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May 01, 2009: Hotline #602Hotline #602 The Waxman (D-CA)/Markey (D-MA) climate change bill continues the effort to address the important issue of climate change. Some version of this legislation with revenues, possibly from cap and trade or from a carbon tax, is likely to be enacted eventually. Passenger train advocates should ask their U.S. representatives to insist that intercity passenger trains get a fair allocation from these revenues. It is clear that polluting industries will.
Kienitz has a strong pro-environment record whose resume includes working for the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) and the Committee on Environment & Public Works that he chaired, and for the Surface Transportation Policy Project. NARP President Ross Capon, Vice Chair Al Papp, and others met with Kienitz Thursday. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a longtime Szabo friend, endorsed the former United Transportation Union officer and fifth-generation railroader by saying his background gives him a keen insight into difficult and sometimes hazardous work required to keep our nation’s trains moving. Durbin also noted that Szabo’s enthusiasm for Amtrak will serve him well in his new role. Szabo will be informally sworn in May 5th to allow him to start work right away, with a proper ceremony to follow later.
There was widespread concern over the state of the Highway Trust Fund, and how to fix a program that is universally acknowledged to be broken. While equitable distribution of funds between rural and urban areas was touched upon frequently, the primary worry was how to raise enough revenue to correct the underinvestment which has eroded the nation’s transportation infrastructure. LaHood was unequivocal in stating that the current Administration would not consider an increase in the gas tax, citing the existing economic stressors on families resulting from the recession. Steve Heminger, Executive Director of the congressionally mandated Metropolitan Transportation Commission, believed that the gas tax would have to continue to be the primary source of dedicated funding for transportation projects, and surface transportation policy should recognize this reality. “Secretary (LaHood) said it was a bad time to raise the fuel tax, but $2 per gallon gas might be a better time than $4 a gallon gas, and it’s just a matter of time before we’re back there” he said.
Secretary Ray LaHood, in his second appearance on Capitol Hill in as many days, said the DOT has already obligated $9 billion dollars in projects around the country, and promised that guidelines for other pots designated by ARRA would be coming in weeks, not months. There was an emphasis on how many people were being put to work, with Oberstar declaring that job-creation was the primary criteria to be considered for every project. While much of the evidence given about people put to work was anecdotal, Amtrak’s Chief Financial Officer, D.J. Stadtler, Jr., said that the $1.3 billion in stimulus funds targeted for the passenger railroad is projected to create 4,600 jobs this year alone. There was a lot of interest among Representatives as to how the high speed rail funds included in the bill were to be spent, although LaHood could only promise that details would come this summer. He did express confidence in America’s ability to create a state-of-the-art transportation system when the political will existed, and said that it isn’t impossible for the U.S. to displace Europe as the leader in passenger rail in two to three generations. “We will be the (global) model for high speed rail if we use our money wisely,” he told the committee.
Progressive Railroading reports that a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that TCI sold its 17.8 million shares, which amounts to a 4.5% share of CSX. TCI, ironically enough, made the move in response to financial troubles of its own, having lost around 40% of their value in global economic downturn. TCI’s managing partner has announced he will give up his seat, but the other three TCI board members will endeavor to retain their positions during CSX’s annual meeting May 6.
“To the extent we can identify very good projects—be they rail, highway, airport, dams—now would be a very meritorious time to pull those investments forward and try to stimulate real economic growth” said Owens. It is refreshing that he listed rail first!
“With this Peer Review Committee, we are assuring our federal, local and public partners that high-speed rail in California will be planned with foresight, built and operated efficiently, and financed with accountability to the taxpayers,” said Governor Schwarzenegger in a prepared statement. Skoropowski has served as managing director for the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority since 1999, in addition to being a NARP Director. Thompson worked for the World Bank where as railways advisor he reviewed rail plans around the globe, was a former nominee for Amtrak’s Board of Directors, and served as director of the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project for the Federal Railroad Administration under the U.S. Department of Transportation. “With more than ten years of planning already completed and a commitment last November by voters to issue nearly $10 billion of state bonds, California is once again leading the nation as the first state to commence and fund high speed rail development. On top of boosting demand for jobs at a time when we need it most, federal investment in our high-speed rail system will help lay a sustainable foundation for economic growth, help us meet our environmental goals and improve our quality of life,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “We have already laid the groundwork for high-speed rail in California and with a boost from our federal partners, nearly 40 million Californians and millions of travelers from around the world will be able to experience the reality of America’s first high-speed rail system.”
