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Star-Telegram Op-Ed: Trains are the ideal stimulus
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
In a brilliant op-ed piece Monday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Spending on rail would be a wise move, Andrew Warren makes the strong case that investments in commuter train systems represent an ideal form of economic stimulus, one that “generates multiple short-term and long-range benefits.” He hits on the necessarily domestically-sourced labor that would be put to work in a wide range of professions designing, building, and operating the systems, the environmental and energy efficiency benefits of trains, and the superior land use effects versus highway construction. He ends the column with this fine point on what’s worth our taxpayer money:
We could give tax breaks or refunds to be spent on Chinese shoes, Thai clothes and Korean TVs. Or we can invest in a better, cleaner, more secure future and create American jobs at the same time. Washington should fund this national security program that stimulates our economy and protects our environment.
This is essential reading as Congress and President-Elect Obama consider the optimal, most efficient uses of public funds in an economic stimulus package.
—Matthew Melzer
Posted by NARP
Tags: commuter rail, congress, economic stimulus, energy, environment, land use, president,Commuter trains return to Baghdad
Thursday, December 11, 2008
NBC News profiled Baghdad’s reincarnated commuter rail system, which has seen trains plodding along one line of the Iraqi Republic Railways since October. As with any burgeoning rail system, infrastructure upgrades and marketing are key challenges. But Baghdad’s system faces the unique adversities of security threats, societal upheaval, and tenuous governmental structures. The Los Angeles Times also shed light on Baghdad’s commuter trains last month.
Hopefully the system will be successful in the long term and symbolize normalcy and stability for weary residents, as well as deliver benefits to commuters tired of facing the hazards and inconveniences of road travel in the region.
—Matthew Melzer
Posted by NARP
Tags: baghdad, commuter rail, iraq, iraqi republic railways,Give Providence airport station time to realize its potential
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A Providence, RI local blogger has called the newly-opened train station at T.F. Green Airport in the Providence suburb of Warwick a “boondoggle,” saying that the fact that Amtrak won’t stop there makes it an “economic development white elephant.”
The truth is that the MBTA commuter trains that will soon serve the airport stop will help residents of Providence’s southern suburbs access downtown, as well as Boston and points in between. Furthermore, the station was designed with Amtrak access in mind; the main barrier being the lack of electrification of the station tracks. NARP Council member Steven Musen responds:
This station can be justified merely by the fact that it consolidates all of the rental car companies in one place. Patrons of those companies can access Route 95 via the Airport Connector which is almost out the Jefferson Boulevard Entrance of the Parking Garage. By not having to shuttle the cars from their former parking lots to the terminal building it is estimated that 10% of the existing traffic on that section of Post Road in front of the terminal will be eliminated, thus saving on gas use and local air pollution.
The commuter trains will be a great incentive to those persons working at the airport and nearby businesses as well a local residents who want to get to Boston. While the cost of parking may be higher than Attleboro ($4.00 a day), the savings in gasoline and having to fight route 95 traffic through Providence may make it competitive. Next year the train will be extended to Wickford Junction and an additional market from Hillsgrove will be available.
Amtrak can not stop at the Hillsgrove, because the siding (The FRIP or Freight Rail Improvement Project) is not electrified. However,eventual electrication was designed into the building along with reserving a vacant space on the second level of the garage as a waiting room. When the Coronado street bridge over the tracks is replaced it is possible to put in a fourth track under the station and electrify that as well. These things were not done now because it would have cost an additional $50 million at the very least and the state is limited in its resources.
Amtrak will eventually realize that it is missing an important market at Hillsgrove, and having most of the station in place will be a major help in correcting that ommission.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: airport station, commuter rail, economic development, narp council of representatives, passenger trains, providence, rhode island, t.f. green airport,HSR, commuter rail and transit discussed at RailPac/NARP meeting in L.A.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Yesterday I attended the joint meeting of RailPac and NARP at the Los Angeles Metro headquarters building at [Los Angeles] Union Station.
The day of presentations included updates from Metrolink’s CEO on future plans including express service to start in May and PTC implementation. Californians for High Speed Rail’s Daniel Krause talked about their vision for seeing HSR implemented in California and Friend for Expo Transit and the Sierra Club’s Darrel Clarke discussed lessons from grass roots organizing for light rail in Los Angeles.
NARP Chairman Bob Stewart updated the group on national efforts for passenger rail and HSR, affirming as one of the organization’s goal’s as seeing a true HSR system established in the US in the next several years. Gene Skoropowski gave an excellent presentation. Known to many of us as the managing director of the Capital Corridor, he is now a consultant at HNTB working on the LOSSAN [Los Angeles-San Diego] corridor. He gave a very good presentation on the success of the Capital Corridor working with Union Pacific, updates on trying to rationalize service on the Surfliner corridor and establishing commuter service to Santa Barbara.
Remarking on the Florida Governor’s rejection of federal HSR funding (despite the guarentees potential builders made for the project’s financing), Skoropowski said that Alstom and other contractors feel thoroughly burned by Florida, a state that was once on target to have America’s first true HSR
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: bob stewart, california high-speed rail, commuter rail, daniel krause, eugene skoropowski, hans van winkle, los angeles, los angeles metro, metrolink, narp, railpac,Hopping the Local: Northeast Edition
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Here is a round-up of items of interest from the January and February newsletters of state rail passenger associations in the Northeast:
From the Empire State Passenger Association’s ESPA Express
- The total amount of money committed to passenger rail improvement projects in New York State from all sources (federal, state and local) now exceeds $300 million.
