Jun 05, 2009: Hotline #607

Hotline #607
June 5, 2009

Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met June 3 with governors from eight states to discuss the future of intercity and high-speed trains in America.  The Vice President challenged the state leaders to think boldly in designing their plans, which will be funded in part by the $13 billion that President Obama has allocated for high-speed rail in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and in his budgetary outline for the next five years.

The Washington D.C. meeting followed a series of meetings around the country designed to enable the FRA to discuss the HSR Strategic Plan with key stakeholders, such as state departments of transportation, regional planning authorities, metropolitan leaders, associations (including NARP representatives) and labor groups (ARRA rules excluded lobbyists from attending).

“Everyone knows I’m a big believer in our nation’s rail system—I’ve devoted a big part of my career doing what I can to support it—and I’m proud that this Administration is about to transform that system fundamentally,” said Vice President Biden.  “Thanks to an $8 billion investment from the Recovery Act, we’re going to start building a high-speed rail system that will loosen the congestion suffocating our highways and skyways, and make travel in this country leaner, meaner and a whole lot cleaner.”

The opportunity for 100% federal money has served as a powerful stimulant for interest in passenger rail, including Governor Sonny Purdue (R) from Georgia, a state which has made little progress with passenger trains.  Secretary LaHood testified June 4 before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee [see related story, below], Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) of Michigan offered her state’s factories to help construct the new high-speed fleet.  The crisis in the American auto-manufacturing sector seems to have created a new interest in the economic benefits of modernizing the national train network.

[For more on the bankruptcy of General Motors, read an editorial on the NARP Blog, Lessons from GM’s Bankruptcy on the Consequences of a Fly-Drive Transportation System]

“America is ready to embrace a new level of passenger rail service that offers a safe, convenient, and sustainable way to travel from city to city, and region to region,” said Secretary LaHood.  “President Obama has handed us an extraordinary opportunity – and now it is up to all of us to seize the moment.  With creative input and contributions from governors across the country, I believe we’ll be able to do just that.”


The Federal Railroad Authority has posted the presentations used in their regional high-speed rail workshop meetings.  You can find PDFs of the presentations on the FRA website.


Please ask your senator to co-sponsor S. 1036 which sets forth a series of transportation goals that NARP strongly supports, including increased use of passenger and freight trains and reduced per capita highway vehicle miles traveled.  One of the key goals calls for an “increase [in] the total usage of public transportation, intercity passenger rail services, and non-motorized transportation on an annual basis.”  If you are from a rural state you can point out that the per capita reduction is a national average which could easily be met in major metro areas without impacting rural states.  Nonetheless, the American Highway Users Federation is already attacking this bill, whose only co-sponsors right now are the two who introduced it: Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller IV (D-WV) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).


The climate change bill, H.R. 2454, is expected to raise gasoline prices by 9-10 cents a gallon but none of that will go to transportation infrastructure as the bill is currently drafted.  This is in spite of the fact that 20% of the bill’s revenues come from transportation users.  Urge your representatives to tell Speaker Pelosi and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Waxman (both D-CA) that this is unacceptable.  Also, since the Senate is just starting work on a companion bill, ask your senators to see that transit and trains get at least as much of the climate change revenues as the legislation would generate in revenues from transportation users.


Congress will have to find a fix for a $5 to $7 billion shortfall to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through the end of Fiscal 2009 (September 30).  The account, which is funded by transportation user fees, primarily the gas tax, has been hurt by continuing spending increases over the years while user fees were not increased, and hurt dramatically in the past year by decreased revenues.

The news was first announced Tuesday by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) at a Committee on Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing for President Obama’s nominee to head the Federal Highway Administration.  Senator Boxer, who said she first heard the information during a conference call with White House staff last month, also revealed $8 billion to $10 billion will be needed to finance projects already authorized through the end of FY2010.  The administration’s budget projects a total need for $39.5 billion in general funds (highways and transit) to bail out the Highway Trust Fund in Fiscal 2010; see page 2 of our June newsletter.

U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood was asked about this shortfall at the June 3 House Appropriations subcommittee.  “I assure you that we will soon have a plan to address the potential trust fund shortfall this summer,” said the Secretary. “We believe very strongly that any trust fund fix must be paid for.”

When pressed by the subcommittee Chairman, John Olver (D-MA), LaHood said he has made recommendations to the White House but would not reveal what they were, instead reiterating that he was confident they would have a specific financing plan this summer.  LaHood was prominently rebuked by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs (and then defended by House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Jim Oberstar, D-MN) for suggesting a vehicle miles traveled tax might be on the table as a possible solution to the chronic deficit.

In 2008, $8 billion in general funds were transferred to cover a deficit in the trust fund.


Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Senate Commerce Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) reached a deal this Monday to include antitrust exemption for freight railroads as part of any future Surface Transportation Board reauthorization bill.

Rockefeller had objected to Kohl’s efforts to bring a separate antitrust repeal bill, saying the manner should be part of a comprehensive effort to reform the national surface transportation plan.  Kohl, satisfied that his objectives would be met by the Commerce committee, joined Rockefeller in asking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to withdraw the vote that was scheduled on Tuesday.


Passenger train and mass transit advocates are pressing Congressional House leaders to include Senate-passed language that would allow transit agencies to use Recovery Act funds to cover operating-costs.

The provision was part of the Senate version of the supplemental spending bill for the Iraq and Afghanistan war.  With city, municipal, and state operating budgets being slashed, many agencies are being forced to consider cutting staff and service, leaving them unable to handle the dramatic increases in ridership.  While ARRA was written to fund only new construction, this amendment would allow as much as 10% of the funding from the stimulus bill to go towards agencies’ salaries and maintenance, and offer a lifeline to struggling transit organizations.

House and Senate conferees will to hash out the differences in the bill, and passenger train and transit advocates are already fighting for the inclusion of this language.  A letter written by Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Highways and Transit Subcommittee, and signed by 26 other Representatives, was sent out to House, saying “In order to maintain consistent and reliable service for riders, access to operations assistance in these tough economic times is crucial.”


The Texas Legislature’s session adjourned this Monday without passing a budget or a safety-net.  In a chaotic last day, the House adjourned without letting the Senate know, allowing them to work into the night beyond the point where a resolution was possible.

While dozens of agencies are at risk, and severe cutbacks would have to be made across the board, at least three agencies will close if a fix is not passed in a special session: the Texas Racing Commission, the Texas Department of Insurance. and the Affordable Housing Commission.

“What the House did was they wrecked the TxDOT budget, and that would have put billions of dollars’ worth of projects at risk and tens of thousands of jobs at risk,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) said.

The Senate expects Governor Rick Perry will call them back into a special legislative session to address the problem.


Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia announced new Amtrak service between Richmond and Washington D.C. this Wednesday.  He called the new state-supported intercity service, which comes shortly after the announcement of a new daily passenger train between Lynchburg and the nation’s capitol, as a way to ensure more passenger and freight rail transportation options.

“We cannot engage the future without a strong commitment to passenger rail in these vital corridors, providing more transportation choices for all Virginians while helping grow our economy,” Governor Kaine said in a prepared statement. “I appreciate the commitment of Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern to make these new services a reality. This is a first step toward a national vision of rail and ensures Virginia’s place in that larger network.”

The Richmond to D.C. trains will begin to run December 2009.  A full list of stops and schedules can be found on the Governor’s website.


Vermont passengers, officials, and freight railroad representatives met last week to debate the future of the Vermonter.  With passenger numbers climbing, some see a golden opportunity to improve service by rebuilding a stretch of Connecticut River track with stimulus money.  The new alignment would save as much as 45 minutes.

However, there has arisen a highly unusual situation in which two freight railroad companies are arguing over who gets to run passenger trains on their line.  New England Central Railroad, backed by the Vermont Rail Council, has questioned whether this plan is fair, since it would use public money to improve the track of Pan Am Southern, a direct competitor of theirs.  They asked whether the money couldn’t be used to upgrade New England Central track, on which the Vermonter currently runs. 

The answer given by the consultants hired to do the feasibility study on the route change, HDR Inc., was an unequivocal “no.”  At stake is $25 million to $30 million in federal money.

Although the change will happen on Massachusetts land, the opinion of Vermont state agencies will carry the most weight, since they essentially pay the operating costs for the route north of Springfield, MA, with a little help from Amtrak.

“[New England Central Railroad] serves our state very, very well,” Charlie Miller, Chairman of the Rail Council for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, told reporters from the Rutland Herald.  “The last thing we want to do is cause them financial harm.”  From a passenger standpoint, however, direct service up the old Connecticut River line (including Holyoke and Northampton) would take much less time.  Amherst service could be preserved using a connecting bus.


Amtrak has released their Guest Rewards “power points” for the summer traveling season.  The deals, coming through partner transactions, give passengers the chance to earn bonus points from June 1 until August 31.


Amtrak announced last Friday that their Vice-President of Security, William Rooney, has left the company.  Rooney played a key role in Amtrak’s response to 9/11, developing the company’s counterterrorism unit and reaching out to federal and international counterterrorism agencies.

Amtrak said John O’Connor, the police chief for the passenger-train service, will temporarily take over Rooney’s former responsibilities, until the police and security departments are eventually combined.

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