Posted on 03/01/2006 9:58:07 AM PST by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
A proposed cargo airport in northeast Pennsylvania combined with high-speed rail into the New York City area could be a self-sustaining venture bringing high-paying jobs and tremendous growth to the region, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski said.
The $6 billion joint project would allow the proposed 10,000-acre cargo airport to bring goods from Asian and European markets to the United States, he said, and high-speed trains operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week would take those goods and passengers into New York City in as little as 20 minutes.
Kanjorski expects the Federal Aviation Administration to contribute the maximum amount, based on talks with its director, and said private-sector funding could provide the balance without other government or state support.
But the multi-billion-dollar project, which is expected to bring jobs and unprecedented growth from metropolitan New York, is still in its infancy, Kanjorski said.
"It's still a long distance between the spoon and the lip," the congressman said.
Coming together
Kanjorski's airport/rail project began as two separate projects.
One of them involved Hazleton's outskirts, or an area near the border of Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.
That project is the cargo airport, a 7,800-acre facility that could have up to 75 planes taking off and landing every 60 to 90 minutes. The airport as proposed would rival JFK and Newark Liberty international airports combined in size.
A feasibility study completed and released last year put its price tag near $1 billion. A second phase expanding the facility for passenger service could cost another $350 million, the study done by the LPA Group of Columbia, S.C., said.
The FAA picked up 90 percent of the cost of the study and Luzerne County funded the $30,000 balance.
The other project, the high-speed rail line for passengers and freight, was proposed between Scranton and New York City with a price tag last estimated at $350 million.
But the high-speed rail that Kanjorski is proposing to service the airport carries a much higher price, $5 billion, and travels twice as fast, 300 mph.
The technology is magnetic levitation, or maglev, which allows the trains to float over a guideway using magnets, instead of wheels and tracks. A few countries, including Japan, have installed maglev trains for passenger service.
The expense of a maglev rail for passenger service only doesn't justify the project, Kanjorski said, but combining it with a cargo airport and moving both freight and passengers makes it commercially viable.
Maglev trains running minutes apart could move more travelers and freight than a 36-lane highway, the congressman said. Converting Interstate 81 to just six lanes and raising all the bridges would cost $2.5 billion, he said.
Commercial potential of the combined cargo airport and high-speed rail in northeast Pennsylvania has generated interest among business leaders and investors, meaning little or no burden on local communities or the state, Kanjorski said.
The cargo airport could also be larger – some 10,000 acres – and additional land for development around the airport could be needed – another 20,000 acres, he said.
Sites outside the tri-county area of Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill most likely will be considered as studies move forward, Kanjorski said. The airport could be sited anywhere in an eight-county area and affect people from Carbondale to Shamokin, he said.
Communities in northeast Pennsylvania will have to consider the impacts of such a large venture in the region, Kanjorski said.
"We can plan our future and how big we want to go," the congressman said. "I've come to the conclusion we'd be wise to take the lead now."
Growth on the way
The northeast corner of the commonwealth can expect growth over the next 30 to 40 years as people from the New York City area choose to settle here, Kanjorski said.
"New York can only grow in one direction – west," he said. "Northeastern Pennsylvania, sometime, is likely to be part of Greater New York."
The metro area boasts a population of 18 million now, but in 30 years, that number is expected to hit 27 million, he said.
Those additional 9 million people "will have to live somewhere and work somewhere," he said. "We won't get all 9 million, but we'll get 2 (million) to 3 million of them."
The cargo airport/rail project could provide jobs with salaries ranging from $60,000 a year to $1 million to $2 million a year, and offer train service into New York for those who want to live in this region and work in the city, he said.
At 300 mph, that commute would take about 20 minutes.
Some might argue that growth will happen with or without the cargo airport/rail project, Kanjorski said, but this project will give community leaders options on how to deal with and plan for the growth.
Community leaders must look at the impact on the region's infrastructure, hospitals, schools, businesses and open or green space and seek advice from specialists and experts on how best to proceed, he said.
"Everything gets impacted," Kanjorski said.
Many people stay in the region because of the quality of life, the greenery and nature, he said, and local leaders must look at how to maintain those amenities while planning for the growth.
"We can do it," he said
ping
Should have done this years ago.. and while we're at it, how about overhauling Amtrak.. seems to me that in the 21st century, we should be able to have reliable train service - even in winter! Didn't the Russians build the trans-Siberian route in the 19th century?
All cargo airports have pretty much been a bust and a waste of resources. Most freight flows into established airports. I hope the taxpayers don't get saddled with an Albatross here.
But hey, they did a STUDY. What more do you want?
Sorry--if it needs to get there in a hurry--offload it directly from the plane onto trucks that can deliver directly to the geographically dispersed final destinations.
Maglev needs a lot of power, so if they build a Trans America maglev they will need a Trans America nuclear generation system to compliment it...
Either way it would be good to build both, the surplus power could be put into the National electrical grid.
ping
I'm suspicious of using tax money for train projects BUT if it were funded by taking the $265 million we give to Planned Parenthood a year, I'd get behind it.
And it would have been use of tax money than new stadiums for the Eagles and Phillies.
I'll hit the ping list later.
ping
It should be built in Harrisburg.
1. They already have some of the longest runways in the US (the old Olmstead Air Force Base).
2. They already have the train corridor in place. They could use the current tracks while the meglev is built next to it.
3. They could stop in Philadelphia and Newark for partial distribution.
It does make sense to take the freight load out of the NY airports.
Yea right.
Well, it just figures that Bush-hating socialist pig would be in on this boondoggle.
Scranton - the home of America's future.
Thanks for the laugh. Yeah, we need high-speed rail to Shamokin County, Pennsylvania.
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