[PRCo] OT------Buffalo---Says---NO..........

[Jim Holland]

Good Morning!!

        I had asked here before about rail in Buffalo because I had
heard that what exists is struggling to exist and may actually be
abandoned.   And since many on this list are much closer, I thought
someone might know.   While abandonment is not the topic, expansion of
the system is a definite  NO  according to the following article and
editorial are from the Buffalo (NY) News which I just received:::::::

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Prospects dim for extension of Metro Rail line

By SHARON LINSTEDT
News Staff Reporter
9/20/01

        Buffalo's 6.4-mile light-rail transit line won't be growing any
timesoon, if ever.

        None of four proposed extensions of the line meets federal
transportation criteria for funding, according to a study commissioned
by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to assess the
cost-effectiveness of extending the 16-year-old line.

        "The bottom line is, we'd be putting good money after bad," said
NFTA Chairman Luiz R. Kahl. "It's a tough decision, and we know we're
going to be criticized, but we can only do what we can afford to do, and
we can't justify spending the kind of money it will take to extend the
line."

        With cost estimates for four proposed extensions ranging from
$445.1 million to $584.5 million, the NFTA says it would have to find at
least $222 million in local funds to make a serious pitch to federal
transportation officials.

        Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra and Buffalo Mayor Anthony
M. Masiello have expressed no interest in contributing any local dollars
to a rail-extension effort, according to Kahl.

        New corridors to Amherst, the Southtowns, Tonawanda/Niagara
Falls and Buffalo Niagara International Airport were reviewed using the
government's rating system, with the conclusion that only an airport
line had any hope of passing muster with the agency, and even its scores
were extremely low.

        "When you look at all the factors - the costs, potential
ridership, chances for local funding, and all the rest - we'd have no
credibility in making a request to the feds. We can't justify it," said
NFTA Executive Director Lawrence M. Meckler.

        When the Metro Rail system was built in the mid-1980s, the
federal government picked up 80 percent of the costs, with the state
chipping in the balance of construction costs. The U.S. Department of
Transportation has totally overhauled its procedures for evaluating and
funding light-rail start-ups and extensions, requiring, among other
things, that localities pick up 50 percent of the tab for construction.

        The study, conducted by Parsons Brinkerhoff, Quade & Douglas of
New York, used the recently implemented federal cost-effectiveness
criteria to evaluate four potential extention routes.

        Despite the resulting moratorium on rail extension, Kahl called
the situation "dynamic" and subject to change, especially if the local
population increases or major new employment trends takes place.

        "This isn't the final word on this. We'll revisit this in
another five to 10 years as part of our overall transit strategy, and
who knows?  Things change," Kahl said.

        The NFTA's report is bad news for E. Edward Deutschman, chairman
of the Citizens Regional Transit Corp., a group that advocates extending
the Metro Rail line. Deutschman questioned the study's findings,
particularly the price tags placed on the various extension options.

        "Those cost estimates are hard to believe," Deutschman said.
"Parsons Brinkerhoff is known for going for the biggest bucks on
construction.  Their involvement led to a lot of needless expenses on
the existing line, so I'm not all that surprised."

        The citizens group will continue with its effort to rally
support for expansion of rail service, according to Deutschman, with
focus on the airport option.

        "We'll keep the pot boiling," Deutschman said. "That is a
corridor that makes so much sense. We see a lot of potential in reaching
out to riders in Cheektowaga, Lancaster and even Clarence."

        Deutschman said other studies found that taking the rail system
to that area would not only provide a convenient new way to reach the
airport, but could attract about 16,000 new daily riders to the system.

        While the NFTA has taken extension plans off the track for the
near future, its money problems related to the light-rail system have
not been solved. The study says the line is reaching "midlife" and is in
need of upgrades to everything from rail cars to tracks, improvements
and replacements that will increase the cost of operating and
maintaining the line to more than $1 billion in the next decade.

        The growing costs of operating the rather limited rail system
raise the potential that it could be shut down and mothballed sometime
in the future.

        "If things don't change for the better, if ridership slips
further as our costs increase, we may decide to just shut it down," Kahl
said. "But for now, we're committed to running it and making it the best
light-rail system it can be."

        As light-rail systems go, Buffalo's Metro Rail line compares
favorably with its peers, according to the study. With about 25,000
riders per day, the system has the country's third-highest number of
passenger trips per mile, out of 17 light-rail systems now operating in
the nation.

        The review also found that compared with other systems, Metro
Rail is at the average in local funding, and uses the funds about as
efficiently as other systems.


A dose of reality
9/23/01

        Having commissioned a study that confirmed what many suspected -
it makes no fiscal sense to expand the light-rail transit system - the
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is moving responsibly in
exploring innovative alternatives to meet customer needs.

        NFTA officials recently broke the news that their study found an
extension would be too costly, ranging from $445.1 million to $584.85
million for four proposed extensions. Considering that about half of
that cost would have to come from local governments that can barely
afford the services they provide now, the reality is that this community
simply can't afford to extend the line.

        Expected or not, that's still disappointing. A line that
stretched beyond the 6.4 miles into the suburbs would have benefited the
community. But NFTA Chairman Luiz R. Kahl had it right when he said it
would be putting good money after bad. It makes sense to curtail any
plans, at this time, to extend the Metro Rail. Kahl did leave the door
open for a future extension, acknowledging that things change.

        In the meantime, the reality is that this community's mass
transit needs will have to be met by buses. NFTA officials are already
moving in that direction. Included in those plans is MetroLink, which
uses smaller, 24-seat buses that are linked with fixed-route bus
service. The NFTA also plans to evaluate express buses, schedule
modifications, employment shuttles and community circulators to blend
with the current light-rail system.

        The light-rail system was built upon high expectations that were
never met, from the anticipated expansion into the suburbs to the
population figures that have dimmed over the years. And it's unlikely
that the current 25,000 per-day passenger count is going to grow
significantly.

        In retrospect, this community never should have accepted a
system that was reduced below what already was a bare minimum. The
pedestrian mall, part of the light-rail system that took automobile
traffic off Main Street, has been a convenient scapegoat for the
troubles that would have afflicted downtown anyway. But if it wasn't
responsible for downtown's decline, it's also true that the mall
certainly didn't come close to providing the vitality many expected it
to produce.

        Meanwhile, Metro Rail continues to serve a purpose. In any
event, it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to take it off
line. And it would completely fail to provide a public service which, as
much as 6.4 miles can, it does to some degree.

        But now the debate can end for awhile. Our mass transit future
lies with buses, not trains. Too bad, but that's the way it is.  The
following article and editorial are from the Buffalo (NY) News.

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James B. Holland

Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation
    "O"--Scale  St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars  &
        "O"--Scale  Parts  mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net
        Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM) http://www.pa-trolley.org/
    Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.mcs.net:80/~weyand/nmra/

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