Roscoe admitted that Amherst is the Advocates in Amherst have vocally opposed the plan, saying that the train has a positive economic and environmental impact that the town depends on. Town Manager Larry Shaffer says he supports the plan for expansion of Amtrak service, but not at the expense of other communities. “Plans that take our station out I will oppose vigorously,” he said.
Amtrak, which already provides service to the building, praised the move. Union Pacific also described the deal, which took less than a year to reach, in complimentary terms. “Union Pacific understands the importance of the Longview depot to the local community and is pleased with the progress that has been made towards an agreement, which will help preserve this historic structure for future generations,” said Union Pacific spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza to the Longview News-Journal. The City of Connellsville, Pennsylvania is getting a new train station thanks to ARRA. Executive Director Michael Edwards of the Connellsville Redevelopment Authority said Amtrak will spend $14,000 to design a $1.25 million train station using stimulus funds, built on the site of the former station. The new development is expected to be completed by December of next year, and will bring the station in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. “Amtrak sees this station as an economic development tool” Edwards told the Connellsville Daily Courier, saying the city is hoping to encourage transit orientd growth around the station.
Several changes take effect on May 11 with Thruway bus service in California. Buses 6417 and 6433 (Martinez-Santa Rosa), 6426 and 6446 (Santa Rosa-Martinez) are discontinued. Service to Benicia and Corning is discontinued entirely. Santa Barbara – Oakland buses 4785 (overnight) and 4769 (daylight) add discharge-only stops at Emeryville and bus 4784 adds a board-only stop at Emeryville. Several Sacramento-Davis-Suisun buses are discontinued, as well as Stockton-Redding bus 3717. It is replaced by a new bus between Stockton and Davis.
May 09, 2009: Hotline #603Tomorrow, Saturday, May 9th, is the second annual National Train Day. Amtrak will be sponsoring events at train stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Local organizations will also be holding events at over a hundred locations across the country. For more information, see Amtrak’s National Train Day website. Amtrak will also be using the event to release their new discount codes for the spring. Possible daily service along the route of the Sunset Limited was the topic of a presentation by Amtrak Chief of Product Management Brian Rosenwald at a May 2 RailPAC/NARP meeting in Los Angeles, where Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman also spoke. Boardman, emphasizing the preliminary nature of the daily service concept, said it was a “new way of thinking, not an announcement.” He also said “we recognize the need to reconnect Florida (to the West).” The concept involves providing the maximum service possible without expanding the fleet of cars currently used by the New Orleans-Los Angeles Sunset Limited and the Chicago-San Antonio(-Los Angeles) Texas Eagle whose cars are conveyed in the Sunset west of San Antonio. Currently, the Chicago-San Antonio service is daily, while New Orleans-Los Angeles is tri-weekly. Under the proposal, there would be two separate, daily trains: a Chicago-San Antonio-Los Angeles full-service train, and a coach-and-lounge New Orleans-San Antonio connecting train. Chicago-Texas-Los Angeles is envisioned to depart Chicago at 4 PM, arrive Los Angeles around 7 AM. A connecting train would depart New Orleans around 10:30 am and arrive San Antonio 11:30 pm. Eastbound the big train would depart Los Angeles around 10:30 pm, and run on roughly the existing schedule from San Antonio to Chicago, arriving there just before 2pm. The connecting train would depart San Antonio around 7:30 am and arrive New Orleans around 8:20 pm. The proposed schedule would mean improved times at Maricopa, Tucson, San Antonio and Houston. There would be a full-service crew the entire run between Chicago and Los Angeles, and thus restoration of full breakfast service departing San Antonio northbound. Obviously the forced transfer at San Antonio is the downside. Amtrak’s Brian Rosenwald, who is spearheading the effort, told NARP that the proposed daily operation and rescheduling could be compatible with a restored transcontinental train. If sleeping-car demand proves stronger than expected, a through New Orleans-Los Angeles car could be restored next year after more out-of-service cars are reconditioned. Then, it would be a matter of scheduling a New Orleans-Florida service to be compatible with the Western schedule, i.e., depart New Orleans east in the late evening, and arrive New Orleans west by about 7 AM. However, the timeline for possible revision of New Orleans-West service is in less than a year, sooner than any New Orleans-East service would resume. Amtrak indicated in April 27 letters to interested parties