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National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org
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. |