Trans-Hudson Rail Link (1983: Doomsday)

The Trans-Hudson Rail Link is a proposed rail line between Vermont and Binghamton, by way of the territories controlled by the New York Rangers milita. The line is considered an important future link in the region, as all rail crossings over the Hudson River south of Albany were destroyed and/or located in a location with dangerous radiation levels. As such, there is no quick and reliable way to transport goods and people between New England and the Mid-Atlantic, which this project is intended to relieve.

Route
Currently, the plan is for the line to begin at the Vermont border in Stockbridge and follow the old line to Albany. At Chatham, though, the line will veer southward along the old route of the New York and Harlem Railroad for a short distance to the town of Ghent. There, the line will follow a new route diagonally to the town of Hudson, where the line will pararell the old New York Central mainline for a few miles south of Hudson, where it will veer onto the Rip Van Winkle Bridge into Catskill, which will be retrofitted to have trains run on it and to fix any structural deficiencies. After crossing the bridge, the line will turn south onto the old Erie-Lackawanna trackage, which it will follow due south through the valley. However, at Kingston, the line is planned to turn south along the now-abandoned Route 209, which it will follow directly down towards Port Jervis. At Port Jervis, the line will turn west along track next to the Delaware River, which it will follow to Binghamton.

Issues
Unfortunatly, desptie the optimistic proposal, the project is littered with issues. First off, much track will have to be rebuilt and/or repaired after years of neglect and abandonment. The same goes for the Rip van Winkle Bridge across the Hudson River, which the project is planning to use. If the issues with the bridge is bad enough, a new one will have to be built, raising the cost of this project significantly. Resources aren't as bad of an issue as one may think, but it still could be somewhat problematic. However, the biggest issue is that the stretch of the route between Stockbridge and Hudson, plus between Wurtsboro and Deposit, are not under the control of any stable central authority. However, that can be solved also, and it looks like this project is well on it's way to becoming reality.