Table Of Content

Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE A Rail Investment Plan for the Northeast Corridor Washington, D.C., to Boston, Massachusetts July 2017 Prepared by: For more information contact: Rebecca Reyes-Alicea, Northeast Corridor Joint Program Advisor Office of Railroad Policy and Development One Bowling Green, Suite 429 New York, NY 10004 FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE Contents SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................................. I 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 2. NEC FUTURE PROGRAM ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Purpose and Need ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.1 Purpose Statement ................................................................................................................................. 3 2.1.2 Need Statement ..................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Alternatives Considered ....................................................................................................................... 5 2.2.1 No Action Alternative ............................................................................................................................. 6 2.2.2 Action Alternatives ................................................................................................................................. 6 2.2.3 Preferred Alternative.............................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 Alternatives Evaluation ........................................................................................................................ 9 2.4 Summary of Public Feedback from Tier 1 Final EIS.............................................................................. 10 2.5 Identification of the Selected Alternative ........................................................................................... 12 3. NEC FUTURE DECISION ................................................................................................................................ 14 3.1 Overview of Selected Alternative ....................................................................................................... 14 3.2 IMPROVE RAIL SERVICE: Corridor-Wide Objectives ............................................................................ 17 3.2.1 Service and Performance ..................................................................................................................... 17 3.2.2 Integrated Operations .......................................................................................................................... 19 3.3 MODERNIZE NEC INFRASTRUCTURE: Achieve a Reliable NEC ............................................................. 21 3.3.1 No Action Alternative and Related Projects ......................................................................................... 22 3.4 EXPAND RAIL CAPACITY: Add New Infrastructure Elements ............................................................... 22 3.5 STUDY NEW HAVEN TO PROVIDENCE CAPACITY ................................................................................. 31 3.6 Other Features of the Selected Alternative ........................................................................................ 32 3.6.1 Continued Rail Planning ....................................................................................................................... 32 3.6.2 Connecting Corridors ............................................................................................................................ 33 3.6.3 Station Improvements .......................................................................................................................... 33 3.6.4 Systems and Technology ...................................................................................................................... 34 3.6.5 Rolling Stock ......................................................................................................................................... 34 3.7 Geographic Description of the Selected Alternative ........................................................................... 36 3.7.1 Washington, D.C. .................................................................................................................................. 36 3.7.2 Maryland .............................................................................................................................................. 37 3.7.3 Delaware .............................................................................................................................................. 37 3.7.4 Pennsylvania ......................................................................................................................................... 38 3.7.5 New Jersey ........................................................................................................................................... 38 3.7.6 New York .............................................................................................................................................. 39 3.7.7 Connecticut .......................................................................................................................................... 39 3.7.8 Rhode Island ......................................................................................................................................... 40 3.7.9 Massachusetts ...................................................................................................................................... 40 3.8 Cost .................................................................................................................................................... 41 3.9 Key Benefits of the Selected Alternative ............................................................................................ 42 4. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AND MEASURES TO AVOID AND MINIMIZE HARM ........................................... 44 4.1 Tiered NEPA Process ........................................................................................................................... 44 4.2 Summary of Environmental Effects .................................................................................................... 44 4.2.1 Service-Related Effects ......................................................................................................................... 44 4.2.2 Footprint-Related Effects (Physical Effects) ......................................................................................... 45 4.2.3 Indirect and Cumulative Effects ........................................................................................................... 46 4.3 Potential Measures to Avoid and Minimize Harm .............................................................................. 46 Page | i FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE 4.4 Environmentally Preferable Alternative ............................................................................................. 48 5. IMPLEMENTING THE SELECTED ALTERNATIVE ............................................................................................. 49 5.1 FRA ..................................................................................................................................................... 