Mike,

On BuffaloPundit, you mentioned that you spoke with Rep. Slaughter on the phone and she claimed to be 100% behind the Central Terminal being the focus of a station for any potential HS rail in New York State.

My question is don't you see this a just a bad of move as putting the Bills in OP, building the 33 and not finding a reuse for the CT earlier?

Consider that Louise Slaughter does not represent Buffalo. She represents Rochester and Niagara county. She has no vested interest in making Buffalo the best city.

Now IF, and we both know this is a big IF, NYS were to get HS rail, the line would come from NYC to Albany and down the line to Buffalo. According to a story in 2001, Slaughter was in favor of HS rail in Rochester to be located at the current site of their Amtrak station. This station is .5 miles from DT Rochester.

On the other side, the CT in Buffalo is in a HORRIBLE location. It was placed there at a time when people thought Buffalo was going to be a city of 3-5Million people. As we know...this is never going to happen. The CT in Buffalo is almost 2.5 miles from downtown and is located next to NOTHING that regional transportation would warrant.


My question to you is two fold. Anyone else can jump in.

1 - Do you think it is a mistake to make the CT the hub for HS rail in Buffalo. If not...why?

2 - Do you think their is a slight chance that Rep. Slaughter wants the terminal in Buffalo to be so far from DT that Rochester, which is in her district, would look more attractive to regional business travel. A city center to city center type situation.


Persoally for me, I think the best location for a HS terminal in Buffalo is close to the site of an old terminal. A Michigan and Elk terminal would service downtown the best AND help with the growth of DT Buffalo much more. Even if the HS terminal were located here, it could still connect to the CT and airport on it's way to Rochester.

Maybe there would be a way to piggy-back the construction of the HS rail with a second line for the Buffalo metro? Just curious.