that would be so wonderful, the train now is so slow and csx, always gets the track , because they own it, and then you have to stop and wait until the csx train rolls by. Oh how wonderful, to bring the railroad into the 21st century. So many new jobs, and Rochester will benefit from this,

Did you mean 1 billion PER YEAR over the next 5 years? "The Empire line is one of 10 corridors that the Obama Administration has identified as promising for high-speed rail development." So $13 billion over seven years divided among 10 corridors? How much would this REALLY cost for the Albany-Buffalo corridor? Will this have to be subsidized by taxpayers?

It is great that Louise Slaughter is leading the negotiations with CSX. I have only one recommendation, that she provides for building TWO tracks alongside the present two-track CSX freight line. Since the old New York Central Water Level Route was originally a four track railroad, there is room for two passenger rail tracks, which will be needed for opposing passenger trains to pass each other. I am very pleased to see Empire Corridor passenger rail service brought into the 21st Century. Good work, Louise.

Governor Mario Cuomo talked about this project with confidence and optimism, yet it is still not in the works. Thank you, Louise, for resuscitating a wonderful idea that will truly open up New York State in a way that will rival what the Erie Canal brought to this region.

Well, I would like to see this come to fruition... And not to turn this into a Ren Square discussion, but wouldn't it be wonderful if we could create an intermodal facility at the AMTRAK station (with minimal burden to local taxpayers) and forward-thinking developers could make Main Street look like "Main Street" again? The county could sell the Gateway Centre building *for a profit* to a developer willing to re-create Rochester's turn-of-the-century Main Street. Here are two great pictures of what once was (and of what could be?):

http://www.pfabbs.org/images/main_and_clinton2.jpg

http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/rochimag/photolab/vintage/v0000/v0000082.jpg

I hope there is a vision to go beyond NY State. There is really no point in a NYC to Buffalo railway...what about west of Buffalo...Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, LA. Whatever the plan is, it better be compatible with what other states are planning.

I'm a big supporter of this rail plan. We are light-years behind Europe and Asia on this front. And people always say "but things are so much closer together in Europe." Well, last I checked, the trip from Paris to Nice is fairly long. Likewise the trip from Madrid to Seville. Both models of how well this can work for tourism and business travel.

Here is an Op-Ed that I wrote for Newsday Dec 4 2009. It begs the question. Why are we not doing Maglev
Maglev-A Vision of Future Transportation
Two hundred seventy miles per hour was the reading on the digital speed indicator as we swiftly moved from Shanghais to the airport. We were riding the Maglev in China.
The Maglev is a transportation system that travels on a dedicated guideway and is supported by a magnetic field and moves without mechanical friction. The result is a very quiet, efficient, and fast mode of transportation.

The Chinese Maglev was the product of an effort that was made on Long Island by Drs. Gordon Danby and James Powell while they were working at Brookhaven National Laboratories. The Germans built this Maglev train, employing the inventors as consultants.

There is a version of the technology that has been built in Japan as well, also inspired by the inventions of Danby and Powell. It is remarkably successful. The Japanese version has carried many thousands of passengers and has recorded its highest speed of 361 MPH. Japan is now building a 300 mile link connecting Tokyo and Osaka. They plan on being able to move 100,000 passengers per day at 300 MPH.

Senator Patrick Moynihan passed a bill in the Senate in the early 90’s that provided $750 million for the testing and building of the first Maglev in America. But corresponding legislation was killed in the House of Representatives because of the pressure created by various interests including, airlines, truckers and auto manufacturers.

Creating a working American Maglev is a matter of national pride. It is also a matter of not letting an economic opportunity slip through our fingers. If we do not manufacture enough of the world’s important technology, we will be beholding to those countries that do. In the process we lose the high skilled, high paid jobs that the American worker has proved that he or she can do. We can’t afford to lose that segment of our society. We need to create those jobs again.

America has an extensive rail network. That network and right-of-ways are an incredible resource. We can move freight on that network using Maglev, and we can do it inexpensively. In fact we can move entire tractor-trailers in aerodynamic envelopes across the country at 300 MPH and save $3,000 worth of fuel and tolls. The trip will take less than a day and deliver a refreshed driver on the other end. The trip will be half the cost to the trucker , and profitable to the Maglev owners.

This is a more advanced Maglev system than the first generation system now operating in Japan and China. The cost of making this new system is a fraction of the cost of those versions. The Chinese Maglev floats on a magnetic cushion that has very critical clearances (about ½ inch). The process of building that system is costly and time consuming.

Danby and Powell have never stopped improving their Maglev design. Their second generation superconducting Maglev system allows the vehicle to float 4 ½” to 6” above a guideway. That system can be built in a factory and shipped by truck to a construction site, and be quickly erected using ordinary cranes. The higher clearances allow the vehicle to operate in ice storms, and snowstorms. Another innovation that Danby and Powell have solved is the compatibility with existing rail tracks. The modification is low in cost and allows conventional trains to operate alternately.

This project will take as long as Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System. There will be jobs created on a long-term basis. We project Maglev manufacturing, and guideway fabrication will extend thirty years out, and all of that investment can be privately funded because it will be profitable. Presently the inventors and the Town of Riverhead have government grant in process to prove the new technology an a three mile track at Calverton

Ernest M. Fazio, Director of Communications- Maglev 2000 and Chairman of Long Island Metro Business Action (formerly Long Island MidSuffolk Business Action)