Cuomo Pushes For High Speed Rail To Connect NYC With Upstate

NEW YORK CITY — If New York City could avoid the L train shutdown than any wild transit dream is possible, Gov. Cuomo says. Even high-speed rails.

Cuomo will pursue plans for a high-speed rail to connect New York City to upstate New York that experts have repeatedly said are near impossible, the Democratic governor announced Thursday.

"We've been told that bringing this technology to our state is too expensive, too difficult and would take too long," Cuomo said. "That's not an acceptable attitude for New York."

Cuomo will assemble a panel of engineers to review past plans for high-speed rails along the Empire Corridor, which connects the city with Albany and Buffalo, the governor declared in the 13th proposal of his 2020 State of the State agenda.

A recent study, conducted by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2014, estimated building a high speed rail system could cost up to $14 billion and would increase average speeds from the current 51 mph to 77 mph.

When the report was released, Brooklyn state Senator Martin Malave Dilan said to Politico, "Is high-speed rail really a reality in New York State? I don't think so, personally."

But Cuomo, who recently stunned New Yorkers and some officials when he suddenly called off an impending 14-month shutdown just months before it was scheduled to begin, said he believes anything is possible.

"When we developed our plan to repair the L Train Tunnel, the team of experts we assembled questioned every assumption and brought new creativity to a seemingly intractable problem," Cuomo said.

"We not only found a way to repair the tunnel without shutting down service, we are doing it ahead of schedule. This kind of outside-the-box thinking will help us determine how we could deliver high speed rail for New York."

Cuomo shared this opinion on Twitter Thursday and was met with both approval and pushback from New Yorkers.

"You get two major benifits [sic]," tweeted @KnowlegeData. "Reduced congestion and cost of living in the center and massive economic growth in the regional cities connected. Go for it Gov!"

Wrote Joe Boccio, "Fix the subway."