A major transportation bill charts new territory, Chinese rail investment attracts major corporations, two passenger rail critics miss the point, and more on this week’s roundup of reactions and ruminations related to rail.
Last week, Chaiman James Oberstar (D-WI) of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee unveiled his much-anticipated draft of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act. Transportation for America has the executive summary and full text (90 pages), and a discussion of how it would affect states and locales seeking money for new transit systems. The Transport Politic and Streetsblog DC also have commentary worth reading. NARP is encouraged that a rail title was included, representing a change from initial plans and a first for a major surface transportation bill. However, to our knowledge, the $50 billion authorized for the new high-speed rail program over five years still lacks a funding source.
China’s $87.9-billion rail investment is generating a lot of economic activity, and not just in China. IBM and General Electric are joining other multinational companies in producing the technology and infrastructure that could soon make China the world leader in rail volume and sophistication. Ramped-up rail investment on the home front would make a similar impact, generating a sizeable number of both blue- and white-collar jobs.
Bill Farley’s Charleston (SC) Post and Courierop-ed calling for an Amtrak shutdown shows that hostility to passenger trains is alive and well among the usual suspects. Distances between many U.S. cities are comparable to those in Europe. The key to the success of intercity trains there is that pedestrian- and transit-friendly urban development patterns enhance their accessibility and proximity to final destinations. but many depend on Amtrak even in less populated areas. The main reason why some foreign intercity passenger rail lines seem profitable is that their balance sheets do not account for the massive public investments that went into their construction nor the urban and suburban transit lines that feed into them, which nobody expects to be profitable. The U.S. is making progress on this score—consider Dallas whose train station is the hub of light rail and commuter rail services, and St. Louis where the new multimodal terminal has linked Amtrak to the highly successful light rail service and Lambert Airport. Farley also whined, “There are vast areas of this country where nobody lives and/or nobody wants to go.” But many depend on Amtrak even in less populated areas, not just in Montana, North Dakota and East Texas but in many of the other smaller cities that Amtrak serves. More and more Americans are taking trains, and with the proper investment and guidance, they can once again become “a major mover of people.”
A known critic of rail investment and smart growth policies once again focuses on the non-issue of passenger rail’s profitability. Why doesn’t anyone ever ask why highway construction and maintenance isn’t profitable, or why the air traffic control system doesn’t make money? Because that’s not the point. We invest in transportation infrastructure because society and the economy benefit from the dividends, and because almost all other profitable enterprises depend on efficient mobility.
LCL: Secretary LaHood talks up DOT’s guidance for high-speed and intercity passenger rail proposals; rail industry leaders discuss electrification in the US, Canada & Britain; Switzerland and Italy are working on the world’s longest railroad tunnel (35 miles Zurich to Milan); Michiganders hear a dubious proposal for a privately-financed hydrogen-powered maglev line while their cash-strapped state threatens to cut its operating grant for Amtrak and potentially terminate a route in the state; Michigan’s top transportation official defends high-speed rail; dramatic on-time performance gains draw riders back to the rails in Missouri; Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) wisely shelves maglev support in favor of the more acheivable Desert XPress proposal (meanwhile, the Las Vegas Sunevaluates the competing bullet-train proposals);federal rail money turns heads in Atlanta; and an op-ed in New Jersey’s Daily Recordechoes NARP’s concerns about the new tunnels under the Hudson River.
Food for thought on one of the busiest travel holidays of the year.
