(rshsdepot) New Orleans, LA

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

A news release issued today by the Federal Railroad Administration.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal Redevelopment Effort

Receives FRA Grant Funding to Help Identify Future Transportation  Needs

The future role of the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) in  
meeting the city’s transportation needs where passengers could potentially  
transfer between transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail and bus operations  will 
be examined using a nearly $1 million federal grant, announced Federal  
Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman.

“Hurricane Katrina changed the landscape of New Orleans in many ways,  
including a direct impact on the area’s transportation infrastructure,” Boardman  
said, noting that previously established population and transportation patterns 
 in the region have been significantly altered.

The $994,000 federal grant funding to the New Orleans Regional Planning  
Commission will support their efforts to: identify all owners of NOUPT property,  
including land and air rights; review current transportation uses of the  
facility; and determine financial and development goals for future project  
feasibility studies. This planning phase is expected to take until the end of  2008.

A number of current passenger rail development initiatives might  benefit 
from the planning provided by this grant. For example, the NOUPT is  presently 
part of several larger regional plans under consideration to develop  high-speed 
rail service linking New Orleans to Houston, Atlanta and Mobile. In  
addition, state and local leaders have discussed using the terminal as part of a  
potential Baton Rouge to New Orleans commuter rail service. The facility also  
serves as a key element in the region’s emergency plans to evacuate residents  
from the city.
“The restoration of New Orleans will not happen over night,  but identifying 
the city’s transportation needs is essential,” Boardman said.  “This grant is 
one of the many ways the federal government is working with local  and state 
officials to rebuild the city,” he added.
The NOUPT has served as a  vital link in the area’s transportation network 
since its construction in  1954.
 
 

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1498
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org