Does the U.S. Have a “Third World Transportation System”?
Funding shortfalls and logistical hurdles may be delaying plans to replace Penn Station, but the Municipal Art Society’s campaign for Moynihan Station is not letting up. The MAS has been on a roll this spring, hosting a series of events related to the West Side project. This video, posted yesterday, features former Washington Post reporter Don Phillips and Metro-North
lawyer Walter Zullig, Jr. discussing the project within the context of the national and regional rail networks. From the MAS recap:
Phillips provided a global overview of the transportation crisis and
discussed how Europe, Asia, and even Mexico are placing massive
investments in their infrastructure. France, for instance, is building
rail tunnels “like crazy” for trains that, in some cases, will be
carrying trucks. Iran is on a rail building boom. And Mexico is
building a huge new port and rail network to compete with the Port of
Los Angeles.But “we have no vision at all,” said Phillips. “All we can say now is no new taxes.”
Rail enthusiasts jonesing for pictures of gorgeous new stations will get their fix in the first part of the video, which shows some recently completed projects — in Europe, of course. If the Port Authority takes over the Moynihan Station project, might New York finally get a palatial new station of its own?
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