Few would defend America’s current transport policy. Each year congestion costs more than $78 billion in wasted hours and petrol. Washington’s main transport strategy has been not to have one. The Department of Transportation (DoT) runs 108 different programmes. But an integrated system for planning—one that includes passenger rail, freight, highways and mass transport—does not exist. Full analyses of projects’ costs or benefits are rare. —The Economist, June 20-26
As we head into one of the busiest travel holidays of the year, when many will face slow going on the roads and crowded flights, it is a good time to remind ourselves just how much work is needed to make our society as mobile as it could be. Despite a small drop in gas prices, USA Todayreports in a cover story that the country is in the midst of “the longest and steepest decline in driving since the invention of the automobile.” Since last November, the drop in vehicle miles traveled on American thoroughfares is akin to “taking between 8 million and 10 million drivers off the road.” Much of this may be due to the state of the economy, which is forcing many to forego travel or adjust their plans, but the article also notes the increasing number of Americans opting for less car-dependent lifestyles. It makes one wonder if we would be better able to weather this recession if we had a smart transportation strategy, one that provided real choices and made getting around safer and more affordable, accessible and enjoyable for all. Motor vehicles alone will not be able to provide the mobility people are demanding in a way that enhances our quality of life.
Fortunately, the woeful state of American mobility is receiving long-overdue attention in Washington. But, as The Economist notes (and NARP has been pointing out for some time), the main well of money for transportation improvements is about to run dry, and we don’t have a viable plan for replenishing it. A set of worthy goals has been written, but the Obama Administration wants to borrow from the General Fund to pay for them, a desire confirmed in a document released by DOT this week (see Hotline #611, 3rd story). Tapping into the Treasury for such consistent expenditures is highly unsustainable in the long run as it adds to the defecit and relies on the whims of Congressional appropriators. The Administration says it needs more time to figure out a sustainable long-term funding mechanism that will also repay the loans from the General Fund.
Congress has given us “cash for clunkers,” yet we struggle to find the cash to overhaul our ‘clunker’ of a transportation system. If we don’t get on track (literally and figuratively) to a robust and sustainable system now, all Americans will continue to pay a higher price: as travelers, consumers and taxpayers. It’s up to all of us as citizens and voters to give our leaders the political will to do what needs to be done. We must pay a little more now to build the safe, efficient, multi-modal mobility network we deserve in order to avoid a great deal of pain later.
The office of Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) has obtained a preliminary draft of Amtrak’s Congressionally-mandated study [PDF] of the possibility of restoring the Pioneer between Salt Lake City and Seattle. It presents a very conservative ridership estimate—even lower than actual ridership was when the train last ran in 1992—and says the new equipment and track upgrades required would take at least four years once the company gets the go-ahead from Congress.
A land developer from Maine went to Ohio to spread the word about the wonders that new passenger trains can work for local economies. He touted the fact that every dollar his home state put in to initiating and operating the Downeaster has brought about $70 in additional construction investment, creating 18,000 new jobs. He thinks Ohio’s 3-C corridor could do the same.
A Washington Postreview of Green Metropolis by David Owen, which has just been added to the NARP Bookstore on Amazon.com, emphasizes Owen’s strongest point about the consequences of overreliance on the automobile: “The real problem with cars is not that they don’t get enough miles to the gallon, it’s that they make it too easy for people to spread out, encouraging forms of development that are inherently wasteful and damaging.” This is something NARP has been pointing out for years, even when doing so puts us in the minority of green-minded groups.
Phoenix’s 9-month-old light rail line is converting skeptics—and bucking the national trend—by carrying almost 7,000 more daily riders than projected, the vast majority being leisure riders, reports the New York Times. In most cities, 60 percent or more of transit users are commuters, but only 29% of Phoenix light rail riders take it to work and back. It goes to show how well transit can work, even in a metropolis that is practically the epitome of sprawl.
A Philadelphia Inquirer article paints a not-so-pretty picture of the condition of Amtrak-owned infrastructure, which the company revealed only after government watchdogs threatened to file suit. Several bridges on the Northeast and Keystone corridors have been rated “poor” by Amtrak’s own inspectors, showing such overt signs of decay as corroded beams, holes, and trees growing through cracks. The these pieces of the physical plant remain neglected, the more it’s going to cost, in terms of safety as well as dollars.
