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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

<strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Passenger</strong> <strong>Rail</strong> on the BosWash Megalopolis Corridor services to the public, but also provided mobility and the opportunity for urbanization to emerge throughout the northeastern United States. In order to connect multiple centralized nuclei and achieve the goal <strong>of</strong> providing mobility to the public, the rail companies strategically constructed rail lines throughout the corridor from Boston to Washington D.C. (Ward, 1986). The train stations were built in regions where the majority <strong>of</strong> people either lived or worked and typically provided service to regions <strong>of</strong> similar characteristics. For instance in the 1934, the two most prominent cities in the nation, New York City and Washington D.C. were connected by the Pennsylvania railroad’s streamline electric locomotive GG-1 (Houk, 2006). In addition to providing service to these two cities, passengers also had the option <strong>of</strong> accessing cities such as Newark, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore along the route. These stops geographically “strung together like beads” by the rail lines were chosen based on demand for travel within the BosWash corridor (Miller, 1975). This rail connection between major cities formed the transportation “spine” from Boston to Washington D.C. and allowed for the Megalopolis corridor to flourish. <strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> the Development <strong>of</strong> <strong>Passenger</strong> <strong>Rail</strong> on Megalopolis Corridor The development and construction <strong>of</strong> the passenger rail service had a direct impact on the characteristics <strong>of</strong> the Megalopolis corridor (Gottmann, 1961). <strong>Passenger</strong> rail stimulated population growth, increased employment rates, and provided opportunities for mobility and interconnectivity throughout the BosWash corridor. These benefits spurred by the rail system began around the 1830’s and continued until the 1920’s when the passenger rail service peaked. Throughout this time, passenger rail allowed the corridor to advance politically, economically, and socially into one <strong>of</strong> the most dominant regions in the country (Gottmann, 1961). 5
<strong>Influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Passenger</strong> <strong>Rail</strong> on the BosWash Megalopolis Corridor The implementation <strong>of</strong> the passenger rail service in the Megalopolis corridor was a major contributor to the continuous population growth within the BosWash region. As railroad services such as the New York <strong>Rail</strong>way Company and the Pennsylvania <strong>Rail</strong>road Company began to emerge in the northeast, accessibility to and from the major cities increased (Gottmann, 1961). This accessibility encouraged people to reside near the railroad lines and stations which led to a clustered population growth. On a global level, the clustered urbanized areas, strung together by the rail lines, essentially formed one continuous “large city”. Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the population density from 1880 to 1910 and the development <strong>of</strong> the “large city.” Figure 3- Population Density by Counties in 1880 (Gottmann, 1961) 6
Page 1 and 2: Influence
Page 5: Influence
Page 25: Influence

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?