The 463-mile Empire Corridor begins at Penn Station in New York City and continues north along the Hudson River through Yonkers, Croton-Harmon, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff, Hudson, and Albany/Rensselaer. It then continues west generally paralleling the New York State Thruway (I-90) through Schenectady, Amsterdam, Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, with final termination in Niagara Falls. View the project map.
High-speed rail consists of passenger trips between distances of 100 and 500 miles. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) established three categories for high-speed rail: Emerging (up to 90 mph), Regional (90-125 mph), and Core Express (125-250 mph).
3. Why is high-speed rail important to my area, what are the benefits?
High-speed rail has many benefits, including:
Rail is a cost-effective means for serving transportation needs in congested intercity corridors. Providing a robust rail network can help serve the needs of national and regional commerce in a cost-effective, resource-efficient manner, by offering travelers and freight convenient access to economic centers. Moreover, investment in high speed intercity passenger rail will not only generate high-skilled construction and operating jobs, but it can also provide a steady market for revitalized domestic industries producing such essential components as rail, control systems, locomotives, and passenger cars.
Rail is among the cleanest and most energy-efficient of the passenger transportation modes.
Rail transport has generally been associated with "smart growth" because it can foster higher-density development than has typically been associated with highways and airports.
Your comment, along with all others, will be captured in the project database and each public comment will be categorized based on topic (e.g., technology, alternatives, environmental etc.) to aid decision makers in understanding trends. To communicate this information to NYSDOT and the project team, monthly comment tracking reports will be generated and presented at project management team meetings. Finally, resource specific comments will be distributed to technical specialists to consider in their analysis.
6. How can I find out if something related to the project is happening in my area?
At any point during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, the project website will be the simplest way for you to get current and accurate project information. To receive project updates and notice of public meetings, you are encouraged to sign up for the project mailing list under the Contact Us page. Periodic newsletters will be prepared in order to effectively communicate key project information with the partners. They will be distributed electronically, and will be retained and archived on the project website under the Reports/Documents page.
Funding assistance for the project will be provided by Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).
A Tier 1 EIS and Service Development Plan (including the supporting Market Assessment, Operational Plan, and Baseline & Proposed Service Simulation) will be developed as part of the Project. Tier 1 of the EIS will evaluate alternatives and make corridor-level decisions regarding the level of intercity passenger rail service provided in the corridor, including variations in on-time performance, trip time, and train frequency. FRA is the lead federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and NYSDOT is the lead state agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) responsible for the preparation of the HSR Empire Corridor Tier 1 EIS.
The Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will take approximately five years to be completed. To see the project schedule, go to www.dot.ny.gov/empire-corridor/schedule.
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 the 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.
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 important component of the environmental assessment process, including specific requirements for a scoping 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.
12. I am concerned about protecting rural and natural areas. Will this program consider these areas?
The program recognizes that the extensive natural areas and rural character of the corridor are one of its many assets. NEPA was created to ensure that environmental factors are equally weighed when compared to other factors (e.g., engineering, financial, etc.) in the decision-making process Growth management, land use, and preserving valued natural and community resources and assets will be important considerations as the vision and recommendations of this project are developed. Partner involvement is important in identifying these valued resources and assets and to ensure they are protected.
13. What is the status of the Livingston Avenue Bridge project?
The project is currently in the Preliminary Engineering phase. No construction funds have been identified. More information on this project can be found at https://www.dot.ny.gov/livingstonavebridge.
15. What is environmental justice and how is it considered on this program?
Environmental Justice regulations were created out of concerns that undesirable land uses and facilities were being placed in minority and/or low-income communities without regard to the consequences of these actions. A number of regulations were developed to encourage better public involvement and decision-making during the planning and implementation of major projects. The implementation of Environmental Justice principles should:
Assist in making better transportation decisions with the needs of all people in mind.
Assist in the design of facilities that fit within their host communities.
Enhance the public involvement process and ensure full and fair participation by all communities potentially affected.
Avoid or minimize high and adverse effects to human health and environmental impacts on minority and low-income populations.
Prevent the denial or delay of significant benefits to the project.
