Newsday
23 U.S House members throw support behind $105B high-speed rail system
Nearly two dozen members of Congress, including three representing Long Island, are throwing their support behind a proposal to build a $105 billion high-speed rail system that would stretch across Nassau and Suffolk counties, and under the Long Island Sound.
A letter from Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and signed by 22 other members of the House of Representatives urged Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) to advance the North Atlantic Rail proposal, which they called "bold" and "transformative."
"This proposed network will underpin the continued growth and prosperity of the seven-state region for decades to come," the lawmakers wrote about the project, which would stretch from New York City to Boston. "NAR will address the severe and growing highway, rail and air congestion that is undermining the vitality of the region’s innovation and technology sectors, which will be essential to America’s continued global economic competitiveness in decades to come."
The proposal calls for the excavation of several rail tunnels in the region, including under the East River to Penn Station, through parts of Queens and Long Island, and from Port Jefferson, across the Long Island Sound, to Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Trains would travel at speeds of up to 200 mph — roughly three times the Long Island Rail Road’s top speeds and about 33% faster than Amtrak’s Acela trains. Project officials said the cross-Sound configuration would drastically reduce intercity rail travel times — allowing passengers to get from Manhattan to Boston in 1 hour and 40 minutes.
The letter, sent Wednesday, calls for the project to be included in a reauthorized House surface transportation bill later this year. That would provide the approval needed to advance the project, which is banking on funding from President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan.
DeFazio received the letter and, according to a spokesman, plans to address requests for high-speed rail proposals in a forthcoming surface transportation authorization bill.
The proposal already has gained the support of several local lawmakers who signed the letter, including Suozzi, Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans), whose district includes parts of Nassau County.
In an interview, Suozzi said the letter "demonstrates that there's very strong support throughout the region" for the proposal.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who recently joined as co-chair of the project’s steering committee, on Wednesday expressed "deep appreciation" to the 23 members of Congress who signed the letter.
"It is just an indication of how much momentum we've been able to build over the last couple months," Bellone said in an interview. "I think what people are starting to understand is that a big, bold project like this is something our nation needs now, both to power our economy into the future, and to effectively compete with China in the 21st century."
Others have criticized the project as unnecessary, unrealistic and expensive. At $105 billion, the project would be among the most costly public works projects in American history.
The proposal also is competing for federal funding with other rail projects, including Amtrak’s Gateway plan, which would construct a rail tunnel under the Hudson River. That effort received key federal approval last week and is expected to be one of the centerpieces of Biden’s infrastructure bill, which earmarks $80 billion for rail projects.
By Alfonso A. Castillo alfonso.castillo@newsday.com @alfonsoreports