49 5.1.1 FRA Commitments ................................................................................................................................ 50 5.2 Agency Roles ...................................................................................................................................... 50 5.2.1 FTA ........................................................................................................................................................ 51 5.2.2 NEC Commission ................................................................................................................................... 51 5.2.3 Metropolitan Planning Organizations .................................................................................................. 51 5.2.4 Railroad Owners and Operators ........................................................................................................... 52 5.3 Service Development Plan .................................................................................................................. 52 5.4 Consistency with the Selected Alternative ......................................................................................... 52 5.4.1 Consistency Criteria .............................................................................................................................. 53 6. TIER 2 PROJECT STUDIES ............................................................................................................................. 55 6.1 Use of the Tier 1 EIS in Tier 2 Project Studies ...................................................................................... 55 6.2 Considerations for Tier 2 Project Studies ............................................................................................ 56 6.3 Tier 2 Resource and Regulatory Compliance ....................................................................................... 57 6.3.1 Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act ............................................................................................. 57 6.3.2 Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act ......................................................................... 58 6.3.3 Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act .................................................................. 59 6.4 Tier 2 Agency and Public Coordination ............................................................................................... 59 6.4.1 Resource and Regulatory Agencies ...................................................................................................... 59 6.4.2 Public Involvement ............................................................................................................................... 60 7. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................... 61 APPENDIX A: FEEDBACK SUBMISSIONS AND RESPONSES Attachment 1 – Summary of Elected Official, Agency, and Railroad Operator Feedback Attachment 2 – Index of Feedback Received on the Tier 1 Final EIS Attachment 3 – Feedback Received on the Tier 1 Final EIS APPENDIX B: DEFINITION OF DECISION MATRIX AND SCHEMATIC Tables Table 3-1: No Action Alternative Projects included in the Selected Alternative .............................. 24 Table 3-2: Related Projects on the NEC (included in the Selected Alternative) ............................... 27 Table 3-3: Related Projects on Connecting Corridors (not included in the Selected Alternative) ... 28 Table 3-4: Selected Alternative Capital Cost Estimate ($2014 millions) ........................................... 42 Table 5-1: Consistency Criteria ......................................................................................................... 54 Table 6-1: Tier 2 Considerations by NEC State .................................................................................. 57 Figures Figure 2-1: Framework for Decision-Making .................................................................................... 9 Figure 3-1: Selected Alternative ..................................................................................................... 16 Page | ii FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE Acronyms ADA ....................................................................................................................... Americans with Disabilities Act B&P ........................................................................................................................ Baltimore & Potomac (Tunnel) BWI ................................................................................................................ Baltimore-Washington International CDOT .................................................................................................. Connecticut Department of Transportation CEQ.................................................................................................................... Council on Environmental Quality EIS ..................................................................................................................... Environmental Impact Statement FRA ....................................................................................................................... Federal Railroad Administration FTA ......................................................................................................................... Federal Transit Administration LIRR ....................................................................................................................................... Long Island Rail Road MARC ............................................................................................................. Maryland Area Regional Commuter MBTA .............................................................................................. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MPO ............................................................................................................. metropolitan planning organizations MTA ....................................................................................... (New York) Metropolitan Transportation Authority NEC ........................................................................................................................................... Northeast Corridor NEPA ................................................................................................................ National Environmental Policy Act NMFS ................................................................................................................. National Marine Fisheries Service NRTC ....................................................................................... Newark Delaware Regional Transportation Center O&M.......................................................................................................................... operations and maintenance PATH ......................................................................................................................... Port Authority Trans-Hudson PSNY ................................................................................................................................... Penn Station New York ROD ........................................................................................................................................... Record