Public Hearings on High-Speed Rail Are Scheduled for Upstate Cities

ALBANY,N.Y. (AP) — A series of public hearings are scheduled in six upstate cities where state and federal transportation officials will discuss plans for a high-speed rail corridor linking New York City and western New York.

The state Department of Transportation says the meetings will be held between March 4 and March 14 starting in Albany, followed by Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, Utica and Poughkeepsie. The public will have the opportunity to view displays and question experts about the plan.

Transportation officials have been talking for years about increasing the speed of Amtrak passenger trains traveling between Manhattan and Niagara Falls as a way to boost tourism and economic development in the upstate region, as well as reduce highway traffic and pollution.

A study on high-speed plan says the current average passenger train speed west of Albany barely tops 50 mph.