NARP blog

TRAINS: A travel choice Americans want

Flag Stops: Making No Small Plans

Friday, February 26, 2010

Reasons to be hopeful, to be concerned, and to take action.

As we have reported, the jobs bill passed by the Senate on Monday contains no investment in 21st-century transportation alternatives like trains. Our partners at Transportation for America are calling on everyone to write Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and ask that he include investment in better transportation in a future jobs package, as more appear to be in the works. Please join us in taking action.

While we’re on the subject of taking action, why not take a minute (especially if you live in or near New Orleans) to ask New Orleans Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu to make restoring the New Orleans-Florida Gulf Coast Connector a transportation priority. Click here and scroll down to the middle left of the page.

The nascent flow of federal money to intercity passenger rail improvement is jumpstarting rail planning in states that have lagged far behind for decades. One example is West Virginia, where a small group of dedicated NARP members called Friends of the Cardinal is working with influential state legislators to enact a bill that will match $1 billion from the Recovery Act with state funds to put together both a comprehensive rail plan and a high-speed rail plan for the state. The bill, SB 527, is expected to pass the full Senate on Monday, but may face a difficult journey through the House, with the legislative session set to end on March 12. One of the rail advocates working the halls of power in Charleston, long-time NARP member Bonni McKewon, penned an op-ed for the Charleston Gazette. If you live in West Virginia, ask your Delegate in the House to work for swift passage of SB 527. You can also follow Friends of the Cardinal on Twitter.

In answering questions after his testimony [PDF] before the Senate Budget Committee this week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proclaimed that “streetcars are coming back to America,” citing Portland, Oregon, as a model for other cities. His comments come as more people are realizing how the world’s most expansive streetcar network, which covered every small and large American city early in this century, was decimated as road-building mania, combined with pressure from oil and rubber interests, made buses the seemingly more economical choice for urban transit. Yet, for a number of reasons, buses don’t attract riders the way streetcars do. More and more cities, with help from Uncle Sam, are looking to join in the American trolley revival.

New York State is already home to more train stations (of all types) than any other state, and intercity service on the New York City-Albany-Buffalo trunk line is set to be upgraded [PDF] thanks to the Recovery Act. Yet many are still pushing for brand-new high-speed tracks along this line, including the President of the state Senate. The means that Sen. Malcolm Smith’s wishes are highly appropriate—a state High-Speed Rail Authority, a council to pursue public-private partnerships, and a business council to raise awareness and build support—but more thinking is needed about how to get there. Continuing to improve service by adding more frequencies and shaving an hour or two off NYC-Buffalo travel time, and investing in connecting bus and rail service to bring more communities on-line will prove to be the best way to get to an even faster future.

LCL: One of Amtrak’s newest stations is far exceeding projections for passenger boardings and alightings since it opened. * * * The Washington-Lynchburg, Va. extension of the Northeast Regional continues to outpace ridership projections. * * * Another sign that passenger train equipment manufacturing in the US is headed for revival. * * * A Seattle resident has a pleasant Amtrak trip to the Vancouver Olympics, but a not-so-pleasant experience with border security. * * * A new Amtrak site caters to African-American riders and students at historically black colleges.

—Malcolm Kenton

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: amtrak, budget, congress, gulf coast, investment, jobs bill, legislation, new orleans, new york city, passenger trains, rail planning, ray lahood, ridership, senate, sunset limited, take action, transportation, west virginia
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Columnists Laud Amtrak Experience

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Three newspaper columns this week are singing the praises of American intercity passenger trains, enumerating their many advantages over driving and flying.

The Boston Globe’s Rebecca Ostriker tried the Lake Shore Limited from Boston to Chicago, and made a video to complement her article. She waxes poetic about the journey:

Tucking yourself into a bunk next to your own picture window, the landscape unfurling a wordless bedtime story, is a marvelous sensation. You hear the rumbling rails, the bells ding-dinging at train crossings, an occasional faint, distant whistle. As night falls, there are no more announcements over the loudspeaker, just the train rocking quietly. You linger on the views, even if all you can see are the black shadows of trees slipping away, silhouetted under the moon and stars.

She continues, describing the spontaneous camaraderie that is unique to dining and lounge cars:

You’ll surely find some kindred spirits. But it’s a funny thing, presenting yourselves to a new set of companions, one meal after another. How do you tell your own story? While you digest how others come across, you may ultimately find yourself reflecting on the show you’ve just put on. Who were we just now, for couples one, two, and three?

Mike and Liz Busch of Vancouver, British Columbia, write:

From the start the rails exposed us to the forests and mountains of the Northwest, dreamy waterfront vistas of Puget Sound, interspersed with grimy industrial back lots, sleepy little towns and a fascinating peek in to America’s back yard.

Looking back, we found the entire rail trip to be an inexpensive yet civilized mode of travel especially suited to those not rushing to the next meeting or bound by a stopwatch existence.