of Decision SDP ................................................................................................................................ Service Development Plan SEHSR ............................................................................................................................ Southeast High-Speed Rail U.S. DOT .......................................................................................... United States Department of Transportation USFWS ....................................................................................................... United States Fish and Wildlife Service USGS.................................................................................................................... United States Geological Service VMT ...................................................................................................................................... vehicle-miles traveled VRE ................................................................................................................................... Virginia Railway Express Page | iii FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE Summary This Record of Decision (ROD) documents the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) decision regarding NEC FUTURE, a comprehensive planning effort to define a vision for the future role of passenger rail service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) through 2040 and beyond. The NEC is the rail transportation spine of the Northeast region—extending from Union Station in Washington, D.C., to South Station in Boston, MA—and is a key component of the region’s transportation system. This ROD documents the FRA’s selection of an investment program for the NEC and describes how this investment program will be advanced. The purpose of NEC FUTURE is to upgrade aging infrastructure and to improve the reliability, capacity, connectivity, performance, and resiliency of future passenger rail service on the NEC for both Intercity and Regional trips,1 while promoting environmental sustainability and continued economic growth. In this ROD, the FRA is making a decision to select a corridor-wide vision for the NEC that encompasses improvements to grow the role of rail within the transportation system of the Northeast (the Selected Alternative). To achieve this Grow Vision, the Selected Alternative includes the following four components:  Improve Rail Service: Corridor-wide service and performance objectives for frequency, travel time, design speed, and passenger convenience.  Modernize NEC Infrastructure: Corridor-wide repair, replacement, and rehabilitation of the existing NEC to bring the corridor into a state of good repair and increase reliability.  Expand Rail Capacity: Additional infrastructure between Washington, D.C., and New Haven, CT, and between Providence, RI, and Boston, MA, as needed to achieve the service and performance objectives, including investments that add capacity, increase speeds, and eliminate chokepoints.  Study New Haven to Providence Capacity: Planning study in Connecticut and Rhode Island to identify additional on- and off-corridor infrastructure as needed to achieve the service and performance objectives. The Selected Alternative prioritizes a corridor-wide commitment to the existing NEC, brings it to a state of good repair, and provides the additional capacity and service enhancements necessary to address passenger rail needs through 2040 and beyond. 1 Intercity is passenger rail service between metropolitan areas. Regional describes travel within a metropolitan area. Page | I

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Record Of Decision NEC Future PDF

2017·214.2 MB·English
by  Federal Railroad Administration
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Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE A Rail Investment Plan for the Northeast Corridor Washington, D.C., to Boston, Massachusetts July 2017 Prepared by: For more information contact: Rebecca Reyes-Alicea, Northeast Corridor Joint Program Advisor Office of Railroad Policy and Development One Bowling Green, Suite 429 New York, NY 10004 FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE Contents SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................................. I 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 2. NEC FUTURE PROGRAM ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Purpose and Need ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.1 Purpose Statement ................................................................................................................................. 3 2.1.2 Need Statement ..................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Alternatives Considered ....................................................................................................................... 5 2.2.1 No Action Alternative ............................................................................................................................. 6 2.2.2 Action Alternatives ................................................................................................................................. 6 2.2.3 Preferred Alternative.............................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 Alternatives Evaluation ........................................................................................................................ 9 2.4 Summary of Public Feedback from Tier 1 Final EIS.............................................................................. 10 2.5 Identification of the Selected Alternative ........................................................................................... 12 3. NEC FUTURE DECISION ................................................................................................................................ 14 3.1 Overview of Selected Alternative ....................................................................................................... 14 3.2 IMPROVE RAIL SERVICE: Corridor-Wide Objectives ............................................................................ 17 3.2.1 Service and Performance ..................................................................................................................... 17 3.2.2 Integrated Operations .......................................................................................................................... 19 3.3 MODERNIZE NEC INFRASTRUCTURE: Achieve a Reliable NEC ............................................................. 21 3.3.1 No Action Alternative and Related Projects ......................................................................................... 22 3.4 EXPAND RAIL CAPACITY: Add New Infrastructure Elements ............................................................... 22 3.5 STUDY NEW HAVEN TO PROVIDENCE CAPACITY ................................................................................. 31 3.6 Other Features of the Selected Alternative ........................................................................................ 32 3.6.1 Continued Rail Planning ....................................................................................................................... 32 3.6.2 Connecting Corridors ............................................................................................................................ 