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A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region • Harlem River Yard to Fresh Pond Yard in Queens via Freemont Secondary Track. Once TOFC freight enters the region via the Hudson Line, it is constrained by clearance restrictions beyond the Bronx on the LIRR. This line is presently not cleared for TOFC at two and possibly three locations west of Sunnyside Junction. There are no current plans to achieve this clearance. • Fresh Pond Yard to proposed Pilgrim State Hospital Yard in Deer Park via LIRR mainline. The LIRR mainline must be upgraded – possibly by adding a new freightonly track – to make the development of an intermodal yard at Pilgrim State Hospital viable. This issue will be addressed in the Pilgrim EIS. • Fresh Pond Yard on the Bay Ridge and Montauk (west) branches of the LIRR to 65 th Street yard in Brooklyn and to a proposed new yard at Maspeth, Queens to be constructed as part of the Cross Harbor tunnel. Clearance constraints on the Bay Ridge and Montauk (west) branches of the LIRR preclude TOFC service from reaching the existing intermodal yard at 65 th Street in Brooklyn and the proposed yard at Maspeth, Queens (the abandoned Phelps Dodge site). The Maspeth site would be the main intermodal yard servicing the Cross Harbor tunnel (see Section 5.3.3), but even without a tunnel a smaller yard also could service TOFC traffic coming from the north via the Hudson Line, absent the existing clearance constraints. The Cross Harbor EIS will examine means of achieving double-stack clearance on these lines, which would be a more expensive project than just achieving TOFC clearance. Transportation Impacts In June 2001, NYSDOT completed a feasibility study of developing a rail yard at Pilgrim. The study found that with relatively minor line improvements on the LIRR mainline, an annual market of 300,000 tons of bulk transload traffic could be developed by 2005. With major infrastructure improvements, such as an additional track on the main line, the study forecast an additional market of 700,000 tons of intermodal cargo by 2020. Further analysis will be conducted by NYSDOT and PANYNJ in the “Hudson Line Railroad Corridor Transportation Plan,” “East-of-Hudson Rail Freight Study,” and “Pilgrim EIS.” Other Impacts No significant environmental impacts are associated with improving clearance on the Hudson Line to Harlem River. The impacts of further clearance to Pilgrim will be determined by the Pilgrim EIS. To the extent that these projects divert freight movement from truck to rail, they can have positive environmental impacts. They are not likely to have major economic impacts, except in the immediate vicinity of the yards serviced by the new lines. Physical barriers to implementation include the cost of upgrading rail infrastructure to accommodate modern rail equipment. The primary institutional barrier is coordination among multiple agencies and operators. These improvements can strengthen regional connectivity in the Western, I-95 NE Thruway, I-87 NYS Thruway, and Long Island Expressway (I-495) corridors. These improvements involve introducing an intermediate stage of railroad technology to the region – TOFC clearance of 17’ 9” – still below the national double-stack clearance standard of 23 feet. Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 5-27
A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region Responsible Organizations/Action Plans 1. NYSDOT/MNR/PANYNJ – Complete contract to remove clearance constraints at the Sugarhouse bridge; initiate work to achieve full TOFC clearance on two tracks on the Hudson Line. 2. NYSDOT – Complete “Hudson Line Railroad Corridor Transportation Plan,” implement findings, and monitor impacts on freight tonnage on the Hudson Line. 3. NYSDOT and PANYNJ – Use the $40 million Rail Capital Improvement Program to support implementation. 4. PANYNJ – Complete “East-of-Hudson Rail Freight Study.” 5. NYSDOT – Conduct Pilgrim EIS. 6. NYCEDC – Complete Cross Harbor EIS. Action 2 – Reduce Operational Conflicts Between Passenger and Freight Services on the Region’s Railroads Description Freight access to the region from west-of-Hudson locations today is seriously constrained by the heavy volume of passenger trains, particularly on the Hudson Line and LIRR mainline. Freight service is generally limited to nighttime operations. This is a barrier to the growth in rail volume, in particular time-sensitive intermodal shipments. With the exception of cross-harbor floats, the Hudson Line is the only route by which rail service can enter the region today. The MTA and MNR (the owner of the Hudson Line south of Poughkeepsie) and CSX Railroad (the owner of the northern half of the line) currently are working with other users of the Hudson Line and NYSDOT to develop an improvement plan. The LIRR mainline issue will be addressed as part of the Pilgrim intermodal yard EIS. Transportation Impacts The “Hudson Line Railroad Transportation Plan” for the rail segments between Albany and the Bronx is developing infrastructure requirements to satisfy the operational needs of all users of the line, including MNR, Amtrak, CSX, and CP through 2020. The capacity goals include substantial increases in the capacity for freight operations providing sufficient line capacity for freight operation to increase from its current three percent of all weekday trains to as much as 10 percent of all weekday trains. The plan also calls for lifting the current restrictions on daylight operation of freight trains. Forecasts have not yet been developed on the volume of freight which could be moved under this operating scenario. Earlier work conducted as part of the Cross Harbor Freight Movement EIS indicated that one additional daily freight train could be accommodated on the Hudson Line with minor infrastructure upgrades such as signal improvements. This would result in an increase in Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 5-28
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