that its Congressionally mandated task of creating a plan for restoration of New Orleans-Florida service has narrowed the options down to three: restoration of the extended Sunset as it existed, before Amtrak’s use of Katrina as a pretext for discontinuing New Orleans-East; a daily, free-standing New Orleans-Orlando train; an extension of daily Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans to Orlando. The plan is due July 17 and the law requires Amtrak “in developing the plan… [to] consult with representatives from the States of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, railroad carriers whose tracks may be used for such service, rail passengers, rail labor, and other entities as appropriate” (section 226 of Division A of the Rail Safety/Amtrak law enacted in October, 2008). The White House its detailed federal budget for fiscal 2010 on May 7. Amtrak would get $1.502 billion for Amtrak, a miniscule increase from the $1.49 billion in regular fiscal 2009 funding. Amtrak has sought “$1.84 billion plus.” (“Plus” refers to $144 million “below the line” in extra ADA station work funds, money Amtrak said it needs but did not formally request, similar to how Amtrak handled labor back pay a year ago. Such “sotto voce” requests do not go down well on Capitol Hill.) Fortunately, there’s still time to pressCongress to fully fund Amtrak’s full request. On the plus side, the budget makes good on the President’s promise to deliver first annual $1 billion for high-speed rail. Perhaps the most significant feature of the transportation is the virtual abandonment of user fees to fund highways, a result of continuing increases in highway spending and the failure to increase revenues earmarked for transportation. Indeed, gasoline tax revenues have fallen, and a May 6 federal report showed U.S. gasoline demand down 0.9% compared with the same period a year ago. The federal highways obligation limit would rise from $40.7 billion in Fiscal 2009 to $41.1 billion in 2010. But the general fund contribution would rise from zero to $36.1 billion while the “user-fee based” Highway Trust Fund contribution would drop precipitously from $40.7 billion to $5 billion. Similarly, the transit formula and bus grants, which have been mostly “trust funded” would rise from $8.261 billion to $8.343 billion in 2010, with $3.3 billion of the latter coming from general funds. At Washington Union Station, Amtrak—effective Monday, May 11—will end ticket sales five minutes before train time and close the gates two minutes before train time. Quik-Trak machines will not be affected, so in theory one could purchase a ticket from the machine three minutes before departure and still get on. The other two stations with such policies, Chicago and Denver, cease ticket sales 10 minutes before departure and close the gates at five minutes. New York’s state leadership reached a last-minute agreement on Tuesday night to save New York City’s passengers from drastic cuts in service and significant fare hikes. The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s proposed cost-saving changes would have included a 30% increase in fares for the subway, commuter rail, and the monthly MetroCard; the elimination of almost 30 bus routes; fewer trains and buses on remaining lines; and the overnight shut-down of certain stations. The new deal will also fund two years of MTA’s five-year capital program, providing for much-needed infrastructure maintenance and upgrades. “We have rescued this system from the brink of the abyss” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/05/05/2009-05-05_mta_doomsday_scenario_averted_as_gov_paterson_legislature_reach_deal.html” title=“told the New York Daily News”>told the New York Daily News. The deal, which passed the legislature late Wednesday, includes, among other things, a 10% fare hike, an employer-paid payroll tax, a 50-cent surcharge on taxi rides. A coalition of Democrats successfully opposed the inclusion of bridge-tolls as a prerequisite for their support; the democratically controlled state Senate required all 32 members of their caucus to pass the legislation in the face of unified Republican opposition. “This has been very difficult for the commuters of the MTA region,” Governor David Paterson said. “We can assure them this evening there will be no surprises. There will be no further cuts or fears about fare hikes or toll increases.” Hopes for a successful outcome to the effort to set Florida’s SunRail project in motion this year were dealt a mortal blow on the floor of the State Senate last Thursday. The first setback to the proposed 61 mile line from suburban DeBary south to downtown Orlando was a 23-17 vote the Senate floor, defeating a $200 million insurance policy for SunRail on. A second, supporting amendment was subsequently withdrawn. Opponents have focused their criticism not on the train itself, but the deal the state arrived at with CSX Corp, which owns the track and right of way. They argued that the agreement had the potential to cost the state too much money should an accident