Empire Corridor Railroad Getting Upgrades | News Live at 6
By Max Williams
Are you tired of constant train delays? The Federal Railroad Administration has finally released its plan to increase travel speed along the Empire Corridor, a 461-mile passenger and freight rail from New York City to Upstate New york. Ben Sio, SVP and Chief of Staff for CenterState CEO, said why Syracuse agreed to this new plan,
“It makes more sense for us to be investing strategically and improving current speed, improving on-time performance, and improving and separating as much as possible passenger rail from freight rail, and if you look at the details in the 90-B plan that’s really is the core goal is making sure as much as possible that is pragmatic and realistic for separating passenger and freight rail,“ he said.
Delays have been a problem for those who commute for work on the rail, especially for the Syracuse workforce, but Sio said this plan would fix that,
“Our labor market, our labor pool, does not serve and is not providing the amount of people necessary to work at those jobs right now, and we need as many strategies as possible to increase that pool,” he said.
Sio also said improving train service is the best option for the city as it is the most efficient and will make a positive impact on the environment,
“It is the most important way to move a person, and the state is very lofty in environmental and sustainability goals, and getting as many cars off the road as possible is one of the ways they can meet those goals,” he said.
Since this is a 25-year plan, Sio said residents should not be concerned about further delays due to ongoing construction as a separate dedicated passenger line will be implemented.
