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Pre-Application Excitement
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The possibilities are virtually endless as states begin jockeying for federal passenger rail improvement money.
For passenger rail advocates, this has been a great week for imagining possibilities that may be coming one step closer to fruition. The Department of Transportation announced today that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has received a whopping 278 pre-applications from state governments and interstate authorities, each seeking a piece of the $8 billion included in the Recovery Act for “high-speed intercity passenger rail.” The news comes a full five weeks in advance of the final application deadline, and indicates a high level of interest from those who would do the work of constructing and upgrading rail infrastructure to support the desired level of service.
Here is a mere sampling of projects that are now in the running, based on news reports compiled by NARP. Each heading links to the full story. The FRA has complete summary data [PDF] of the pre-applications.
- State of Illinois: Undisclosed sum to boost top speeds to 110 mph on Amtrak’s Chicago-St. Louis, Chicago-Milwaukee/Madsion, and Chicago-Detroit routes, and lay groundwork for 220-mph Chicago-St. Louis express service.
- California Nevada Super Speed Train Commission: Undisclosed sum for a maglev line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Estimated total cost: $12 billion.
- State of Kansas: $500,000 to study implementation of state-supported Amtrak service from Kansas City to Oklahoma City (via Topeka and Wichita).
- States of Texas, New Mexico and Colorado: Undisclosed sum to study viability of a dedicated high-speed rail line from El Paso to Denver via Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
- State of Virginia: $2 billion plus for Infrastructure improvements allowing higher-speed trains between Washington and Petersburg.
- State of Connecticut: Undisclosed sum to establish high-speed service between New Haven and Springfield, MA.
- State of Pennsylvania: $6.8 billion for four projects, including Pittsburgh-Harrisburg upgrades and maglev between Greensburg and Pittsburgh International Airport.
- Arkansas Highway Commission: at least $500,000 to study high-speed connections from Little Rock to Texarkana and Memphis.
- State of Wyoming: Depending on what Colorado does, may be interested in extending the El Paso-Denver line north to Cheyenne.
- State of OklahomaUndisclosed amount to initiate 150-mph service from Tulsa to Oklahoma City and make track improvements from Oklahoma City south to the Texas state line to speed up Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer.
- State of Indiana: $49 million for Amtrak service from Chicago to Toledo via Fort Wayne.
- Ohio Rail Development Commission: At least $250 million to initiate service on the 3C (Cincinatti-Columbus-Cleveland) route, as part of a more expansive planned network.
- State of North Carolina: $4 billion to pursue 90 proposed projects to upgrade tracks & signals between Charlotte and the state line north of Raleigh, including reconstructing a direct rail link from Raleigh to Richmond.
As a side note, the $31 billion “Illinois Jobs Now Act,” signed by Gov. Quinn on Monday, contains significant rail and transit investments. Included is 322 million for CREATE, a massive project led by a public-private partnership to reduce railroad traffic congestion in and around Chicago, the nation’s busiest freight rail hub and a major Amtrak hub. The Act also contains $150 million for the state’s share of Amtrak operating grants, $1.8 billion for public transit, and loan repayments to freight railroads. The state funding bolsters Illinois’ odds of winning stimulus grants for passenger rail. Here’s a full list [PDF] of the projects funded.
—Malcolm Kenton and Sean Jeans-Gail
Posted by NARP
Tags: amtrak, applications, congress, create, funds, high-speed rail, illinois, passenger rail, states, stimulus, transportation,Infrastructure Investment Makes Business Sense
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
A 10-minute video segment from PBS’s Need to Know compares the lives of two commuters. One takes Amtrak two days a week between Normal, Illinois, and Chicago, and says he would do so more often if trains were faster and more frequent and reliable—a desire that is likely to be fulfilled thanks in part to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s commitment. His hometown is planning a downtown revitalization around a new train station, making it possible for overnight visitors to stay, eat, shop, be entertained and attend meetings and conventions downtown without needing a car.
The other lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and has to go to Milwaukee frequently for business meetings. While he would rather commute by train, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s decision to reject federal funds for a Madison-Milwaukee train project that was ready to be built means that he will be forced to continue to drive an arduous three-hour round-trip on an Interstate that is often treacherous in the winter.
Kevin Conroy, the latter commuter, says Walker’s move is not an example of how businesspeople make decisions. “[Walker] turned away an investment in transportation between Wisconsin’s two biggest cities over a 90-second political add,” Conroy says, obviously frustrated. He’s not the only one at a disadvantage—scores of railcar manufacturing jobs and railroad construction jobs will not be coming to Wisconsin.
This tale of two travelers—and two governors—centers on this question: Do you generate economic development by cutting spending or by investing in the infrastructure that keeps the economy, and people, moving?
Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: amtrak, chicago-st louis, governors, illinois, infrastructure investment, milwaukee-madison, passenger rail, pat quinn, pbs, scott walker, wisconsin,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.
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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,Senator Durbin Defends Amtrak at Normal, IL Transportation Center
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Dick Durbin, the senior Democratic Senator from Illinois, is quickly becoming one of the most vocal defenders of intercity passenger rail in the 112th Congress. At an event held at the work site of the new Multimodal Transportation Center in Normal, IL, Durbin had this to say about attacks on Amtrak’s funding:
Durbin speaks passionately about the critical role passenger rail plays in connecting and promoting economic development in the region. I was actually unaware of the “over 82% approval by Amtrak’s passengers” figure he cites, and this number is all the more impressive for coming at a time of record ridership demands on Amtrak staff and equipment.
Regardless, America needs more elected officials to help connect federal policy choices with the quality of the transportation systems people use every day. While the average Illinoisan may not be fully aware of how the U.S. House leadership’s proposals would affect them, decisions made in Washington will surely impact the transportation choices—and economic opportunity—available in places like Normal.
—Sean Jeans-Gail and Malcolm Kenton
Posted by NARP
Tags: amtrak, dick durbin, economic development, illinois, multimodal transportation center, normal,©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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