Dear friends of Regional Rail:


Dear friends of Regional Rail:

The next meeting of the Regional Rail Working Group (RRWG) will be held
on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6-8pm (meeting will start promptly at 6pm)
Conference Room, NYPD Downtown Center 104 Washington Street (just north
of Rector Street), Lower Manhattan.

At the RRWG meeting discussion will continue on efforts to advance ARC
Penn Station First -- a plan for connecting the new Hudson River
passenger rail tunnels directly into existing tracks and platforms at
Moynihan/Penn Station. The current NJ Transit plan to connect the new
tunnels into a deep cavern dead end terminal station 175 feet below 34th
Street is seriously flawed, and should be modified.

It is not too late to correct this serious error and advance a plan for a
truly regional rail system with frequent service, integrated fares and
thru-running. A subsequent phase would be to connect Penn Station with
Grand Central Terminal, adding many new opportunities for regional
transit travel.

This is a critical moment and we must devise a winning strategy!

Time permitting, there will be progress reports on other RRWG
initiatives:

1. moving forward on the Penn Station Metro-Hub plan
2. Rockaway Cut-off - one-seat ride Midtown Manhattan-Aqueduct Racino-JFK
Airport and Rockaway Peninsula
3. regional rail equipment compatibility issues
4. Upper Level Loop Alternative for LIRR East Side Access
5. Lower Manhattan Access
6. Light Rail in the Lincoln Tunnel
7. Regional Rail Freight and Intercity Rail Passenger issues

The purpose of the working group is to develop and advance plans for
converting the region's commuter rail lines into a regional rail system,
with fast, frequent service and affordable, integrated fares. The group
also considers changes to rapid transit and light rail transit that are
"regional" in scale.

Regional Rail issues are discussed on our website: www.rrwg.org

The Working Group includes:

Empire State Passengers Association
NJ Association of Railroad Passengers
Lackawanna Coalition
Five Towns Rural Transit, Inc.
Committee for Better Transit
Institute for Rational Urban Mobility
Sane Aviation for Everyone, Inc. (SAFE) (our newest participant)

Plan to attend the next meeting on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6-8pm
Also plan to attend the next two Auto-Free New York walking tours:

- Tuesday, July 28, 2009 6-8pm
"NYC's First BRT: The Bx12 Select Bus Service"
Meet promptly at 6pm, NE Corner
Fordham Rd. and Grand Concourse, Bronx
Above Fordham Rd. D train subway station

return trip option: visit new Metro-North
Yankee Stadium rail station

- Tuesday, August 25, 2009 6-8pm
"Broadway Boulevard: Herald Sq.-Times Sq."
Meet promptly at 6pm, Macy's front door
Broadway between 34th St. and 35th St.
Manhattan

Both tours: rain or shine.
No reservations needed


geo

George Haikalis
Chair, Regional Rail Working Group
One Washington Square Village, Suite 5D
New York, NY 10012 phone: 212-475-3394

geo@irum.org     www.irum.org    www.auto-free.org      
www.vision42.org     www.rrwg.org