McClatchy’s Roger Rapoport explains why he chose Amtrak over flying:

Airlines make a big deal out of the fact that they waive some cancellation penalties when it’s their fault. But they are quick to add a hefty up charge when passengers have a change of plans. Amtrak’s change and cancellation fees are either minuscule or nonexistent.
I’ll be the first to admit that Amtrak isn’t perfect. But on the whole train service appears to be improving. During my regular weekly trips over the past two months only one of my trains was delayed a mere 45 minutes, though several others were early.

For a long time, many frequent riders considered Amtrak to be the best-kept secret in American travel. Now, happily, it seems that the cat is out of the bag.

—Malcolm Kenton

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: amtrak, columnists, driving, enjoyable, flying, intercity, journey, long-distance, newspaper, passenger train, relaxing, sleeping car, travel
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Unleashed TIGER Forges a New Path

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Just three weeks after history-making intercity passenger train grants were announced, the Obama Administration unveiled $1.5 billion in Recovery Act grants under a revolutionary framework in which rail and transit figure prominently. The program, dubbed Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER), marks the first time that the US Department of Transportation has awarded money across the institutional barriers that have historically held back funding for railroads and transit—and infrastructure that connects these with the rest of the transportation network.

As with the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail “pot,” states’ applications greatly exceeded the available funds—$56 requested for every $1 awarded. Determining what percentage of TIGER funds went to each mode of travel is (happily) difficult since many of the projects benefit multiple modes. Grants benefitting passenger rail (including rail transit) total $574.1 million (about 38% of the total), while those aiding freight rail add up to $408.8 billion (about 27%). Transit improvement ventures (subway, light rail, streetcar and bus) got $699 million (about 47%), with highways getting almost 30%, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure about 10%.

TIGER’s innovative, merit-based funding mechanism should become the mold in which most future federal transportation financing is cut. Including more funding for TIGER or a similar program in the Jobs Bill (currently before the Senate) would be an ideal way for Congress to signal its commitment to meaningful reform that will give Americans better mobility choices. NARP and our partners in the OneRail Coalition [link to come] will continue to sound the call for strong, balanced transportation investments that put rail in its rightful place as a key component in how America moves.

Read on for an overview of how the awards are distributed, or go here for complete descriptions of each funded project.

—Malcolm Kenton

» read more...

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: congress, department of transportation, federal government, funding, grants, infrastructure, investment, job creation, jobs, light rail, passenger trains, railroads, recovery act, stimulus, streetcar, tiger, transit, transportation
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Capon Praises Grants on NBC

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

This segment featuring NARP President & CEO Ross Capon appeared Saturday evening (Jan. 30) on NBC Nightly News:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: grants, high-speed rail, nbc news, passenger trains, ross capon
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Rail Grants Are Answering People’s Demands

The following letter to the editor was published in the Washington Examiner:

Since passenger train improvements have enjoyed bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, we reject your suggestion that White House unveiling of passenger-train Recovery Act grants constitutes turning a deaf ear to the recent Massachusetts election.

Indeed, polls—and Amtrak’s rising ridership—show that Americans want more trains. Put “travelers” atop your list of “those who are quite pleased by the projects.”

The majority of dollars will go to upgrade existing trains, producing tangible service improvements within one or a few years. At the other end of the spectrum, our children may look back and thank those who pushed the California and Florida very-high-speed projects. Very high energy prices threaten the future of short-distance air service.

—Ross Capon

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: amtrak, congress, high-speed rail, obama, public, ridership, trains, upgrades, washington examiner, white house
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Near-Term Rail Upgrades are Excellent Job Creators

Monday, February 01, 2010

The Associated Press’s Joan Lowy wrongly downplays the importance of the good American jobs that will be created through the Obama Administration’s investments in higher-speed intercity passenger trains in a Jan. 29 article. “There will be U.S. manufacturing and engineering jobs for slower trains often described as ‘higher speed’ or ‘midspeed,’” she writes, in a tone that suggests that these endeavors are not worthwhile compared to the kind of super high-speed trains that Europe and Asia have. In reality, the Administration’s current strategy is absolutely necessary to reboot domestic railroad manufacturing and engineering industries.

Fifty years ago, while the U.S. let railroads wither while pouring billions into new highways and airports, other industrialized countries did exactly what we are now beginning to do: make important outlays towards expanding and improving their rail networks. This laid the building blocks for their high-speed lines by providing connecting systems that feed passengers to the bullet trains and fostering a culture in which the train is a vital mode of travel.

Admittedly, it will be necessary for the U.S. to gain from other countries’ expertise in the short term, but by awarding contracts to foreign companies now, we will enhance our own knowledge base and quickly become more independent in the rail field.

We cannot simply build brand new high-speed railroads overnight. By gradually strengthening the existing rail network to allow for faster, more frequent passenger (and freight) service, we not only create jobs, but we also enhance the quality of many Americans’ travel experiences.

—Malcolm Kenton

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: ap, domestic, high-speed rail, jean lowy, job creation, jobs, manufacturing, obama, passenger trains, transportation, travel, upgrades
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