I suspect there will be a push for another transmission line between upstate and downstate in the coming years. If nothing else, there seems to be no plan for replacing existing transmission lines as they age. If they were to have to restring (&/or replace towers) on Marcy-South could they even afford to shut it down for a while?----I doubt it; at least not during the summer months.
Let's hope someone is looking at win-win scenarios. How about getting federal funding for a combination of a high speed rail system and some type of underground transmission line that can carry another 1,000 MW or so (with designed provisions for a future upgrade to a 2nd line----for once let's intelligently plan for expansion w/o chaos).
Surely by combining these projects, there could be some sharing of costs----site work, engineering, construction, etc.
Here is a link to California's High Speed Rail Authority. Estimated cost for 800 miles is $45 billion. (Buffalo to NYC is 400 miles.)
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/
Another link to historical considerations of high speed rail for NY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_high-speed_rail
2005 Study on High Speed Rail in NY. The picture above comes from this source.
There are disadvantages; a thorough study would be needed.
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