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Flag Stops: Doing the Math
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The latest news and views round-up.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: amtrak, bridges, cars, costs, development, downeaster, economy, empire builder, green metropolis, infrastructure, lawsuit, light rail, maine, ohio, passenger trains, phoenix, pioneer, restoration, sprawl, study, transit, washington state,Flag Stops: Who’s Gonna Pay For It
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: congestion, costs, high-speed rail, highway, highways, infrastructure, railroad, ray lahood, subsidies, trains, transit, transportation, underinvestment, user fees,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
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,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,Transit Investment a Victim of General Loathing of Public Spending
Friday, October 08, 2010
Ironically, perhaps the greatest challenge facing passenger train development is anger at the huge government investments that bailed out such companies as GM, Chrysler, AIG, Citigroup and Bank of America and arguably saved the American financial system from collapse.
There is anger at banks—and frustration that “bank reform” has been received so warmly by the banks themselves. Indeed, columnist Francesco Guerrera wrote that, for Goldman Sachs, which is “desperately trying to prove that it puts customers first, the government-sanctioned elimination of a key activity not involving clients [proprietary trading] must feel heaven-sent.”
Since the government has yet to sell its positions in the car companies and AIG, and early indications are the prices will be closer to the low end of projections, it seems clear only that the ultimate loss will be far less than the $700 billion “TARP” investment.
Nonetheless, “populist” anger at all this government spending ignores the danger of cutting government spending while unemployment remains high. This anger could yet produce a new Congress that will turn against all manner of government spending including the Obama Administration’s high speed rail initiative.
That initiative has its own problems due to ongoing failure of federal officials and the major railroads to reach the agreements needed to let the bulk of the “incremental investment” part of the $8 billion flow, but Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo last week predicted that agreements for all of those funds would be in place before January.
George Soros, in an Oct. 5 FT column excerpted from a forthcoming New York Review of Books article, wrote: “Americans are convinced that government is incapable of managing investments aimed at improving the country’s physical and human capital…The simple truth is that the private sector does not employ available resources…[For now], investment and employment require fiscal stimulus” [government spending]...”
Soros disagrees with the Obama Administration’s “stated goal of halving the budet deficit by 2013 while the economy is operating far below capacity…Investing in infrastructure and education makes more sense…What stands in the way is not economics but misconceptions about budge deficits that are exploited for partisan and ideological purposes.”
—Ross Capon
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: 2010 elections, bank bailouts, deficit, financial reform, francesco guerrera, george soros, infrastructure, joseph szabo, passenger trains, public investment, transit, us politics,NPR’s Here & Now To Talk About Infrastructure
Thursday, September 15, 2011
NPR’s Here & Now will be talking about infrastructure today, and how it relates to President Obama’s Jobs Plan. They revealed they plan to talk about bridges, interstate access, and ways to repair and improve our current system in a segment titled “Infrastructure: Our Hurting Roads.”
[Find ways to listen to Here & Now in your city]
Let’s remind them that the solutions to our infrastructure woes don’t all come on four rubber tires. Check out this page on NARP’s website for some helpful facts about the benefits of rail (and the costs of overreliance on roads).
The show airs from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EST. You can call in with your comment or question, email, or post it to Here and Now’s Twitter feed.
Call the Hotline: (617) 358-0397
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Twitter: @hereandnow
Posted by NARP
Tags: american jobs act, infrastructure, npr,U.S. and Illinois Departments of Transportation break ground on Chicago high-speed rail project
Thursday, October 13, 2011
At a groundbreaking held on Monday, work officially kicked-off on Chicago’s Englewood Flyover, a critical prerequisite to enable the Windy City to serve as the hub for the Midwest high-speed rail network.
By building a “flyover” bridge to separate traffic along two railroads, the project will ease congestion on one of the worst rail bottlenecks in the U.S. This will improve on time performance while simultaneously easing congestion for the 130 passenger trains and freight trains that move through the hub every day. If you’ve ever ridden a train in the Midwest, you’ve probably seen these delays first hand (a few NARP Council Members were held up at this congestion-point on their way out to our Council Meeting being held in Los Angeles this week).
From the U.S. DOT press release:
Since the 1990s, Midwestern states have planned an intercity passenger train network that connects the 40 largest cities in the Midwest with over 60 roundtrips from downtown Chicago each day. The Englewood project will benefit passengers traveling along an improved corridor from Detroit, which has been awarded several grants for construction projects to increase speeds to 110 mph. Travelers from Cleveland, Indianapolis and Cincinnati will also see fewer delays thanks to the new bridge. The project is part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), a public-private partnership between the state, city and railroads aimed at untangling Chicago’s infamously snarled railroads where conflicts cause delays across all modes of travel.
