MTR 275, TZ II Rail Scrutinized At Citizen Forum

Issue 275

June 26, 2000

TZ II Rail Scrutinized At Citizen Forum

At a forum held in Nyack this week, Rockland and Westchester County residents and elected officials again expressed doubt that a proposal by the Governor's I-287 Task Force for commuter rail across a wider Tappan Zee Bridge would ever get off the ground.

The panel of speakers convened by Concerned Citizens for Responsible Development included Jeff Zupan of the Regional Plan Association and Town Supervisor Thom Kliener with State Assemblyman Alex Gromack, State Senator Thomas Morahan, Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, Greenburgh supervisor Paul Feiner, and representatives of Congressman Ben Gilman and Assemblyman Sam Coleman attending.

Advocates and residents agreed that the federal dollars needed for the Stewart to Port Chester railway would be unlikely to materialize. Competition is fierce nation-wide for Federal Transit Authority TEA-21 'New Starts' money, for which cost-effectivenes and the existence of local matching funds are primary criteria.

Although no ridership figures are provided for the current proposal, a 1999 analysis of a similar alignment for MNRR projected a daily ridership of roughly 13,200 people. At a cost of $3 billion, the Tappan Zee Rail is estimated to be five times more expensive per rider than the most promising transit alternative, restoring passenger service to the West Shore Line (see chart). The project would cost over six times more per rider than NJ Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail that successfully won FTA funds for 65% of the cost of its first operating segment. New Jersey did not even submit an application for Federal money for the recently begun Camden-Trenton Light Rail, a project still less than 2/3 the cost per rider projected for the TZ rail line.

PROJECT NAME	PROJECTED COST (millions)	% FUNDED BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT	PROJECTED DAILY RIDERSHIP	COST PER RIDER
Stewart to Port Chester (TZ II) Commuter Rail	$3,000	?	13,230*	$226,757
NJ Camden to Trenton Light Rail	$603**	0	4,150**	$145,312
NJ Hudson Bergen Light Rail/ MOS 1	(actual) $1,113***	65%***	31,300	$35,559
West Shore Commuter Rail	$643**	?	15,300**	$42,026

*Feasibility, Benefit Cost Study of Trans-Hudson, Cross Westchester and Stewart Airport Rail Links, MNRR 2/99.
**NJ Transit
*** New Starts Funding Report FY01

MTA matching funds for the rail line also seem unlikely given the agency's current commitment to spending at least $10 billion over the next fifteen years on the LIRR-Grand Central Eastside Access and the 2nd Ave. Subway and the over-all uncertain nature of its funding base (see previous article).

Participants in the forum also discussed initiating van-pools and variable pricing in the corridor, far less dramatic and more financially feasible methods to relieve congestion that the Thruway Authority and the MTA, participants in the I-287 Task Force study, have been slow to initiate. Distrust of these agencies has led many to request an independent analysis of the bridge and commuter rail proposal. Representative Gilman's spokesperson at the forum announced that the Congressman has asked the Army Corps of Engineers to analyze the need to repair or replace the Tappan Zee Bridge. An equally important study of Stewart to Port Chester commuter rail feasibility and avenues for funding, in comparison with other transit alternatives, particularly the West Shore Rail Line, should also be initiated.