 | NARP blogTRAINS: A travel choice Americans want |
» Visit the Official NARP Website
Szabo: Higher-speed Passenger and Freight Trains Can Coexist
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
A recent article in the Economist magazine discusses some freight railroads’ concerns that higher-speed passenger trains on their tracks would hamper their business. Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo—whose agency has proposed guidelines that railroads accepting public funds should meet regarding passenger service levels—wrote the following unpublished letter to Economist in response:
Your article “High-speed Railroading” (July 24) did an excellent job of articulating the many benefits of the American freight rail system, which is truly the best in the world. The Obama Administration has committed significant resources to maintaining and improving that system, through investments in crucial freight rail infrastructure like the recent TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant for the Crescent Corridor Intermodal Freight Rail project.
However, the assertion in the article that freight and passenger rail cannot successfully coexist is not supported by the facts. On the contrary, passenger and freight rail have been successfully sharing infrastructure since the beginning of railroading more than 150 years ago. With good modeling, planning and engineering, we can ensure capacity levels appropriate to the operating needs of both. That is why we are working closely with States and host freight railroads to reach operating agreements that define responsibilities, achieve balance between the private and public interests, and ensure optimal operations for both interests.
The Economist implies that these balanced agreements are unachievable, but through open dialogue and good-faith negotiations, the States and the freight railroads can finalize agreements that ensure strong service outcomes and allow both types of rail to prosper. In many cases, high-speed rail investments will add double and triple tracks, as well as new sidings and signal improvements, which over time will allow freight and high-speed passenger trains to coexist at the optimal speeds for each. This process will require hard work, but win-win agreements that grow passenger and freight rail service will bring the highest level of benefits to the nation by relieving highway congestion, improving air quality and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. That’s a win for every American citizen.
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: federal railroad administration, freight railroads, grant agreements, high-speed rail, infrastructure, public benefits, public funds, trains, transportation, us dot,BNSF/Washington State/Amtrak/FRA Agreement: Big Step Forward for HSR Program
Friday, March 04, 2011
There was an important and positive passenger train announcement Feb. 26: federal, state and BNSF Railway officials at last finalized the agreement needed to trigger release of the $590 million in Recovery Act funds awarded to the State of Washington a year ago. Let the work begin!
The “if-it-bleeds-it-leads” media mentality helps explain why more publicity has gone to governors who do not want high/higher speed rail funds than to those who do. Also, of course, it is news when governors turn down big chunks of federal money for any purpose.
In an effort to bring a more positive focus to the passenger train issue, we are placing the Cascades award as the lead story in the March issue of NARP News we are now finalizing.
For more detail on the Cascades success story, see the excellent article in the April issue of Trains that starts on page 46 (written before the Feb. 26 announcement). Trains explains the difference between approaches to date by Oregon and Washington, and why Oregon got only a small Recovery Act grant. This story should be required reading for everyone who has criticized FRA’s handling of the Recovery Act’s high speed rail program.
Yes, FRA was understaffed to get $8 billion out quickly, but the evidence we have seen suggests that FRA’s decisions have been sound and—as FRA officials have insisted all along—will provide a solid foundation for a new program whose growing importance is continually underlined by world events.
The “not quickly” complaint reminds me of what my passionately Democratic, late uncle once said with a smile about vote counters in heavily Democratic East Cleveland: “They count slow, but they count good.” Delay, of course, is also a result of tough negotiations with railroad managements charged with securing the best deals possible for shareholders/owners.
—Ross Capon
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: amtrak, bnsf, cascades, federal railroad administration, high-speed rail, recovery act grant, trains magazine, washington state,Budget Threatens Passenger Rail Modernization
Thursday, April 14, 2011
With Congress cutting spending left and right, one of the casualties has been President Obama’s high-speed rail initiative. The loss of $2.8 billion in funding is a major blow to the program.
