nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...

A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region
• Harlem River Yard to Fresh Pond Yard in Queens via Freemont Secondary Track.
Once TOFC freight enters the region via the Hudson Line, it is constrained by clearance
restrictions beyond the Bronx on the LIRR. This line is presently not cleared for
TOFC at two and possibly three locations west of Sunnyside Junction. There are no
current plans to achieve this clearance.
• Fresh Pond Yard to proposed Pilgrim State Hospital Yard in Deer Park via LIRR
mainline. The LIRR mainline must be upgraded – possibly by adding a new freightonly
track – to make the development of an intermodal yard at Pilgrim State Hospital
viable. This issue will be addressed in the Pilgrim EIS.
• Fresh Pond Yard on the Bay Ridge and Montauk (west) branches of the LIRR to 65 th
Street yard in Brooklyn and to a proposed new yard at Maspeth, Queens to be constructed
as part of the Cross Harbor tunnel. Clearance constraints on the Bay Ridge
and Montauk (west) branches of the LIRR preclude TOFC service from reaching the
existing intermodal yard at 65 th Street in Brooklyn and the proposed yard at Maspeth,
Queens (the abandoned Phelps Dodge site). The Maspeth site would be the main
intermodal yard servicing the Cross Harbor tunnel (see Section 5.3.3), but even without
a tunnel a smaller yard also could service TOFC traffic coming from the north via
the Hudson Line, absent the existing clearance constraints. The Cross Harbor EIS will
examine means of achieving double-stack clearance on these lines, which would be a
more expensive project than just achieving TOFC clearance.
Transportation Impacts
In June 2001, NYSDOT completed a feasibility study of developing a rail yard at Pilgrim.
The study found that with relatively minor line improvements on the LIRR mainline, an
annual market of 300,000 tons of bulk transload traffic could be developed by 2005. With
major infrastructure improvements, such as an additional track on the main line, the study
forecast an additional market of 700,000 tons of intermodal cargo by 2020. Further analysis
will be conducted by NYSDOT and PANYNJ in the “Hudson Line Railroad Corridor
Transportation Plan,” “East-of-Hudson Rail Freight Study,” and “Pilgrim EIS.”
Other Impacts
No significant environmental impacts are associated with improving clearance on the
Hudson Line to Harlem River. The impacts of further clearance to Pilgrim will be determined
by the Pilgrim EIS. To the extent that these projects divert freight movement from
truck to rail, they can have positive environmental impacts. They are not likely to have
major economic impacts, except in the immediate vicinity of the yards serviced by the new
lines. Physical barriers to implementation include the cost of upgrading rail infrastructure
to accommodate modern rail equipment. The primary institutional barrier is coordination
among multiple agencies and operators. These improvements can strengthen regional
connectivity in the Western, I-95 NE Thruway, I-87 NYS Thruway, and Long Island
Expressway (I-495) corridors. These improvements involve introducing an intermediate
stage of railroad technology to the region – TOFC clearance of 17’ 9” – still below the
national double-stack clearance standard of 23 feet.
Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 5-27