- New York State is investing $54.6 million in constructing a high-speed third track on the CSX Empire Corridor mainline west of Rochester, and is now finalizing the agreements necessary for work to begin. Completion will mean more reliable Empire Service, Maple Leaf, and Lake Shore Limited trains.
- The nine-member New York State High-Speed Rail Planning Board, created by legislation signed into law October 19, 2009, remains empty. Neither former Governor David Paterson nor current Governor Andrew Cuomo (both D) have made an appointment to the Board.
- Amtrak Empire District Superintendent Kevin Chittenden wants Amtrak riders in New York State to tell him about their trips. Both positive and negative feedback is encouraged. Write to him c/o Amtrak / 525 East St. / Rensselaer, NY 12144-2324 and send a copy to ESPA President Bruce Becker.
- The Finger Lakes Railway announced that it will not run excursion trains on its former New York Central and Lehigh Valley lines this year, apparently due to the slow economy. There is a small possibility that a third-party operator will come in to run the trains.
From the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers’ Delaware Valley Rail Passenger
- UTS-Rotem, a Japanese-based railcar manufacturer, is making new equipment for the Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority’s (SEPTA) Regional Rail service, at its new plant in South Philadelphia, representing the company’s first built-in-America trains. However, the company is already past its contractural deadline to deliver the entire order to SEPTA, and is paying SEPTA $200 per car per day in late fees.
- On March 13, SEPTA restored Sunday Regional Rail service from Philadelphia to Wilmington, Delaware’s newly-reopened Biden Station.
- DVARP remains opposed to key aspects of SEPTA’s plans to introduce new fare payment technology that it worries will inconvenience riders and force many to pay more than they currently do.
- New Jersey Transit completed the southward extension of the Hudson-Bergen Line light rail to 8th Street in Bayonne on January 31.
From the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers’ Newsletter Report
- Capital improvements are being made to the Trenton-Camden diesel light-rail River Line, including the installation of more double track that will result in better timekeeping.
- Construction of the Pennsauken Transit Center is progressing. The facility will make possible a direct transfer between the River Line and New Jersey Transit regional rail service to Atlantic City and Philadelphia. This will bring Atlantic City closer by rail to many other New Jersey communities.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: amtrak, commuter rail, empire corridor, new jersey, new york, northeast, passenger trains, pennsylvania, philadelphia, river line, septa, transit,Keep commuter rail and transit benefit on equal footing with driving!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
[Update: the Washington Post is reporting that “pretax parking benefits would rise from $230 a month to $240 a month because of inflation.” ; last edited December 14]
Our partners over at Transportation For America have pointed out something that has slipped by mostly unnoticed in the larger conversation about transportation funding for fiscal year 2012: a transit benefit that provides a tax credit for workers who use mass-transit to commute is set to be nearly halved come this January.
Currently, the annual mass-transit benefit is the same as the tax break commuters receive for parking costs, thanks to a provision introduced by the Recovery Act in 2009. This provision was extended last winter, but will expire at the end of December if no action is taken by Congress.
From T4A’s website:
[If] you take transit to get to work each day you could be paying more out of your own pocket when the tax benefit for transit is cut in half. If that wasn’t enough, drivers will keep enjoying the same great parking benefit ($230) – nearly double what transit commuters will be eligible to receive. We don’t think that’s fair, and Congress needs to hear about it.
So if you spend more than $120 a month on your commute in a vanpool, train or bus, the federal government will be sending a message loud and clear: they’d like you to start driving to work, where you can get $230 for parking deducted from your paycheck tax free.
This is another example of the double standard that exists when it comes to trains and transit versus roads and highways. Money spent on the former is a “subsidy,” while money spent on the latter is an “investment.” It’s entirely unacceptable for our nation’s leaders to incentivize people to move away from a mode of transportation that saves energy, lowers harmful emissions, reduces commuter congestion, and decreases America’s dependence on foreign oil.
T4A is hosting a campaign to tell Senators to support an extension of the worker transit benefit, and NARP encourages you to take a few minutes to support this effort.
Already, a bipartisan group of 22 Senators has signed onto a letter calling for the extension to be enacted.
“Eliminating the mass-transit credit would take a cut out of the paychecks of hardworking middle-class families trying to get by in an already tough economy,” said Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), who serves in the Senate Finance Committee. “Promoting the use of mass transit helps our workers but it also helps reduce traffic congestion on our region’s highways and improve air quality by taking thousands of cars off the road.”
Posted by NARP
Tags: ben cardin, commuter rail, mass-transit benefit, t4a, transit,Forces rally around stopping House’s transportation bill
Thursday, February 09, 2012
It’s been a hectic week for rail and transit advocates (along with organizations focused on smart growth, labor, environmental protection, domestic equipment manufacturing and supply, and so on and so forth), who have been fighting tooth-and-nail to oppose a House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee transportation reauthorization what would gut funding for public transportation and starve the intercity and high-speed rail program.
Within the next seven days, the U.S. House will vote on H.R. 7, the so-called “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.” NARP is joining our allies at Transportation for America and the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association (along with countless others) in opposing this bill.
Please call your Representative today and urge him or her to vote “no” on H.R. 7, mentioning specifically your opposition to the drastic transit cuts, the California high-speed rail prohibition, and the provision penalizing transit systems that operate rail lines.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Representative’s office. Click here to find out who represents you (enter your 9-digit ZIP code in the top right corner of the page).
Posted by NARP
Tags: commuter rail, house t&i, hr 7, light rail, ray lahood, surface transportation reauthorization, transit,©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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