Exhibit Reception: Making the Connection: Moving Forward on Regional Rail

By Aaron Donovan

9:10 PM EST on January 29, 2007

The Durst Organization presents ...

Making the Connection
Moving Forward on Regional Rail

The Case for Regional Rail

Presented by the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility, Inc.

4 passenger railroads

Serving 3 states

Operating from 2 great stations

Can be forged into 1 regional rail network

Reception Featuring Special Guest Theodore W. Kheel, President, Nurture New York's Nature, Inc.

With four railway systems serving three states and two Manhattan terminals, the NY-NJ-CT metropolitan region still lacks one comprehensive, interconnected rail network -- a network that could simultaneously alleviate congestion on overcrowded roadways, stimulate the economy and foster more sensible development.

This exhibit of pictures, maps and renderings, prepared by transit advocates and professionals, propses connecting Grand Central Terminal with Penn Station and transforming commuter rail lines into a Regional Rail System that provides frequent service, integrated fares and thru-running at the two terminals.

This exhibit is sponsored by the Institue for Rational Urban Mobility, Inc. (IRUM), a New York City-based not-for-profit corporation concerned with advancing urban transport concepts that will reduce motor vehicle congestion in dense urban areas. IRUM hosts the Regional Rail Working Group (RRWG), an informal collaboration of transit advocates and professionals in the region who have guided the development of many of the concepts described in the exhibit. Key participants include the Empire State Passengers Association (ESPA), the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) and the Lackawanna Coalition. The exhibit first appeared in Gallery 1 of the Municipal Art Society, September-November, 2006. Our thanks to The Durst Organization for providing gallery space, management and installation support and hosting the reception.

L.L. Powers, curator for The Durst Organization
Eric van den Brulle, art director / graphic designer
Graphic Systems Group LLC, digital imaging and mounting

Special appreciation to the funders who made this exhibit possible:

Bombardier Transportation North America
Empire State Passengers Association
Paul Marshall
New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers
The New York Community Trust
Old York Foundation
Schlaich Bergermann and Partner LP
Siemens Transportation Systems
Surdna Foundation

Aaron Donovan

Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.

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