Public Meetings Set For New York Vermont Rail Study

Mechanicville Session Scheduled for June 7th on Bi State Intercity Passenger Rail

ALBANY, NY (06/03/2011)(readMedia)-- The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), in cooperation with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), are working together to identify and establish intercity passenger rail service to parts of southwestern Vermont and eastern central New York that are underserved. They have scheduled a second round of public meetings to present draft study alternatives for public comment, as well as to discuss methods for evaluating these alternatives going forward. These meetings will be held on:

  • Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 7PM at the Mechanicville Senior Citizen Center, located at 178 North Main Street, Mechanicville, NY 12118; and
  • Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 7PM at the Holiday Inn – Rutland, in the Green Mountain Room. The Holiday Inn is located at 476 Route 7 South, Rutland, VT 05701.

Public involvement is essential for the development and implementation of this planning study. These meetings are the second in a series of four rounds of public meetings that will be held in both Vermont and New York over the course of the study to gather public opinion on intercity passenger rail service options.

The desired outcome of this study is to develop a preferred transportation alternative that will continue forward into design and construction. Once public input is received on the identified alternatives, the study will proceed with the following major steps:

  • Evaluate identified intercity passenger rail service alternatives;
  • Complete federal environmental documentation and reviews;
  • Develop preliminary engineering materials; and
  • Develop an implementation plan to identify the management approach and financial plan for the proposed service.

The study is scheduled to be completed by summer 2012.

The project study area, which is generally located between Albany/Rensselaer, NY and Rutland, VT, includes Bennington and Rutland counties in Vermont, and Rensselaer, Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties in New York.

Passenger rail is a vital and integrated component of both the Vermont and New York multimodal transportation systems. Both states have developed state rail plans to provide a strategic policy framework for maintaining and enhancing their respective rail systems.

The public is encouraged to attend and provided input to the study team. Those unable to attend may provide comments to:

Costa Pappis, VTrans, (802) 828-5790, costa.pappis@state.vt.us

Tim Conway, NYSDOT, (518) 485-9234, tconway@dot.state.ny.us

In addition, the public can provide input using the project website comment form. This form and information about the study can be found on the project website at: http://www.ny-vt- passengerrail.org/