David.Black@CMU-CS-A.ARPA (09/04/85)
Most of Western Pa. is relatively uninhabited, so right-of-way acquisition isn't a big problem aside from getting in and out of cities. If you wanted to build a Harrisburg-Pittsburgh line optimizing for both low grades and construction costs, you'd wind up pretty close to where the Pennsy built with the Conemaugh freight bypass into Pittsburgh substituted for the Pittsburgh division. The only other obvious right of way is the former South Penn alignment, now occupied by the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Building a rail line along this route would entail at least 6 major tunnels; the 4 on the turnpike, the bypassed Rays Hill tunnel near Breezewood, and another near Donegal (I think) where the turnpike goes halfway up and then through a hill with nasty grades. On top of the tunnel costs, this alignment also avoids all the population centers between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. I think high-speed rail ought to go through its teething pains and initial public acceptance on a line which costs far less in terms of up-front capital to build; NYC-Montreal via Albany and Burlington or Plattsburgh (sp?) is an obvious nominee due to the existing good track as far as Albany. I would think the topography along Lake Champlain is more amenable to construction than the topography here in Western Pa.