On July 20th, Metro-North Railroad (MNR) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) held an open house in Newburgh to present initial recommendations for a short list of alternatives for improving transit services between central Orange County to Manhattan, as well as improved transit access to Stewart International Airport. Known as the West of Hudson Regional Transit Access Study (WHRTAS), Phase I began in 2008 with the consideration of a long list of alternatives (106) which included express bus, commuter rail, and ferry. Applying a screening methodology based on capital costs, environmental impacts, integration with the existing system, capacity and user benefits for both the airport and commuter markets, the options were reduced to 22 scenarios in June 2009. After further screening based on public input and more detailed analysis, five types of alternatives now remain to be considered in Phase II: direct regional bus; commuter rail to Stewart Airport from the MNR Salsbury Mills-Cornwall station; a hybrid of rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT); and a hybrid of rail and bus.
To access the presentations for WHRTAS click here.