33 3.6.3 Station Improvements .......................................................................................................................... 33 3.6.4 Systems and Technology ...................................................................................................................... 34 3.6.5 Rolling Stock ......................................................................................................................................... 34 3.7 Geographic Description of the Selected Alternative ........................................................................... 36 3.7.1 Washington, D.C. .................................................................................................................................. 36 3.7.2 Maryland .............................................................................................................................................. 37 3.7.3 Delaware .............................................................................................................................................. 37 3.7.4 Pennsylvania ......................................................................................................................................... 38 3.7.5 New Jersey ........................................................................................................................................... 38 3.7.6 New York .............................................................................................................................................. 39 3.7.7 Connecticut .......................................................................................................................................... 39 3.7.8 Rhode Island ......................................................................................................................................... 40 3.7.9 Massachusetts ...................................................................................................................................... 40 3.8 Cost .................................................................................................................................................... 41 3.9 Key Benefits of the Selected Alternative ............................................................................................ 42 4. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AND MEASURES TO AVOID AND MINIMIZE HARM ........................................... 44 4.1 Tiered NEPA Process ........................................................................................................................... 44 4.2 Summary of Environmental Effects .................................................................................................... 44 4.2.1 Service-Related Effects ......................................................................................................................... 44 4.2.2 Footprint-Related Effects (Physical Effects) ......................................................................................... 45 4.2.3 Indirect and Cumulative Effects ........................................................................................................... 46 4.3 Potential Measures to Avoid and Minimize Harm .............................................................................. 46 Page | i FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE 4.4 Environmentally Preferable Alternative ............................................................................................. 48 5. IMPLEMENTING THE SELECTED ALTERNATIVE ............................................................................................. 49 5.1 FRA ..................................................................................................................................................... 49 5.1.1 FRA Commitments ................................................................................................................................ 50 5.2 Agency Roles ...................................................................................................................................... 50 5.2.1 FTA ........................................................................................................................................................ 51 5.2.2 NEC Commission ................................................................................................................................... 51 5.2.3 Metropolitan Planning Organizations .................................................................................................. 51 5.2.4 Railroad Owners and Operators ........................................................................................................... 52 5.3 Service Development Plan .................................................................................................................. 52 5.4 Consistency with the Selected Alternative ......................................................................................... 52 5.4.1 Consistency Criteria .............................................................................................................................. 53 6. TIER 2 PROJECT STUDIES ............................................................................................................................. 55 6.1 Use of the Tier 1 EIS in Tier 2 Project Studies ...................................................................................... 55 6.2 Considerations for Tier 2 Project Studies ............................................................................................ 56 6.3 Tier 2 Resource and Regulatory Compliance ....................................................................................... 57 6.3.1 Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act ............................................................................................. 57 6.3.2 Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act ......................................................................... 58 6.3.3 Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act .................................................................. 59 6.4 Tier 2 Agency and Public Coordination ............................................................................................... 59 6.4.1 Resource and Regulatory Agencies ...................................................................................................... 59 6.4.2 Public Involvement ............................................................................................................................... 60 7. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................... 61 APPENDIX A: FEEDBACK SUBMISSIONS AND RESPONSES Attachment 1 – Summary of Elected Official, Agency, and Railroad Operator Feedback Attachment 2 – Index of Feedback Received on the Tier 1 Final EIS Attachment 3 – Feedback Received on the Tier 1 Final EIS APPENDIX B: DEFINITION OF DECISION MATRIX AND SCHEMATIC Tables Table 3-1: No Action Alternative Projects included in the Selected Alternative .............................. 24 Table 3-2: Related Projects on the NEC (included in the Selected Alternative) ............................... 27 Table 3-3: Related Projects on Connecting Corridors (not included in the Selected Alternative) ... 28 Table 3-4: Selected Alternative Capital Cost Estimate ($2014 millions) ........................................... 