lucas@a.psy.cmu.edu (pete lucas) (01/15/86)
From the Pittsburgh Press, Jan 8, 1986: A state commission promoting high-speed passenger train service between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia has determined that the best site for a terminal would be opposite Station Square on the South Side. The High Speed Intercity Rail Passenger Commission, which is conducting a $3 million feasibility study on the futuristic system, unveiled its plan today during a meeting for public officials at the county courthouse. It was one of a series of nine statewide meetings that began yesterday in Harrisburg and will continue in other towns where "bullet train" stations are planned -- Greensburg, Johnstown, State College, Altoona, Paoli, Lancaster, and Philadelphia. Commission members showed sketches of how the Station Square facility would look, along with drawings for the former Penn Central Station, where right-of-way restrictions make it less feasible, according to consultants. A three-level station would be built at the base of Mount Washington, along West Carson Street and across from Commerce Court at Station Square. The street level would contain passenger drop-off and pick-up areas; an intercity bus terminal; a possible underground people-mover, connecting with Port Authority Transit's light rail system; and access to the Monongahelia Incline. The second floor would contain airport-style ticketing and baggaging facilities, a passenger lounge, and a pedestrian walkway over West Carson Street to the Station Square complex. The third level would consist of a four-track boarding platform that would be wedged against Mount Washington. The tentative station sites and designs represent the second phase of the commission's feasibility study. Phase three involves a legislative package, an economic development survey, and a financing plan for a system that could cost as much as $10 billion to build. The high-speed trains would travel between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in 2.5 hours or less. The commission envisions that trains will be in operation by 1995.