b'14NORTHEAST PORTSajot.comThe Northeast Corridormoney is the mThe Port of New York and in megalopolis New Jersey: Can it make it By George Lauriat, AJOT to number one?NEC. Everyday thousandsrepresents about 22.6% of thepresence. If the NEC was aService reliability is more important, says port oftravelerscrowdtoboardentireGDPoftheUS.Itis(MONEYcontinued onofficial; intermodal growth could get NYNJ to passenger trains in stations liketruly a global scale economicpage 20) top spotBostonsSouthStation,New York Citys Penn Station (withBy Peter Buxbaum, AJOTthe new Moynihan Train Hall acrossthestreet),NewarksForawhile,towardthebelieve Port of New York and PennStation,Philadelphiasend of 2022, the Port of NewNew Jersey might be number William H. Gray III 30th StreetYorkandNewJerseyledone sooner than later, as the Station, Baltimores Penn Sta- thenationincargovolume,FebruaryTEUperformance tionandWashingtonDCsoutpacingbothLos Angeleswas tops in the nationIn Union Station. The 460-mileandLongBeach,theusualFebruary,traditionallythe long eight state and District ofnumbers one and two. Year- slowest time of the year for Columbia route is named theendresultsshowedNYNJall U.S. ports due to overseas NECorNortheastCorridor.insecondplace,handlingproductionslowdownsand TheNECisalsotraversed9.5 million TEUs for a 5.7%closures related to the Lunar by Amtraks Acela trains, theincreaseover2021,havingNewYearholiday,NY/NJ fastest passenger trains in theovertaken Long Beach. Thathandled571,177TEUs,the U.S. at a 150 mph, which iron- featrepresentedanimpres- highestnumberamongUS ically travel over some of thesive bump-up in the standingsports, topping the Port of Los oldest track bed in the countryfor the perennial number three(ONEcontinued on sectionsoftheroutewereport. Andthereisreasontopage 16)carved by hand through rocky shoreline slopes in the middle 1830s.Agenotwithstanding, today the NEC is one of the heaviesttraveledrailroutes, notjustintheUnitedStates butintheworld260mil-lion passengers annually pass throughthenetwork.The reasonforthisimmenserid-ershipissimple. As Amtrak writes in its promotion, The NEC: Supporting a $2.6 Tril-lionEconomy.Ofcourse, theonlyargumentwiththe assertionisAmtrakhassig- CONNECTINGnificantly understated the eco- CONNECTINGnomic impact of the corridor. NEW ENGLANDT HeM egalopolis and THe NEW ENGLANDe ConoMy or as French- TO THE WORLDThe NEC,TO THE WORLDUkraine geographer Jean Gott-manndubbedtheNortheastAt the Port of Bostons Conley Terminal, AtlanticcoastregioninhisAt the Port of Bostons Conley Tweve enhanced our capabilities to handle erminal, 1961 study The Megalopo- weve enhanced our capabilities to handle more cargo and remain congestion-free.lis,isoneoftheworldsmore cargo and remain congestion-free.greatest economic zones. TheWe offer a diverse selection of global ocean population,dependingoncontainer services with direct connections We offer a diverse selection of global ocean what is included, is roughlyto 26 ports in China, Southeast Asia, India, container services with direct connections 50-56 million or about 17%Europe, and Latin America.oftheUSpopulation. Whatto 26 ports in China, Southeast Asia, India, is unique is the density of theEurope, and Latin America.Our infrastructure upgrades and expandedNECapproximately 1,242direct global connectivity are powering peoplepersq/mi,comparedOur infrastructure upgrades and expandedwhats possible for 15 million consumers and to the US average of 93 perdirect global connectivity are powering 2,500 businesses, making Conley Terminalsq/mi. And the dense popula- whats possible for 15 million consumers and tion keys a long urban corri- NewEnglands number one choice for shipping.dor of consumers unlike any2,500 businesses, making Conley TerminalNew Englands number one choice for shipping.other in the country. Learn more at theportofboston.comThesedaysitisalittleLearn more at theportofboston.comunfairtosaytheNECis solely a U.S. corridor as the Canadian cities of Montreal, QuebecandHalifax,Nova Scotia(seeLeoRyanstory page23)alsolooselyfall within the orbit of the North-east megalopoliseconomic rivuletscontributingtothe greater economic stream.Nonetheless,theI-95/NEC route cuts a north-south swaththroughtheheartof the NEC. The regions GDP isaround$5.8trillion,splitlinkedin.com/showcase/port-of-bostonroughly$1.32trillionfor New England and $4.48 tril- linkedin.com/showcase/port-of-bostonlion for the Mideast (Wash-ingtonDCtoNewYork segment),accordingtothe 2022 3rd quarter figures. This'