occur. “I like the project,” Senator Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton) told the Orlando Sentinel, “I just don’t like the deal.” The state of Florida stands to lose out on the $307 million secured for the SunRail project by U.S. Representatives Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville) and John Mica (R-Winter Park)—$27 million of which has already been spent to purchase station land and equipment. “That would be the most phenomenal loss of transportation money,” Mica said in a previous interview with the Orlando Sentinel. The project was harmed by negative media coverage including quotes from a Government Accountability Office review of the liability deal. Also, as NARP Council Member (and South Division leader) Jackson McQuigg put it, “The Lakeland opposition successfully sold their local residents that this deal meant commuter trains for Orlando and nothing but more freight trains for Lakeland. TBARTA in Tampa [the transit agency] and SunRail, separated by 30 miles or so, weren’t talking to one another about rail plans because neither agency represents eastern Polk County—the county in which Lakeland resides. ..There are also plenty of Florida conservatives in the Legislature who are anti-passenger rail. Period. They came out in force.” A corollary of the failed SunRail deal is the loss of a proposed rental-car surcharge to fund Tri-Rail—included in the deal to gain support from South Floridian Democrats—which stood to net Tri-Rail an estimated $180 million over the next five years. If funding isn’t found, the commuter rail line may have to cut the number of weekday trains to 30 from the current 50 at the start of FY2010, eliminate all weekend and holiday service, and lay off 150 of its 300 workers. Even that would only ensure another 18 months of service, after which Tri-Rail would shut down completely. Both Tri-Rail’s leadership and state legislators have signaled that they intend to work together to find a dedicated source of funding for the regional rail line, which has broken numerous ridership records in the last few years. “Lawmakers made it clear that they weren’t out to sink Tri-Rail,” Joseph Giulietti, Tri-Rail’s executive director told the South Florida Sun Central. “They just didn’t like the Central Florida rail project.” Ohio’s rail planners have announced their favored route for the planned 3C line, and have made clear their intentions to favor speed and simplicity over size and reach. The proposed route detailed in reports released Monday would bypass possible connections to Akron and would terminate at a new station in Cincinnati instead of the city’s venerable Union Station—which Executive Director of Ohio’s Rail Development Commission, Matthew R. Dietrich, recently told the Columbus Dispatch was “the most impressive rail complex still standing in Ohio.” Choosing this route—one of 33 that Amtrak is currently studying—would avoid congestion, reduce the costs of purchasing land and rebuilding derelict lines, and minimize “hand-offs” among rail line. This will hopefully allow the train to traverse the entire Cleveland to Cincinnati route in under six hours. The Amtrak study won’t be completed until the end of summer. A new government study has identified more than one-third of the trains, equipment, and facilities at the nation’s seven largest rail transit agencies as nearing or beyond the end of their useful life. The study, performed by the Federal Transit Administration, puts the price tag to restoring the rail transit infrastructure of those seven systems to a state of good repair at $50 billion; an additional $5.9 billion a year will be needed maintain them after that refurbishment is completed. The rail transit agencies studied are in Chicago, Boston, New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., serve more than 3 billion passengers a year (or 80% of American rail transit passengers), and are among the nation’s oldest. “In a period of rising congestion and fuel prices, these services and the infrastructure and rolling stock that support them, are critical to the transportation needs and quality of life of the communities they serve,” the report said. “At the same time, this infrastructure is aging and the level of reinvestment appears insufficient to address a growing backlog of deferred investment needs.” One of the problems has been that as interest in rail transit has increased, and the number of rail transit systems nationwide has multiplied, these seven largest systems have received a smaller percentage of the total federal transit funds—70% today, as compared to 90% in 1993. The report comes during the drafting of the new surface transportation bill; Rep. Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, hopes to have the markup completed by early this summer. William Millar, President of the American Public Transportation Association, says that now is the time to address what is clearly an insufficient level of public investment. “We don’t need another report” Millar told the Associated Press, “we need greater funding.”
