Chapter 2 – Existing Transportation Conditions and Major Markets Tier 1 Draft EIS
Chapter 2 – Existing Transportation Conditions and Major Markets Tier 1 Draft EIS 2. Existing Transportation Conditions and Major Markets Section 2.1 presents an overview and route description of the existing Empire Corridor rail system. Section 2.2 describes the importance of the Empire Corridor to major markets, including the existing regional transportation market. Section 2.3 describes the linkages of the Empire Corridor to other rail routes. Sections 2.4 through 2.9 present the existing conditions of the Empire Corridor freight and passenger rail service relative to current rail operations, infrastructure, deficiencies, and safety considerations. 2.1. Empire Corridor Rail System 2.1.1. Railroad Ownership Exhibit 2-1 illustrates track ownership on the Empire Corridor. Amtrak owns, maintains, and dispatches the southernmost 20 miles of track on Empire Corridor South (west side line of former New York Central Railroad), from Penn Station to the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge that spans the Harlem River at the northern tip of Manhattan. Metro-North leases the track22 along the east side of the Hudson River, from the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge to Poughkeepsie, for its Hudson Line service with responsibility for maintenance and dispatching. With the exception of one short (6.8-mile) segment owned by Amtrak west of the Schenectady Station, located between the station and Hoffmans, CSXT is the owner of the Empire Corridor West rail infrastructure from Poughkeepsie to Niagara Falls. This CSXT corridor comprises the Hudson Subdivision (Poughkeepsie north to Albany-Rensselaer and west to Hoffmans); Selkirk Subdivision (Hoffmans to Amsterdam); Mohawk Subdivision (Amsterdam to Syracuse); Rochester Subdivision (Syracuse to Buffalo); Buffalo Terminal Subdivision in Buffalo; and Niagara Subdivision (Buffalo to Niagara Falls).
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