProject Overview, Map P.1 EIS Summary P.2 Schedule P.3 Public Involvement P.4 Scoping meetings

Scoping meetings are an important tool for public engagement and feedback in projects like the EIS now underway for the High Speed Rail Empire Corridor Project. Six such open-house meetings, which help the project team refine what will be evaluated during the EIS, are scheduled:

Buffalo, NY

Connecticut Street Armory

184 Connecticut Street, Buffalo, NY 14213

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010; 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Syracuse, NY

Empire Expo Center (Syracuse Fairgrounds)

581 State Fair Blvd, Syracuse, NY 13209

Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010; 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Albany, NY

Sand Creek Middle School

329 Sand Creek Road, Albany, NY 12205

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010; 5:30-7:30 p.m.

New York City, NY

Moynihan Station

380 West 33rd St., NY, 10001

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010; 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Utica, NY

Hotel Utica

102 Lafayette St, Utica, NY 13502

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010; 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Rochester, NY

Monroe Community College - Brighton Campus

1000 E. Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623

Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010; 5:30-7:30 p.m.

For more information, please visit: www.nysdot.gov/empire-corridor

I s s u e 0 1 r

O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0

287

Niagara Falls

Schenectady

Hudson

RhinecliffPoughkeepsie

Croton-Harmon

87

81

84

88

90

90

8686

390

495

Niagara Falls

Schenectady

Hudson

RhinecliffPoughkeepsie

Croton-Harmon

Utica

Albany

New York

SyracuseRochester

Buffalo

Utica

Albany

New York

SyracuseRochester

Buffalo

Empire Corridor Project Map

NEPA and the EIS - What they mean for High Speed Rail

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the umbrella under which this Project is being conducted. Under NEPA, agencies are encouraged to use a tiered EIS approach to make planning decisions (moving from analyzing broader planning perspectives in Tier 1 to examining narrower, specific actions in Tier 2). Public and resource agency involvement is an im-portant component of the environmental assessment process, including specific requirements for a scop-ing process, formal circulation of draft and final documents, and public hearings and meetings. The intent is to ensure that the appropriate criteria and environmental factors are being considered and made available for input and comment during the decision-making process.

What are current conditions?

New York State has one of the most comprehensive and intensively used rail passenger and freight transportation systems in the nation.

However there are current service issues that need to be addressed to meet the market demands:

• Remove capacity constraints that limit train frequency

• Increase average train speed to reduce travel times

• Improve infrastructure conditions to increase reliability

2

Tier1

Corridor wide high-speed

rail plan

Tier2

Specific, local high-speed rail plans

Build

We Are Here!

Constraints

Capacity

Speed

Infrastructure

Frequency

Travel Time

Reliability

Project Schedule• Scoping Process Fall 2010

• Prepare Draft EIS Fall 2010-Summer 2011

• Distribute Draft EIS Summer 2011

• Public Hearings Fall 2011

• Distribute Final EIS Spring 2012

• Record of Decision Summer 2012

3

Conventional Rail Emerging-HSR HSR-Regional HSR-ExpressRoutes: Major pop. centers 200-600 miles apartService: FrequentSpeed: 150 mph or moreTrack: Dedicated Purpose: Relieve air, highway capacity constraints

Routes: Major/medium cities 100-500 miles apartService: Relatively frequent Speed: Up to 150 mphTrack: Shared/DedicatedPurpose: Relieve highway, air capacity constraints

Routes: 100-500 milesService: Relatively frequentSpeed: Up to 110 mphTrack: SharedPurpose: Promote passenger rail, provide relief to other modes

Routes: 100 miles or moreService: 1-12 trips dailySpeed: Up to 90 mphTrack: Shared Purpose: Provide travel options, promote passenger rail

50 190

70 170

90 150110 130

50 190

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70 170

90 150110 130

50 190

70 170

90 150110 130

Distribute �Draft EIS

Prepare �Draft EIS

Scoping�Process

Notice of Intent to Prepare EIS

Federal Approval - �Record of Decision

Distribute �Final EIS

Respond to Comments

Public Hearing and Comment Period

We Are Here!