The Oregon city, a long-time leader in demonstrating the potential for light rail as a catalyst for community enhancement, recently received NARP’s Tracks to the Future Leadership Award. “This streetcar project will not only offer Portland residents additional options for getting around, but will also spur economic development along the line and create opportunities for employment,” U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said in a prepared statement. The Maryland Transit Administration introduced the first of its new fleet of diesel locomotives at a news conference held by Governor Martin O’Malley at Camden Station on Wednesday. The 26 engine, $100 million fleet will be filtering into operations at the rate of one or two a month, and is scheduled to be fully in service by the summer of 2010. This should be a boon for the agency, which has struggled with equipment malfunctions. One of the engines, named after Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), will be displayed at Washington Union Station for National Train Day tomorrow. MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-marc-trains0505,0,1038289.story” title=“Baltimore Sun”>told the Baltimore Sun that the new diesel engines will have more horsepower, allowing them to pull a longer train, and will burn low sulfur diesel, cutting down on the pollutants which they emit. Astrid Glynn, Commissioner for the New York State Department of Transportation, submitted her resignation to Governor Patterson on Monday; it will take effect May 8th. The move comes at a crucial time in the distribution of federal stimulus funds. A permanent replacement has not been announced by Governor Patterson. First Deputy Commissioner Stanley Gee is slated to fill the role of acting commissioner in the meantime.
“For over 75 years, Rail Europe has provided North American travelers access to the most romantic and truly European method of travel,” Frederic Langlois, president of Rail Europe, told USA Today. “We all know train travel as convenient, cost-efficient and eco-friendly… Once on board, you can leave behind the stress of everyday life, sit back, relax and enjoy the view from your train window.” The offer, available while supplies last, is only available online, and is good six months from the date of purchase.
May 15, 2009: Hotline #604NARP Hotline #604
Joseph Boardman, who has headed up Amtrak since November, told Illinois lawmakers at a meeting in Chicago on Monday that 200 m.p.h. systems are prohibitively expensive and require relatively few stops to take advantage of their higher speed. He considers the Midwest an unlikely fit for high speed rail due to the distances and low density that characterizes a majority of the region’s cities. “It’s really not about the speed. It’s about reduced travel times and more frequency,” Amtrak’s chief officer told the Illinois House Railroad Industry Committee. “The competitive advantage is with the train” Instead, Boardman envisions building up and expanding the current system to allow for trains to reach 110 m.p.h. and increase capacity. This in itself would require a large investment, because of outmoded signaling devices, poor track condition, and the heavy congestion of freight traffic. However, if these choke points and slow-orders were eliminated, trains would compare favorably to travel by highways, where passengers have to deal with congestion and a 55 m.p.h. national speed limit. “The key to going fast is to not go slow,” added Tom Carper, chairman of Amtrak’s Board. According to the DOT’s press release, the grants are intended for projects that will “have a significant impact on the nation, a region or metropolitan area and can create jobs and benefit economically distressed areas.” The grants will be distributed in parcels of $20 million to $300 million. The DOT’s examination of the economic justifications will become far more rigorous for projects over $100 million. “TIGER discretionary funding will open up the door to many new innovative and cutting-edge transportation projects,” said Secretary LaHood in the statement. “This is exciting news and I believe that these projects will promote greater mobility, a cleaner environment and more livable communities.” All modes will be eligible for the grants. Rail should be particularly competitive, since the DOT targets benefits that passenger and freight trains excel in providing, including: improving the quality of living and working environments by fostering livable communities, improving energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving the safety of U.S. transportation. The legislation has the difficult task of restoring balance to America’s transportation system, and establishing unified, coherent goals for the national network used to move goods and people. “A national surface transportation policy for our country is long overdue,” Senator Lautenberg said in a prepared statement. “We need a transportation policy that reestablishes our leadership throughout the world when it comes to transportation—and meets our country’s transportation demands for generations to come. This legislation will establish a national policy that improves safety, reduces congestion, creates jobs, and protects our environment.” The bill sets ambitious goals for safety, the environment, and congestion reduction. Train and transit advocates should be especially pleased by the inclusion of: • An increase in the total usage of public transportation, intercity passenger rail services, and non-motorized transportation on an annual basis “The United States’ population is projected to rise to 420 million people by 2050, a 50 percent increase from the year 2000. This growth will only exacerbate the congestion and mobility challenges that plague our national surface transportation system today. We need to establish a blueprint for a 21st century surface transportation system,” said Chairman Rockefeller. “This bill does just that. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues on this blueprint as we move forward on reauthorizing and reforming the surface transportation programs.” NARP has opposed the changes announced in June, 2007, that eliminated a link between the new tunnels and New York City’s Penn Station. “We’ve got to explore all of our options and see if we can move forward. There may be a delay in the service,” Mica told Railway Age. “We’ve invested eight years. We have $100 million in public hearings and planning.” Florida’s Department of Transportation has already signaled their intent to save the deal—Governor Charlie Crist is a vocal supporter of SunRail. Mica, a recent winner of the NARP Golden Spike award, seems to be calling in help from on high, with Secretary Ray LaHood going on record to say “commuter rail for Central Florida is important to the state and the nation.” Time may be running out. CSX’s Director of Federal Affairs, Stephen Flippin, stated that the deal between the company and Florida is set to expire June 30. The guidelines for receipt of the $8 billion in high speed rail funds for the recovery act have not been set by the Federal Railroad Administration—the agency has until June 17 to complete the outline. The stimulus money would be a welcome addition to the project. While California voters approved a bond measure last fall which will provide $10 billion for the line, the final projected costs have risen to $45 billion, with CHSRA citing increasing construction expenses; critics of the plan long charged that the first estimates were too low. Proponents of the high speed line are responding to these critics by pointing to the economic benefits of building the line. CHSRA Chairman Quentin Kopp told Reuters that construction would create 150,000 jobs between now and 2025, roughly 450,000 permanent new jobs when completed, and is projected to provide an annual surplus of over $1 billion. The residents of California seem to believe in the project; after a new high-speed rail transit station was announced, commercial property values around sites rumored to be likely selections went up by almost 40%.