The next few months could be a do-or-die moment for supporters of efforts to build a 21st-century transportation infrastructure in the United States. If opponents of improved passenger train service get their way, Americans will face rising fuel costs with few alternatives to costly car travel.
 |
House Republicans’ proposed budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year contains no new funding for the federal High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) program, and rescinds $400 million in funds that had been awarded to Florida’s Tampa-Orlando bullet train, but were turned back by Gov. Rick Scott.
The HSIPR program, created by a 2008 law and capitalized with $8 billion from the 2009 Recovery Act, consists of grants awarded on a competitive basis to states, groups of states, or Amtrak to pay for capital projects aimed at making intercity passenger train service faster, more frequent, more reliable and safer. This includes building new world-class high-speed rail systems, as well as making meaningful upgrades to existing rail infrastructure and equipment to greatly enhance current Amtrak service.
The latter type of investment, often deemed higher-speed rail, is just as important as the former, as it is a cost-effective way of giving more Americans the choice of train travel. This builds the domestic production capacity and the train-riding culture necessary for the U.S. to begin to approach Europe in terms of the energy-efficient choices available to travelers.
The elimination of the program from the 2011 budget unwisely stunts the growth of a program that has already begun to prove its worth.
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: 2011 budget, downeaster, federal railroad administration, high-speed rail, hsipr, illinois, maine, passenger train modernization,Federal Railroad Administration Going Full Steam
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The U.S Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration have had quite the productive week, delivering $225 million to five states to improve train service as part of the High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Program. That brings the Septmber-total for FRA HSIPR grants up to around $415 million.
The projects announced this week will go to upgrade tracks and stations across the U.S., and includes:
 |
| Empire Corridor |
- $149.3 million for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to upgrade high-speed and intercity passenger rail service on the Empire Corridor;
- $13.3 million grant for the Delaware Department of Transportation to add a third track immediately south of the Wilmington, DE station;
- $48.3 million for North Carolina and Virginia to advance the development of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, which will link Raleigh, NC, Richmond, VA, and Washington, D.C.;
- $13.6 million for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to modernize the Portland Union Station, upgrade passenger rail service along Amtrak’s Cascades route, and continue further development of an integrated, statewide rail network.
| Amtrak’s Wilmington Station |
These funds will upgrade existing Amtrak service by increasing top speeds, easing congestion at key choke points to reduce delays and improve on time performance, and improve reliability throughout the corridors.
The projects will also create good paying jobs. The FRA received a lot of harsh criticism from opponents of the Recovery Act who believed they weren’t getting the money out the door fast enough. But with the chances of an additional stimulus bill slim-to-none and even regular transportation budgeting caught up in partisan wrangling over the debt, these projects are hitting at just the right time. With economists warning of the increasing prospects of double dip recession, we should all be thanking the FRA for employing skilled American workers to build things of lasting value (“value” being a key word…rail has received enough partisan heat without being the subject of the controversy that has overtaken renewable energy initiatives with the bankruptcy of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra).
That, however, adds a bitter flavor to the fiscal year 2012 budgeting going on in Congress at this very moment. Just as this program is finally hitting its stride, House leaders are doing their best to kill it. The best-case scenario for HSIPR funding is the Senate’s propose $100 million—less than a quarter of what the FRA moved out the door in this month alone. It’s up to transportation advocates to broadcast the HSIPR successes far and wide to discredit the “train to nowhere” fallacy wherever it rears its head.
Posted by NARP
Tags: amtrak cascades, delaware, empire corridor, federal railroad administration, high-speed rail grants, hsipr program, infrastructure funding, new york state, oregon, wilmington de,©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
» Recent Entries
» Blogroll
» Terms of Service for Comments
You may register to post comments in response to NARP-generated postings on the Blog. By registering you agree 1) that all comments will be relevant to the respective posting and 2) not to post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, or that violate any laws. We reserve the right to permanently block postings from any user who does not abide by the above terms. NARP reserves the right to remove, edit, or move any messages for any reason.
» Monthly Archives