Distribute �Draft EIS

Prepare �Draft EIS

Scoping�Process

Notice of Intent to Prepare EIS

Federal Approval - �Record of Decision

Distribute �Final EIS

Respond to Comments

Public Hearing and Comment Period

We Are Here!

What is High Speed Rail?

Nearly nine in ten Americans (88%) support the concept of high speed rail, according to a 2010 poll by HNTB Corp., a national transportation consultant. Individual levels of support vary by specific high speed rail benefit or service attribute. The survey polled a random na-tionwide sample of 1,007 Americans Feb. 1-7, 2010.; margin of error is +/- 3.1%.

What is Scoping?

Project scoping is a process by which the Project will gather input and ideas from corridor partners and then:

• Finalize the Purpose and Need;

• Identify the range of alternatives;

• Evaluate what will be analyzed in the project; and

• Document the level of importance of specific issues and needs, including current partner concerns, associated with the proposed action.

Based on input received during project scoping, NYSDOT will refine the Purpose and Need Statement which is the foundation of the project, and the exact definition of what will be evaluated in the EIS.

Frequency

Travel Time

Reliability

How Can You Help?

Your input is important as one of the elements the proj-ect team will use to develop, refine and select which high speed rail alternatives make the most sense for New York.

As the project unfolds over the next two years, inter-ested parties are invited to stay informed and to provide Scoping comments and other feedback through the project website at:

www.nysdot.gov/empire-corridor

Comments also can be sent to:

EmpireCorridor@dot.state.ny.us

Comments may be submitted at public meetings, includ-ing the Scoping meetings that will be held in October and November 2010. An online version of the scop-ing meeting also will be available through the project website.

To receive project updates and additional project newsletters, sign up for the project mailing list on the website. Your contact information will only be used for the HSR Project (and will not be sold or given to anyone outside the project team).

Additionally, you can mail written comments to:

David Chan HSR Project Manager NYSDOT 50 Wolf Road Albany, NY 12232

Mohawk-Erie Transportation Corridor StudyThose who are interested in transportation improvements in the region may also want to be aware of the Mohawk-Erie Transpor-tation Corridor Study.

This comprehensive multimodal transportation analysis of the Mohawk-Erie corridor is being conducted jointly by the NYS-DOT and the New York State Thruway Authority. The study corridor stretches between the Massachusetts and Pennsylvania state line, generally following Interstate 90 and the Erie Canal.

The study will examine the region’s transportation system, in-cluding interstate and state highways; passenger and freight rail; air passenger and cargo facilities; canals and ports; and pedes-trian and bicycle facilities.

More information on this study can be found at https://www.nys dot.gov/mohawk-erie-study. The first set of coordination meet-ings for the Mohawk-Erie Study will take place in fall, 2010.

The Empire Project Advisory Committee

As part of the HSR Project, an Empire Corridor Project Advisory Committee (EPAC) has been created to help inform and guide our efforts.

This group is comprised of representatives from key federal and state agencies, railroads and statewide organizations.

The EPAC will receive updates at key milestones from the project team, which is comprised of representatives from the NYSDOT and the HNTB consulting team. The EPAC will serve as a com-munication conduit for their constituents. The list of the Advisory Committee members can be found at the project website: www.nysdot.gov/empire-corridor. As shown in the figure below, input from the EPAC, FRA, NYSDOT, the HSR Planning Board, part-ners (CSX, Amtrak, MNR,CPR and others) and the public are key to the decision-making process.

Partners/Public

Involvement

EnvironmentalFactors

Level of Service/Schedule/ Frequency

MarketAnalysis

OperationsPhysical

Constraints/Engineering

4

HSRPlanning

Board

EmpireProject

Advisory Committee

(EPAC)

Partners

FRA Public

NYSDOT Project Team