NARP Blog

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Yesterday’s Washington-Lynchburg inaugural special, in advance of revenue service starting today, follows 2-1/2 years of hard work and cooperation by state, local, Norfolk Southern and Amtrak officials. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) gets a huge share of the credit, another reminder of the critical importance of having a governor who believes in passenger trains. Hailing Forbes’ ranking of Virginia as “Best State to do Business” for the fourth consecutive year, Kaine said “the expanded service will support economic growth and benefit the environment by taking more cars off the road, improving air quality, and saving fuel.”

Kaine spoke at Charlottesville and Lynchburg [video]. At both stations he followed his father-in-law—former Governor (and former Amtrak Board Member) Linwood Holton (R), the man who 2-1/2 years ago told the Virginia Transportation Board, “You can do this.” Virigina Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer spoke at the earlier stations. There were impressive crowds at all six Virginia stations.

Reflecting the increasingly positive relationship between Amtrak and host railroads, NS Chairman & President Wick Moorman and Amtrak President & CEO Joe Boardman spoke at all the stations. Moorman said, “We’re delighted to partner with Amtrak and their fine team. Amtrak and NS have conversations, we have some tough conversations, but we recognize at the end of the day that it’s a partnership. Norfolk Southern is proud to have worked closely with the Commonwealth and Amtrak to provide this new service.”

Boardman spoke in a similar vein, complimenting NS on a dramatic improvement in their dispatching of Amtrak trains.

The new service is strongly supported by on-line chambers of commerce which long have been working together to create travel products based on train travel. The train is viewed by many as the first step in extension of service to Roanoke and Bristol, the “Trans-Dominion Express,” something that the governor referred to.

The train also should help Amtrak’s Crescent as many shorter distance travelers shift to the new train, freeing up space for more longer trips on the Crescent. The platform was lengthened at Lynchburg which means Crescent won’t have to double-stop there anymore. Lynchburg station costs now are shared among two trains rather than shouldered by Crescent alone, and Crescent’s share of costs at the other jointly served stations will decline. And Crescent should benefit from the added flexibility that makes train travel more practical for more people, and the greater visibility that Crescent gets from people drawn to the stations by the new train. As for example, “Oh, a trip to Atlanta by train? Maybe I’ll try that next time.”

Click “Read More” to see photos of the inaugural run.

—Ross Capon

Friday, October 30, 2009

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 Statesman explains 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.

—Malcolm Kenton

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