The line would be a marvel of civil engineering, traversing a wide variety of rugged terrain. It would also be expensive—both financially (estimates vary on the cost of the 1,500 mile line—from $10 million per mile, all the way up to $45 million) and politically (with fights over the placement of rights of way). State officials in Oregon would be a necessary part of any coalition that sought federal funds. “It’s very, very preliminary,” said Scott Witt, Director of Washington State Department of Transportation, told the Bellingham Herald. “But it makes a lot of sense.” In the shorter term, Washington State will be seeking $900 million in ARRA funds to upgrade service from Seattle to Portland. Witt said Washington and Oregon have invested $1.1 billion in state funds on the line, and that federal funds would allow for long-due upgrades. Officials hope to double the number of daily roundtrips to eight between the cities in two to three years. The announcement will disappoint commuters currently forced to drive on Routes 42 and 55, highways which have been plagued by gridlock and congestion. The commuter line was widely expected to shadow these highways, and provide passengers an alternative. However, DRPA has cited the cheaper $1.3 billion price tag of the Camden to Glassboro route—$1 billion less than the estimate for the Route 42 alignment. DRPA also believes the ridership potential may be greater (18,000 passenger trips a day), due to the ability to route passengers to Philadelphia, via Camden’s Port Authority Transit Co. commuter rail service. Specifically, T4America seeks to reduce per-capita vehicle miles traveled by 16% in 20 years, triple the percentage of Americans who walk, bike and use transit, cut transportation-generated CO2 emissions by 40%, move 20% of the nation’s freight traffic to rail and intermodal services, and increase by 50% the number of essential destinations accessible to the average American without a car. To pay for it all, T4America seeks to create a Unified Transportation Trust Fund and to double the current federal investment in transportation, as long as the new spending achieves the desired outcomes. NARP welcomes these efforts and will continue to work alongside T4America to see that passenger trains and rail transit get a substantial boost from the next surface transportation bill.
Mayor Ray Nagin attended the event, which featured historic exhibits, music, and food. May 22, 2009: Hotline #605Hotline #605 This move by House-Senate budget conferees, spearheaded by the Tarrant County delegation (includes Fort Worth) would revitalize this important program, created in a 2005 constitutional amendment, with two $91 million injections over the next two years. This investment comes at a particularly important time, with BNSF and Union Pacific currently working with Texas DOT to secure $70 million in federal funds to construct a third, north-south rail line at Tower 55. The allocation contains $30 million as an insurance policy if the federal funds fall through. “Tower 55 is like the central nervous system of a body,” Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth), co-chairman of the Tarrant County delegation, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It’s not functioning properly and this money is needed for it.” The funds are contingent on passage of the state spending plan for 2010-11; Senate and House conferees on the budget need to finish working out their differences after which the bill will go to Governor Rick Perry for his approval. AP said the bill “requires factories, refineries and power plants to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and six other greenhouse gases by roughly 80% by mid-century and hasten the nation’s energy shift away from fossil fuels by putting a price on carbon dioxide releases.” Unfortunately, transportation in general and public transportation and trains in particular are ignored even though they should play a critical role in any successful effort to limit carbon emissions and thus should be beneficiaries of some of the bill’s revenues. No House member played the transportation role that Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) did in last year’s Warner-Lieberman bill. Moreover, the bill has a “cash for clunkers” provision which, though better than its European counterparts, is counterproductive in encouraging premature scrapping of automobiles, and may disproportionately hurt lower income people by driving up costs of used cars and their parts. Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein wrote today, “Now that we know what a climate-change bill looks like when it is jury-rigged to accommodate all the special interests, maybe American will be willing to reconsider one of the cleaner, simpler approaches – a carbon tax with all the revenue rebated to households, for example, or a cap-and-trade system that generates enough revenue to erase the national debt, or even a tough new regulatory regime requiring businesses to produce more fuel-efficient cars, buildings and appliances.” Pearlstein says that Waxman/Markey uses bits of “all three approaches. The result is an unwieldy compromise with lots of belt-and-suspenders redundancy…It is so broad in its reach and complex in its details that it would be difficult to implement even in Sweden, let alone in a diverse and contentious