42 Table 5-1: Consistency Criteria ......................................................................................................... 54 Table 6-1: Tier 2 Considerations by NEC State .................................................................................. 57 Figures Figure 2-1: Framework for Decision-Making .................................................................................... 9 Figure 3-1: Selected Alternative ..................................................................................................... 16 Page | ii FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE Acronyms ADA ....................................................................................................................... Americans with Disabilities Act B&P ........................................................................................................................ Baltimore & Potomac (Tunnel) BWI ................................................................................................................ Baltimore-Washington International CDOT .................................................................................................. Connecticut Department of Transportation CEQ.................................................................................................................... Council on Environmental Quality EIS ..................................................................................................................... Environmental Impact Statement FRA ....................................................................................................................... Federal Railroad Administration FTA ......................................................................................................................... Federal Transit Administration LIRR ....................................................................................................................................... Long Island Rail Road MARC ............................................................................................................. Maryland Area Regional Commuter MBTA .............................................................................................. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MPO ............................................................................................................. metropolitan planning organizations MTA ....................................................................................... (New York) Metropolitan Transportation Authority NEC ........................................................................................................................................... Northeast Corridor NEPA ................................................................................................................ National Environmental Policy Act NMFS ................................................................................................................. National Marine Fisheries Service NRTC ....................................................................................... Newark Delaware Regional Transportation Center O&M.......................................................................................................................... operations and maintenance PATH ......................................................................................................................... Port Authority Trans-Hudson PSNY ................................................................................................................................... Penn Station New York ROD ........................................................................................................................................... Record of Decision SDP ................................................................................................................................ Service Development Plan SEHSR ............................................................................................................................ Southeast High-Speed Rail U.S. DOT .......................................................................................... United States Department of Transportation USFWS ....................................................................................................... United States Fish and Wildlife Service USGS.................................................................................................................... United States Geological Service VMT ...................................................................................................................................... vehicle-miles traveled VRE ................................................................................................................................... Virginia Railway Express Page | iii FRA Record of Decision: NEC FUTURE Summary This Record of Decision (ROD) documents the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) decision regarding NEC FUTURE, a comprehensive planning effort to define a vision for the future role of passenger rail service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) through 2040 and beyond. The NEC is the rail transportation spine of the Northeast region—extending from Union Station in Washington, D.C., to South Station in Boston, MA—and is a key component of the region’s transportation system. This ROD documents the FRA’s selection of an investment program for the NEC and describes how this investment program will be advanced. The purpose of NEC FUTURE is to upgrade aging infrastructure and to improve the reliability, capacity, connectivity, performance, and resiliency of future passenger rail service on the NEC for both Intercity and Regional trips,1 while promoting environmental sustainability and continued economic growth. In this ROD, the FRA is making a decision to select a corridor-wide vision for the NEC that encompasses improvements to grow the role of rail within the transportation system of the Northeast (the Selected Alternative). To achieve this Grow Vision, the Selected Alternative includes the following four components:  Improve Rail Service: Corridor-wide service and performance objectives for frequency, travel time, design speed, and passenger convenience.  Modernize NEC Infrastructure: Corridor-wide repair, replacement, and rehabilitation of the existing NEC to bring the corridor into a state of good repair and increase reliability.  Expand Rail Capacity: Additional infrastructure between Washington, D.C., and New Haven, CT, and between Providence, RI, and Boston, MA, as needed to achieve the service and performance objectives, including investments that add capacity, increase speeds, and eliminate chokepoints.  Study New Haven to Providence Capacity: Planning study in Connecticut and Rhode Island to identify additional on- and off-corridor infrastructure as needed to achieve the service and performance objectives. The Selected Alternative prioritizes a corridor-wide commitment to the existing NEC, brings it to a state of good repair, and provides the additional capacity and service enhancements necessary to address passenger rail needs through 2040 and beyond. 1 Intercity is passenger rail service between metropolitan areas. Regional describes travel within a metropolitan area. Page | I

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