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This is going to be a pissing contest no matter how you look at it.

The Peninsula is, and has been, a successful and natural terminus for the the
NEC Amtrak routes over the years, and will continue to do well in the future.

However, the former N&W RofW IS better suited for the High Speed Rail
developement than the C&O route into Newport News. The Suffolk-Petersburg
tangent on the former N&W is exactly what such a project needs in order to
succesful. The C&O line has too many grades and curves to deter the main
objective,...speed. Need some examples?

Let's talk about race tracks, where speed is the crucial element. Watch the
speeds that the cars can attain on a full 1/4 mile NHRA sanctioned track
(straight). Awesome! Now, think about a NASCAR track, lets say Martinsville,
with its short tangents and tight curves. Run like Hell, and then brake. Run
like Hell, then brake. See the pattern, with brake being the deterant to the
main objective, speed. What about the super speedways like Talladega? Look at
the super elevation in the curves to maintain their speed. The race cars have a
low center of gravity that allows them to remain on the roadway even at slow
speeds, or stopped. You will often see cars drifting down the embankment when
they are in trouble. How well do you think a top heavy slow or stalled top heavy
train would do on similar elevation? I would not want to be on board!

The argument that people on the Southside will not drive to the Peninsula for a
train is hogwash. All one needs to do is check the city stickers of cars in the
parking lot at boarding time, and watch the people getting off of the bus
connection to Southside. No deterant there, however, imagine how much traffic
levels would drop on the Peninsula trains if there was also service into
Norfolk? Would there be enough demand for service survive on both routes, at the
same time? The demand was not there in the 1970's. I recall when the Amtrak-C&O
train was a single Heritage Fleet steam heated coach, with a GP7 for power. Look
at ridership now. I counted nine coaches on the train one day last week, plus
the mail-express car. If service were to split, who knows what would happen.
Would I drive to Norfolk for the train? Sure.

Another point to consider is the destination. How many people actually have
Newport News as a destination? For what? The Shipyard and coal piers? Hardly. If
Amtrak or VRE wants to gain business, they need a route into downtown Norfolk,
where the offices are. This will help draw the business traveler away from
Norfolk International Airport (with numerous carries) and deposit them right in
downtown, eleminating the 25 minute plus cab ride from the airport. The Newport
News-Williamsburg International (right) airport only has limited service, with
only a couple of carriers. Again, look at the numbers and demand for service.
Count the planes flying into Norfolk vs.Newport News. Says it all.

If the organiztion acts quickly, there is still enough sparsely populated areas
near Collier Yard in Petersburg, VA to build a new high-speed connection from
the CSX down to the N&W Belt Line, with minimal impact on existing
neighborhoods. If the organiztion drags their feet, then these areas will likely
become developed, and more expensive to acquire.

In short, I would much rather see MY tax money being spent on a Southside
corridor project, where the objective of speed can be attained, and the
ridership is there.

Russell Underwood

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