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Jan 29, 2010: Hotline #639Hotline #639 President Barack Obama officially kicked off a new era in American passenger trains in his January 27 State of the Union address and in events around the country with long-awaited announcements of where most of the $8 billion in Recovery Act “high speed rail” dollars will go. In the State of the Union, the President said: “From the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products. Tomorrow, I’ll visit Tampa, Florida, where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the Recovery Act. (Applause.) There are projects like that all across this country that will create jobs and help move our nation’s goods, services, and information. (Applause.)” If you can tell us the last time a State of the Union address has mentioned transportation of any kind, please do! (See historical note at the end of today’s hotline.) NARP hailed the Administration’s actions in back-to-back releases—a general one on January 27 after media reports indicated that 13 corridors affecting 31 states would benefit, and a January 28 listing of each project with our positive comments. NARP believes that the Obama Administration made good on their commitment to disburse the money on the basis of projects’ merit. [You can find the video and full transcript of the State of the Union at WhiteHouse.gov.] Funding Goals Begin to Solidify The White House released a detailed plan following the President’s address. Generally, the Northeast will see $485 million between 22 applications; the Southeast will see $1,876 million between 11 applications; the Midwest will see $2,617 million between 24 applications; and the West will see $2,943 million between 24 applications. [You see a .PDF of the full list of the projects on White House.gov] California, Florida and Illinois were the biggest winners. California won $2.25 billion for its super-HSR project plus $94 million for conventional services. Florida gets $1.25 billion for Phase One (Tampa-Orlando) of its super-HSR plan. Significantly, however, and in line with NARP’s predictions and wishes, the Administration resisted pressure to put all in the money in one or two states, and indeed put a majority of the funds towards improving existing (or starting new) conventional services. In that category, Illinois took $1.2 billion for Chicago-St. Louis improvements aimed at 110 mph operation, including environmental studies on double-tracking. But there are also a number of significant apportionments to other areas—like upgrades to the Seattle to Portland line and Ohio’s Cincinnati-Cleveland-Columbus (3-C) corridor—demonstrating that the Administration’s is serious about incrementally upgrading the entire national train network to high and higher speed rail. NARP said these projects “promise to bring Americans freedom to choose an attractive alternative to crowded highways and airports while making it easier for travelers to connect among trains, cars, planes and local transit. The investments will stimulate economic development in on-line communities, with emphasis on pedestrian- and transit-friendly development that supports travelers’ ‘freedom to choose’ how they get around.” Many people in population heavy regions like Texas (which only got $4 million) and the Northeast ($485 million) have expressed frustration at receiving such a small percentage of the available funds. However, President Obama, by providing significant funds for planning, is incentivizing state agencies that are behind the curve to do the necessary preparation for the next round of grants. “New lines will not be built overnight, and a sustained investment over time will be needed to achieve results.” Federal Railroad Authority administrator Joseph Szabo told the New York Times. Responses Overwhelmingly Positive, But Not Unanimously So Amtrak, the nation’s biggest train operator, came out strongly in favor of the selected projects. Of the $8 billion awarded, $4.5 billion are for state projects that support improvements to current or future Amtrak routes. “Amtrak is a major part of the future of intercity passenger rail in America,” said President and CEO Joseph Boardman. “We are eager to work with our state partners to move these projects forward as quickly as possible.” However, a key Republican high speed rail supporter criticized the President’s strategy of nationwide, incremental improvements, arguing that the FRA ignored the requirements set by Congress in the last passenger rail reauthorization act. “The projects chosen by the administration were not transparently selected and lack adequate private sector financial commitment,” said Rep. John Mica (R-FL) in a prepared statement. “Just spending huge amounts of federal taxpayer funds will not insure success of these megaprojects.” While Mr. Mica represents a district in Florida, one of the big winners in the allocation of the Recovery Act funds, he has been a long-time, vocal proponent of establishing 150 mph and faster service along the Northeast Corridor first and foremost, before focusing any Federal investment for high speed rail in other corridors. The ranking Member on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure argues that the population density and geographic arrangement of the NEC provides a unique opportunity to begin European-style train service, which he hopes will lure private investment in the system. The U.S. Department of Transportation actively defended the soundness of the awards, in a statement which echoed NARP’s views. “[These] particular investments we’re making today—they make sense,” said U.S. DOT Secretary LaHood in a post on the official DOT blog. “We’re connecting cities that are too close for efficient air travel but—with the highways connecting these cities nearly choked beyond capacity—too far for productive road travel. A report issued by a Clean Air Task Force commissioned last year by the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (RHAMC) found that passengers waiting for at Union Station for Metra and Amtrak trains are being exposed to concentrations of airborne particulate matter of 844 micrograms per cubic meter on the station’s platform, and 192 micrograms per cubic meter inside the station. The EPA deems daily average exposure of over 35 micrograms per cubic meter to be unsafe. “You can literally see the air [at Union Station at rush hour]… It’s blue with diesel exhaust,” Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs for RHAMC, told the Chicago Reporter. “Literally tens of thousands of people are getting a nice hefty dose of diesel exhaust.” “When the doors close and the train pulls out, it’s essentially a smoky box on wheels,” Urbaszewski went on to say. “The smoke stays inside the train car, and people are breathing it for a prolonged period of time.” Senators Byron Dorgan (D) and Kent Conrad (D), along with at-large Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D) inquired about the truth of the rumors that the Empire Builder would be redirected from the Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby stations which it currently serves to a more direct route; the current route traces a 277 mile arc, compared to the 195 miles that BNSF freight trains use on the alternate line. Amtrak announced they have no intention to discontinue service along the longer—but more populated—route, according to the Grand Forks Herald. This reroute also was threatened in 1989 and was dropped then in response to political resistance. The North Dakota delegation has affirmed that they will work with Amtrak and BNSF—which owns both sets of tracks in consideration—to shore up problems areas on the 277 mile arc, which is under threat by high water near the Devil’s Lakes Subdivision and where track is not up to the same standard as BNSF’s mainline. When traveling on days between Thursday and Monday, riders will be able to buy an $85 round-trip fare on the train that runs between New York City and Montreal through the winter. Accompanying children (up to two) are also eligible for a special fare of $42.50. “We thank our partners in the State of New York for their continued support of Amtrak and passenger rail,” said Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak’s Vice President of Marketing. “We hope that the discount fare promotion announced today will assist in encouraging travelers to experience New York State’s diverse destinations and enable them to enjoy the state’s wonderful scenery.” Customers must enter the offer code “X 403” when purchasing tickets, and must make reservations three days in advance. The offer is good until April 19, 2010. Check Amtrak.com for all applicable restrictions. Eurostar, which operates a high speed connection between London and Paris and Brussels, reported that it took in £675.5 million this year (a 1.7% increase over FY2008), and carried 9.2 million passengers (an increase of 1.2% over FY2008). The increases came despite the major disruptions which occurred the December 18-20 during a severe winter storm that buried the Eastern United States and Western Europe. In one instance, passengers were trapped in the tunnel which runs under the English Channel for as many as 12 hours without heat or power. The breakdown, blamed on a buildup of ice on electrical equipment, came during one the busiest travel weekends of the year, and led to an outcry of such magnitude that French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a public statement chastising the railroad. Eurostar issued an apology, and promised it was taking steps to prevent further breakdowns in the future.
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