Apr 17, 2009: Hotline #600

Hotline #600
April 17, 2009

On Thursday, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled the Administration’s strategic plan entitled Vision for High-Speed Rail in America.  The invited guests included NARP President and CEO Ross Capon, Midwest High Speed Rail Association Executive Director (and NARP Council Member) Rick Harnish, Capitol Corridor Managing Director (and NARP Board Member) Gene Skoropowski, and a roomful of advocates and state and local officials who have toiled for years to make something like this happen, and who often doubted that it would.  The elected officials present included House T&I Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), Rep. Bob Andrews (D-NJ), the mayors of Philadelphia, Richmond VA, Rockville MD and Meridian MS.

The event began with briefings by Acting and Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Rae and Paul Nissenbaum, FRA’s Director, Office of Passenger and Freight Programs.  Rae said, “After 40 years waiting for this, it is a miracle to be standing here today…It is critical that we be successful with this first investment, otherwise the program could be at risk.  We really appreciate all the work you’ve done to get us here, but the work has just begun.”  “The work” involves all stakeholders—Amtrak, the private railroads, business interests, elected officials, advocates.

Nissenbaum, formerly of Amtrak, said grant applications for the first tranche of “ready-to-go” individual projects would be due 45 days after mid-June publication of guidance for applicants and grants should be awarded in September.  For corridor programs, that is overall plans covering entire corridors or major portions thereof, the first round should be reviewed and decided later this year.  He noted that DOT must complete a preliminary national rail plan by mid-October, and that it is possible that one more high-speed rail corridor could be designated as the law provides for 11 (not including the Northeast Corridor) and only 10 have been designated thus far.

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said, “High speed rail will be one of the legacies of the Obama Administration—their transportation legacy…It’s the right thing to do for our mobility and for the environment.  Our journey is just beginning.”

The Vice President spoke with equal eloquence: “It’s about time we took those railways and made them the national treasures they should be…I want to say particular thanks to three people.  And the first is Secretary LaHood for his leadership and vision.  He jumped right into this job and he didn’t miss a step…And this is very uncharacteristic of me, Mr. President, but I want to thank Rahm Emanuel. (Laughter.) Not only as smart as a devil…it was Rahm’s tenacious, tenacious persistence that led to getting this high-speed rail in the Recovery Act.  It was at your direction, but I’m not sure it would have been done without him.  And third, to the man who…has turned the years of talk in Washington into a season of action, President Barack Obama.”

The President said “we need a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century…a system that reduces congestion…we need high speed rail…It is happening right now.  It’s been happening for decades.  The problem is it’s been happening elsewhere, not here…Between Madrid and Seville…more people travel by rail than by car and airplane combined…China, where service began just two years ago, may have more miles of high-speed rail service than any other country just five years from now. 

“There’s no reason why we can’t do this…Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already overburdened aviation system—and everybody stands to benefit.”

He acknowledged the need to walk before we run, so to speak.  “The first round of funding [will use] existing infrastructure to increase speeds on some routes from 70 miles an hour to over 100…this is the first step that is quickly achievable, and it will create jobs improving tracks, crossings, signal systems.  The next step is investing in high-speed rail that unleashes the economic potential of all our regions by shrinking distances within our regions…”

The “Vision” is on the DOT website; a transcript of Biden and Obama’s comments are on the White House website.

President Obama announced his intention to nominate John Porcari as Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation.  In his new role, Porcari—currently the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation—would act as the DOT’s chief operating officer, responsible for the day-to-day administration of the 10 modal bureaus which make up the agency.

He succeeds Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, who has served the position since August 2007.

The Indio, CA Transportation Center is on target to break ground in 2009 despite concerns over funding, according to the developer KEB Enterprises.

Tom Emmett, KEB Enterprises’ managing partner, said that an anticipated $2.5 million construction loan fell through.  Emmett is optimistic about securing a new loan, however, telling the Desert Sun that “there’s been thaw in the financial world… we’re starting to see the ice cracking.”  The City of Indio has also said it is considering acting as a lender of last resort, with Mark Wasserman, assistant to the City Manager telling reporters “the city is committed to this center, so if the developer can’t [secure funding] ... then we will explore other avenues to ensure the project is built.”  One possible avenue might be funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The intermodal station will be a hub for passenger trains, buses, and rental car services, and will have options for shopping and dining.  Amtrak, which stops at a station in nearby Palm Springs, has agreed to serve the Indio facility if it is constructed.

U.S. News & World Report hosted an online poll that reported 83% of respondents would use the high-speed rail corridors because they believe them to be “environmentally-friendly and convenient.”  (Poll is ongoing—numbers valid as of time of reporting.)  These are the 10 designated corridors plus the Northeast Corridor.  The full results of the poll are on the U.S. News & World Report website.

The May 2009 issue of NARP News has been uploaded to the members’ section of our web site.  Click on “Login” above, just below “E-mail Signup” to access the newsletter, or click “Register” if you have not yet signed up for members’ access.  Be sure to include your membership number when registering.

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