country like the United States.” “In the past, an agreement such as this would have been considered impossible,” said President Obama in a prepared statement. “…It represents not only a change in policy in Washington, but the harbinger of a change in the way business is done in Washington. As a result of this agreement, we will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years.” The move was applauded by car makers, workers, and environmental groups. But some have suggested that this move could potentially encourage the manufacture of more cars—in a market where there is already a glut—and ultimately encourage more driving. The Financial Times’ May 20 Lex column laments America’s failure to raise “the lowest gasoline taxes in the developed world,” and cites a “study at Stanford University [which] calculates that direct taxes can achieve an equivalent reduction [in miles driven] to CAFÉ at one-sixth the cost…Higher CAFÉ standards could add $1,300 to the cost of a vehicle, incentivizing consumers to keep older, inefficient ones. By contrast, raising pump prices would have an immediate impact on miles driven and make gas guzzlers unattractive. But Washington is run by politicians, not economists.” [For more analysis, see the NARP Blog] The funds will be paid out over the five to six-year life of the bill, and is funded by increased fees for car and license registrations, legalizing and taxing video gambling, increasing the tax on beer, wine and liquor, and other sources. Details of the budget remain uncertain; the Illinois legislature generally doesn’t provide for publication of major legislation as it is being worked on. However, some sources have reported that there will be $3.5 billion in discretionary funds for road and transit projects, and $1.8 billion for Chicago-area mass transit projects. The bill passed 277-136, and was criticized by a block of Republicans, for three provisions in particular, including a requirement for FAA inspection of certain overseas aircraft repair facilities, and a provision which, unless renewed, would eliminate anti-trust exemptions for certain airline partnerships. Critics argued this would cost American airline workers jobs in an industry that is already suffering. Democrats who supported the bill said the scenarios presented were extremely unlikely. Another point of contention was the provision that would send the FAA and air-traffic controllers back to the bargaining table. The previous Administration clashed with the controllers’ union, and conflicts have yet to be resolved. Rep. John Mica (R-FL) said the Obama Administration has already appointed a task force to resolve these issues, but Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) argued this would ensure that a solution was reached. Service to the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria Airport will continue to enjoy a subsidy under the Essential Air Services program despite Republican efforts to end the service. EAS supports airline service to rural areas which would otherwise not be profitable to operate. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) has used his considerable clout as Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to direct $150 million to the airport in his district, which runs six flights a day, all to the District of Columbia. “Should a practically empty airport that has all of six flights per day receive millions in federal funds just to stay open?” asked John Campbell (R-CA) from the floor. “If by legislative fiat you can say no to funding this community, no to the people in rural America who want access to greater America, then we’re all at risk. This is wrong, this is mean-spirited, vote it down,” Oberstar responded. The Senate yesterday confirmed the nomination of J. Randolph Babbitt to head the FAA. Babbitt is a former president and chief executive officer of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). It is hoped that appointing a former union member will ease tensions that escalated during the Bush Administration between the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controller’s Association. The line had been seeing record ridership numbers as recently as this fall, but the collapse of the economy—and the resulting crash in oil prices—has seen fewer people and businesses needing to travel. There has 2.3% drop in ridership nationwide in April, compared with the same time last year. Amtrak will cut coach fares on the Boston-New York-Washington Regionals route by 25% starting June 2, while extending the current lower Acela fares. Washington-New York in coach class will be as low as $49. Discounts are good until September 3, and will also apply on the Newport News line, Keystone trains between New York and Philadelphia, and Vermonter between Springfield MA and Washington DC. Reservations must be booked 14 days before travel. “Obviously, President Obama has made it a priority and so we’re certainly at risk of losing ground to them if we don’t take a good hard look ourselves and make some decisions over the next few years,” said Cliff Mackay, president and chief executive officer of the Railway Association of Canada, before a hearing held by the Canadian Parliament. Officials said that Transport Canada’s (equivalent to U.S. DOT) feasibility and impact study for a line between Ontario and Quebec should