16. Will a new dedicated high-speed rail line be created for passenger trains?
The Tier 1 EIS includes analysis of five alternatives, including:
Base Alternative - Also known as the "No Build" Alternative on the existing CSX right-of-way
Alternative 90A-Improvements to and rehabilitation of infrastructure within the existing CSX right-of-way
Alternatives 90B and 110-Third and fourth mainline dedicated passenger tracks between Schenectady, NY and Buffalo, NY built adjacent to the two existing mainline tracks on the CSX right-of-way
Alternatives 125-Two mainline dedicated passenger tracks built outside of the existing CSX right-of-way
17. Has constructing high-speed rail lines next to/between interstate highways been considered?
Use of existing interstate highway right-of-way for rail service has been evaluated during the alternatives analysis. An alignment of this nature was determined to be less feasible than the five alternatives identified for analysis.
18. Will high-speed rail trains accommodate bicycles so that passengers may travel with bicycles?
The accommodation of bicycles on high-speed rail trains will be evaluated further in the Tier 2 EIS as the program proceeds. The planned high-speed rail trains will not have traditional baggage cars or dedicated baggage space, so space to store bicycles on high-speed rail trains will reduce the number of seats. This needs to be evaluated in terms of ridership projections and available vehicle technologies. The Program Team understands that accommodating bicycles will make the high-speed rail service more attractive to some passengers, and promotes multimodalism.
19. Will high-speed rail service be connected with other forms of public transportation to eliminate dependence on the automobile?
Intermodal connections such as public transit are subject to a variety of local and regional entities that will bear the cost of both service and infrastructure to connect to regional rail. However, the High Speed Rail Empire Corridor Program supports and will attempt to provide the basis for connections with other forms of public transportation at all station locations-particularly local and regional bus connections.
20. Will infrastructure along the Empire Corridor need to be upgraded or replaced in order to implement high-speed rail service?
Improvements to existing corridor infrastructure will be evaluated during the alternatives analysis and may include improvements to tracks, signals, bridges, at-grade crossings, service and inspection facilities, and passenger stations.
21. Will this program provide employment opportunities for communities located along the Empire Corridor?
Employment opportunities, including construction-related and permanent jobs, are being evaluated in the Tier 1 EIS. Prior studies, such as The United States Conference of Mayors research report, The Economic Impacts of High-Speed Rail on Cities and their Metropolitan Areas, have reported that high-speed rail service could generate between 3,200 and 21,000 jobs in the Albany metropolitan area alone by the year 2035. A copy of the report is available at www.usmayors.org/highspeedrail/.
22. The program places emphasis on the larger cities along the corridor such as Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. Will smaller cities along the corridor be served by high-speed rail?
All existing Amtrak Stations along the Empire Corridor will continue to be served by Amtrak. HSR and its enhanced speed, frequency and level of service will provide travel benefits to the entire corridor.
23. Where will the station for Buffalo be located?
At this time, the exact location has not been determined. The public will have additional opportunities to comment during the Tier 1 and Tier 2 EIS as alternatives are being considered.
24. Is there adequate demand for high-speed rail service throughout the entire corridor?
The passenger demand for each of the three alternatives will be estimated for the year 2035. The analysis provides the total users by travel market, city to city origin and destination travel. Ridership has been extrapolated for peak and service offerings for key city pairs and aggregated daily, weekly, monthly and annually for the Empire Corridor. These marketing forecasts are coordinated and evaluated against the cost and operational plans for each alternative. The determination of adequate demand will ultimately be based on an assessment of cost to build, cost of operating service, and resulting revenues. At this time, preliminary analysis shows a significant increase in demand in all scenarios studied. Over time, demand will increase and the Empire Corridor will mature as communities served by the line better integrate land uses and transit with employment and residential uses.
25. With trains traveling at higher rates of speed, what safety measures would be taken regarding grade crossings throughout the corridor?
Safety is inherent in all alternatives. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is the lead federal agency in this effort and rail safety is one of its core missions. The analysis of safety aspects of all the alternatives is a standard element of the EIS, including the safety of at-grade crossings along the corridor.
26. Why are speeds greater than 125 mph not being considered?
The Tier 1 EIS has considered a range of alternatives with operating speeds that will meet the needs of the corridor including maximum authorized speeds (MAS) in excess of 125 mph. Due to overwhelming infrastructure costs and environmental impacts, those alternatives were not selected for additional analysis.
27. Will new train sets need to be purchased and if so how will they be powered?
The program has identified train set requirements and associated costs needed to meet each of the project alternatives. Various types of equipment are being evaluated in accordance with the program alternatives. All equipment must be compliant with FRA standards.
. 