Amtrak adds a new city to its list of destinations this week with the reopening of Icicle Station in Leavenworth, Washington, which will be served daily by the Empire Builder’s Seattle section.
LCL: A preprogrammed “Balanced Transportation Analyzer” (Excel file) gives you the chance to play policymaker and come up with a plan to ease congestion in the Big Apple. * * * Thomas Friedman says US lawmakers don’t have the guts to raise the gas tax. * * * A video high-speed rail wish from a future rail advocacy leader. * * * A slight setback for Tar Heel travelers: a new Raleigh-Charlotte train will come, but not until early next year. * * * There’s one industrialized country the United States appears to be a few steps ahead of on high-speed rail: our neighbor to the north.
The auto subsidies roll on: GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors, is likely to get a $5.6 billion new capital injection from the US Treasury “in the form of preferred equity,” according to two unnamed sources. [Financial Times]
Columnist Dan Walters offers up reasons for his skepticism towards the viability of California’s planned new high-speed rail corridor. He shortsightedly limits his estimate of the line’s economic benefits to the direct construction and operation jobs created. The indirect boosts to the economies of the cities served by the route—as they are literally brought closer together—would be far greater than its direct impact on employment. The CAHSR Blog has a point-by-point rebuttal. Meanwhile, CAHSR’s list of backers is growing by the day.
Travel writer Rob Lovitt heralds recent expansions to the Amtrak network—including the Northeast Regional extension to Lynchburg and the addition of a Portland-Vancouver Cascades round trip—and the railroad’s second-highest yearly ridership total in its history, as signs that trains’ popularity is growing.
The Gulf States are set to spend over $100 billion on rail projects in the coming years—no, we’re not talking about Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida (though we wish we were!).
CQ’s transportation reporter Colby Itkowitz contrasts political attitudes towards transportation in the US with those in Germany, where highways and inter-city rail receive equivalent funding because the country’s leaders recognize that transportation is a “major basis of prosperity and quality of life.” It is up to the majority of Americans who know this to be true to press as hard as we can to translate our vision into better public policy. [Streetsblog DC]
Amtrak’s study of returning service to the North Coast Hiawatha route is generating anticipation along the line, as reflected in articles in the Bismarck Tribune and the Missoulian.
LCL: An Amtrak service milestone reminds residents of Port Huron, Michigan, of the train’s importance to the area’s economy and quality of life. *** Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood issues an ultimatum to the Florida legislature, saying the state will lose federal funds for a “shovel-ready” commuter rail line if it doesn’t pitch in its share. *** My hometown newspaper strongly endorses North Carolina’s bid for Recovery Act high-speed rail funds, calling the expansion of passenger rail capacity “a critical infrastructure investment.” *** The Idaho Statesmanexplains local rail advocates’ concerns—echoed by NARP and Sen. Michael Crapo (R-ID)—with Amtrak’s Pioneer restoration report. *** A slice of life at a typical stop on a long-distance train.
This map—courtesy of our friends over at Transportation For America—show how widespread the negative effects of the recession has been. Click on a pin to see transit agency details, and what cuts are being considered (yellow pins designate a Stranded at the Station case study).
In a speech given earlier this week to the heads of transit agencies from across the country, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood expressed support for growing transit systems in American cities, but warned that a “lousy economy” would hinder efforts to increase levels of federal investment.
The speech, given as part of the annual conference held by the American Public Transportation Association in Washington, D.C., included a question and answer session, where transit heads expressed frustration at the lack of a permanent, transit-friendly successor to the federal surface transportation policy which expired last fall (Congress has been passing a series of short-term extensions in the meantime). Passengers across the country have been hurt as transit agencies faced with widening budgetary shortfalls—due to decreased commuter traffic resulting from high levels of unemployment, and decreased tax revenue in general—are forced to choose between cuts in service and fare hikes. (New Jersey Transit, New York City’s MTA, and Washington D.C.‘s WMATA have all recently been faced with these decisions)
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