Posted on

RUN to Newark at the End of April!

The RAIL Users’ Network (RUN) will be coming to Newark on Friday, April 28, for its first “in person” conference since the COVID-19 pandemic sent RUN, the Lackawanna Coalition, and most of society into “virtual space” for the past few years.

The conference itself will take place from 8:30 A.M. until 4:50 P.M. at the offices of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), located at One Newark Center, one block from Penn Station on McCarter Highway. The Lackawanna Coalition, an organizational member of RUN, is the “advocacy host” for the event, and Chairperson Sally Jane Gellert will be on hand to welcome attendees.

The theme for the conference will be “Good Connections: Why the Northeastern Rail Network is Important to the Entire U.S.” William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief of Railway Age, will give the keynote address. Also featured will be Arthur S. Guzzetti, Vice-President for Policy and Mobility at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and an original employee at NJ Transit when it was founded in 1979. He will focus on infrastructure and how it affects the Northeast Region. Two Coalition members who are also Contributing Editors at Railway Age will also present on a panel about “Making the Case: Presenting Your Ideas to Managers, Politicians, and Journalists”. RUN Board member and former Coalition chair David Peter Alan will moderate. The panel will include Jim Blaze, a transportation economist and Railway Age contributing editor; RUN Vice-Chair Andrew Albert, who is also Chair of the NYC Transit Riders’ Council; and longtime journalist and legislative staffer Mark Magyar, who is now Director of the Sweeney Center at Rowan University.

Continue Reading RUN to Newark at the End of April!
Posted on

Coalition Helps Connect New England by Rail

“We CAN Connect New England by Rail” was the theme of a conference held in New Haven on April 29, and members of the Lackawanna Coalition helped with the effort.  This writer moderated a panel on “Connecting New England with South of New York”.  Technical Director Joseph M. Clift described our proposal for building a new track through the Meadowlands and a new tunnel into Penn Station, both at a reasonable cost.  Today, there are only two tracks into New York’s Penn Station from New Jersey, and one is taken out of service every weekend.  Our plan would guarantee that at least two tracks are always available, under normal operation or a foreseeable emergency situation.

Political Director James T. Raleigh explained the importance of proper strategy when campaigning for a project. He stressed that going to legislative hearings and similar events is the key to gaining the credibility that is needed for effective advocacy.  This is the strategy that helped to defeat the proposal for a deep-cavern terminal far below Manhattan streets.

Richard J. Arena, who divides his time between Boston and New Jersey, stressed the importance of connectivity between the regions.  New Jersey was well-represented among the attendees, which included 10 members of the Lackawanna Coalition, coming from 5 states. The conference was cosponsored by the Rail Users’ Network (RUN), the Connecticut Sierra Club, and the National Corridors Initiative (NCI).