The event was attended by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D), U.S. Congressmen Bobby Rush (D) and Dan Lipinski (D), and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D). While the movement of passengers and freight is certainly important politically—insofar as it is important to the local economy and to commuters—it is probably the 1,500 jobs the project will immediately create that attracted these political heavy-hitters
“The Englewood Flyover will make life easier for tens of thousands of commuters every day and put people to work immediately,” said Governor Quinn. “This vital project will eliminate a problem spot and set the stage for future passenger rail growth while boosting Illinois’ position at the economic engine of the Midwest.”
That sentiment was made more explicit by Secretary LaHood.
“Projects like this one are exactly why President Obama has made transportation such a big part of the American Jobs Act,” said Secretary LaHood. “We have workers on site today, American factories producing new supplies, and when the project is completed, people and goods will move more quickly and easily through the Midwest, making the region a better place to start a business or hire new workers.”
Considering the banner September the Federal Railroad Administration has had, you can’t blame the White House for using this as a platform to speak up for the infrastructure component of the American Jobs Act. It will be interesting to see who’s listening.
Posted by NARP
Tags: chicago, cincinnati, economy, englewood flyover, infrastructure, jobs, lahood, obama,Join NARP and the White House this Wednesday to talk trains
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Ask senior officials about the U.S. DOT’s plan for passenger rail
UPDATE: The dial-in number has been changed to (866) 814-1933
On Wednesday, November 2nd at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, senior officials from both the White House and U.S. Department of Transportation are inviting NARP Members to participate in a conference call to discuss the transportation infrastructure elements in the American Jobs Act.
This should be a great opportunity for passenger train advocates to find out more about the what the Department of Transportation has in mind for intercity trains and high-speed rail, and how the Administration plans to bring world-class passenger rail to America.
Feel free to share this invitation with your network of passenger train advocates.
(This call is off the record and not for press purposes)
WHAT: White House Conference Call with Senior Administration Officials from US DOT and White House
WHEN: Wednesday, November 2nd
Start Time: 11:00 am EST
Dial In: (866) 830-5331 (866) 814-1933
Passcode Title: Transportation Elements of the American Jobs Act
Posted by NARP
Tags: american jobs act, infrastructure, transportation, usdot, white house,Senate Passes 2012 Transportation Funding Levels; House Up Next
Earlier today, the Senate passed a $108 billion transportation budget by a 69-30 vote that would protect most surface transportation programs from serious cuts. Passage of this “minibus”—a package of three appropriations bills—is the next step in setting funding for the rest of Fiscal 2012.
| Rail is replaced on Norfolk Southern’s portion of Amtrak’s Chicago-Detroit line. Photo from US DOT. |
It appears that the Senate’s Amtrak numbers are the best that we can get. It is important that they hold. However, there is a serious danger that House-Senate negotiations could result in a compromise that puts Amtrak below the Senate number even though that number is already very tight and likely to force layoffs and some deterioration of service, though not outright service cuts.
For Transportation Nation, Todd Zwillich writes, in “Senate Approves Austere Transpo Spending Bill; High Speed Rail Funding Plummets”, that a no-increase bill is actually a step back:
It funds most transportation, transit and highway programs at or near levels for the Fiscal year that ended Sept 30. But when factored for inflation, it amounts to cuts to many programs. That’s largely because of new spending caps in place after Republicans and Democrats agreed to cuts during the federal debt limit fight last summer.
…
One big loser: High speed rail. The Senate bill has a mere $100 million for President Obama’s high speed rail initiative. While $10 billion has already gone to the program through stimulus and other spending, Congress is getting set to essentially zero it out for 2012. House Republicans have shown no appetite to fund high-speed rail further.
Zwillich certainly has a point. As much as NARP appreciates the Senators who fought—and fought hard—to get the $100 million in high-speed rail funding into the bill, it’s a pittance compared to the government investment provided to other modes. What’s more, this vote came on the same day as the release of the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s new business plan that shows constructing the line would create one million new construction jobs.
And it’s not just high-speed rail. There are some victories in the rail portion of the bill, including $15 million in preliminary funding for the Gateway Project, which would build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River. But the $1.48 billion provided for Amtrak ($544 million for operations, $937 million for capital and debt service) barely allows Amtrak to maintain existing levels of service, much less prepare for surging ridership. Coming in a year when Amtrak broke records with 30.2 million passengers, it raises serious questions about whether the 112th Congress has a grasp on what needs to be done to prepare a foundation for American economic competitiveness in the 21st century.
—Ross Capon and Sean Jeans-Gail
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: 2012 appropriations, amtrak, high-speed rail grants, infrastructure, population growth, ridership growth, transportation funding, transportation nation, us dot,©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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