be done by 2010. “There is certainly great interest within our committee to determine, one, if it’s viable, (and) two, if we can do it, and what the stakes and what the costs would be,” said Merv Tweed, a Conservative MP from Manitoba who chairs the House of Commons Committee on Transportation. The capacity issue is of particular concern for passenger rail advocates, since it could adversely affect the proposed revival of the Pioneer Amtrak route from Denver to Seattle (rail advocates and elected officials, including Boulder’s Mayor Matthew Appelbaum, have initiated a route study), and regional rail along the local I-25 and I-70 corridors. May 29, 2009: Hotline #606Hotline #606 In response to last week’s passage of the disappointing American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454, NARP wrote to House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar and other senior members of the Committee urging them to work to see that mass transit and passenger trains get some of the revenue from any climate bill that is passed. The letter notes that 20% of the bill’s revenues come from transportation users, yet none of those funds would be invested in transportation infrastructure. The letter quotes the final report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, which calls for “transportation activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions [to] receive a proportionate share of any revenue generated by [a tax on carbon or a ‘cap and trade’ system]. The full letter is available online. The local-option tax proposal lets counties seek voter approval for higher taxes to pay for transportation projects. It is vital to transportation investment in Texas—including 251 miles of commuter rail in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “Other than what you have seen in blast e-mails, which are full of half-truths, this House has not had the chance to consider the facts,” Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Keller) told her colleagues from the floor. “More particularly, you have not heard the voters in my district complain about their daily traffic nightmare.” Supporters of TLOTA gathered on Friday at a rally near the state-house, to show their support of the proposal. NARP yesterday alerted our members by e-mail about this event. Also in Texas, the House passed a bill today which requires the Texas Department of Transportation to create a statewide transportation plan, using rail as a key component in future plans. The bill now goes to Governor Rick Perry to sign. The bill requires TxDOT to provide a plan for coordinating the planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of an expanded, state-wide rail system between state and local agencies. They will also have to present annual reports on the progress of proposed and existing rail lines. The move comes at a crucial time for state rail agencies, with the Obama administration drastically increasing investment in passenger trains. Texas leaders may be ruing the missed opportunity for federal stimulus dollars which went to states with developed rail plans. This bill ensures that they’ll be better prepared next time. The plan—a white paper titled “Achieving the Vision: Intercity Passenger Rail”—calls for a national rail plan and the creation of an intercity passenger rail account, “funded at $35 billion over six years from a diversified portfolio of new revenue sources.” “When the AASHTO board of directors approved its policy recommendations late last year, it determined that America needs a robust intercity passenger rail network that provides competitive and reliable service that’s comparable to world class systems in other countries,” John Horsley, AASHTO executive director, said in a prepared statement. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) was also at the meeting. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he is a key figure in securing funding for the line—it is thanks to Tester that language requiring a North Coast Hiawatha route study was included in last year’s Amtrak reauthorization. “Bringing the Hiawatha back to Montana isn’t a done deal,” Tester said in a press release. “But a lot of Montanans are interested in the idea and rightly so… passenger train service and travel will boost our economy, will create jobs, will attract more tourism opportunities and will provide more opportunities across the board.” GE says the new locomotives will utilize alternating current (AC) technology which will reduce fuel consumption by 17% compared to its old direct-current (DC) locomotives. The new engines will also produce 70% less emissions than the DC versions. 600 of the new AC locomotives will be able to do the work of 800 of the old DC units. The locomotives will be manufactured at GE’s plants in Erie and Grove City, Pennsylvania; 25 have already been completed, for BNSF Railway. While the price-tag wasn’t revealed, the company acknowledged it will be a difficult time for railroads to make this kind of big-equipment purchase; a spokesman suggested a federal program for trains similar to the Obama Administration’s proposal of “cash-for-clunkers” (part of H.R. 2454) where the government would provide a tax credit for trading old cars in for new cars that meet a certain threshold of fuel-efficiency. |
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