Influence of Passenger Rail on the BosWash Megalopolis Corridor ...

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<strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Passenger</strong> <strong>Rail</strong> on the BosWash Megalopolis Corridor The thickness <strong>of</strong> the individual routes is representative <strong>of</strong> the traffic density on that particular highway. Figure 7- Highway Traffic Flow in United States in 1952 (Gottmann, 1961) The automobile is responsible for influencing transportation infrastructure which is coupled with shifts in residential patterns. It provided mobility and opportunity for Americans to live farther from the workplace causing population density rates to shift away from urbanized areas and into the suburbs (Van Eckardt, 1964). Unfortunately, the railroad service suffered because it was a restricted fixed route service which typically did not extend into the suburbs. The passenger rail service was no longer the most convenient, efficient, and popular means for travel throughout the Megalopolis corridor. 11
<strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Passenger</strong> <strong>Rail</strong> on the BosWash Megalopolis Corridor After the 1920’s, the automobile, along with alternative modes (i.e. air travel), caused modal competition with the passenger rail service. The automobile was preferred for short intercity commutes while air travel began to dominate long distance travels, causing passenger rail ridership to decrease (Miller, 1975). Travel time, comfort, cost, and convenience caused the passenger rail service to be less desirable than other modes and there was little ability for the rail to compete with these modes (Sussman, 2000). For example in 1969, a trip from Boston to New York City takes fifty minutes by air versus four and a half hours by rail. The time differences (in hours) for rail versus air travel between five major cities in the northeast corridor can be seen in Table 1 (Miller, 1975). Air transportation is a more efficient travel mode when compared to rail in terms <strong>of</strong> trip duration (Miller, 1975). Table 1- Train and Air Travel Time between Megalopolis Cities in 1969 (Miller, 1975) Another factor that led to the decline <strong>of</strong> the passenger rail service was the economic organization <strong>of</strong> rail management (Hilton, 1975). Weaknesses within the management services such as a lack <strong>of</strong> accountability and transparency, financial and institutional instability, and the need for balance in governance forced the federal government to analyze the current rail structure (Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, No Date). In 1976, the initiation <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Rail</strong>road Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act formed the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project (Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, No Date). The regulation declared Amtrak as 12
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