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Flag Stops: Dreams and Schemes

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

NARP hits YouTube, hopes for the Sunset, omissions of a high-speed rail critic, transit cuts cripple Berlin, why more should be spent on transportation in a recession, and more.

  • NARP continues to expand its online presence. We have just released our first YouTube video. It is designed for those who are less familiar with NARP’s work, so please share it widely with friends, family, co-workers and other acquaintances. You can also use our convenient web form to share with us why you are invested in our cause and why others should be concerned about high-quality transportation choices.
  • Our friends at Trains for America echo the feeling among much of the rail advocacy community that Amtrak’s report on restoring service between New Orleans and Orlando leaves much to be desired. Of course, the final decision rests with Congress because Amtrak doesn’t have enough money to run the train. That’s why it’s important that Amtrak receives its full requested appropriation for Fiscal Year 2010, and then some.
  • Not only does the transportation and housing spending bill that passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday contain a boost for high-speed rail programs—more than the President sought—it also funds six rail transit projects, from Miami to Chicago to Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Honolulu. (Source: Congressional Quarterly)
  • A New York Times blog entry casts doubt on the greenhouse gas-reduction benefits of California’s high-speed rail project. The writer says that the heavy carbon-intensity of the line’s construction should be taken into account, but he doesn’t factor the construction of existing highways or airports into their carbon footprints and fails to consider the low-carbon lifestyles that rail would foster. Luckily, several astute readers have addressed these omissions in the comments.
  • A Michigan business blogger says her state’s share of Amtrak’s operating budget should be cut because of the sour economy. In reality, the recession argues for doing the exact opposite. The recession is a convenient excuse for curtailing all sorts of public investments. Transportation investments, particularly those that provide better, greener mobility options, create jobs and keep the economy moving. For the sake of consistency, the author should also call for diminished highway spending.
  • The airline industry continues to slide deeper into a financial hole, as revenues per passenger mile are declining by greater percentages each month. While the recession has contributed to a drop in demand for all longer-distance travel, rising fuel and labor prices are already forcing cost cuts and will continue to create trouble for airlines. Once the economy recovers, travelers will face greater headaches when flying, and the demand for better alternatives will intensify.
  • A spate of technical problems has forced dramatic service cuts on Berlin’s S-Bahn system of rapid surface-level trains. The consequences have been disastrous, but perhaps not as catastrophic as a similar mishap for a major US rail transit system, thanks to the redundancies inherent in the other rail transit offerings available to Berliners. If a city like New York were to cut 70% of subway service, the choking of roadways with cars, taxis and buses would be unimaginable.

  • LCL: Another free marketeer decries a rail expansion plan simply because, like virtually all transportation systems in the world, it will require government investment for both construction and operation; Secretary LaHood reiterates his foward-looking commitments, touts the recent high-speed rail pre-apps, and hones in on reducing vehicle miles driven as key to trimming transportation’s carbon footprint; A good rant on the many advantages of rail transit over rapid buses; A look inside Chairman Oberstar’s surface transportation plans; and How many reminders do we need that overdependence on cars is bad for us?

    —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: airlines, amtrak, berlin, california, carbon, florida, gulf coast, high-speed rail, passenger trains, recession, s-bahn, sunset limited, video, youtube,

    Flag Stops: Get Those Shovels (and Calculators) Ready

    Monday, August 31, 2009

    Anticipating an NPR series on high-speed rail, getting a beat on state applications for stimulus funds, countering Robert Samuelson’s flimsy anti-rail case, and more in this week’s roundup of revelations and ruminations along the line.

  • All Things Considered, National Public Radio’s evening newsmagazine, has begun a multi-part series on high-speed rail with a report this evening. You can find out when and where to listen in your area here.

  • For those following the spending of the Recovery Act’s $8 billion for passenger rail upgrades, now is when the wheels begin to hit the steel. States are starting to make known the nitty-gritty of their applications, among them Pennsylvania, Virginia and Oklahoma. See Friday’s Hotline for a more complete listing.

  • The St. Louis Urban Workshop does a spectacular rewrite of Robert J. Samuelson’s recent train-bashing Washington Post column, turning his argument into a case against runaway highway spending. See also Paul Krugman’s pithy rebuke of Samuelson’s misconceived notion of US population density, and Ryan Avent’s critique.

  • While almost every state is facing a budget shortfall, Transportation for America’s nifty state fact sheets show that some are handling it better than others. Another revelation: there is high demand for expanded public transportation and for transit-accessible homes in nearly every state.

  • Secretary LaHood tours eastern Pennsylvania by rail, stopping in Elizabethtown to commemorate the stimulus-funded rehabilitation of the town’s Amtrak station. While certainly needed, the project was far from a major buildout, giving the station such necessities as an adequate platform, parking, and restrooms. That a station along such a well-traveled corridor was wanting such basics speaks to the subpar condition of funding for our passenger rail system.

  • A feature report (via YouTube) on CBS’s Sunday Morning casts US high-speed rail in a positive light, though it neglects to present the best arguments in its favor. Among the final points made is the illusory and beside-the-point claim that high-speed lines will be profitable, as opposed to “heavily-subsidized” Amtrak. Yet we seem to accept that the federally-subsidized airlines can’t make money.

  • Worth a read (or a listen): Trains for America sits down with Midwest High Speed Rail Association Executive Director (and NARP Council member) Rick Harnish to discuss the language he thinks rail advocates should be using. *** The Transport Politic recommends that the Federal Railroad Administration model the Federal Transit Administration’s “New Starts” funding mechanism for financing intercity rail improvements, so that money isn’t spent on projects that may not reach completion. *** A public radio interview with Smart Growth America CEO Geoff Anderson about why we need to fix our sights on rapid rail for the long haul. *** A new policy paper (summarized) envisions the creation of frequent interurban service to serve smaller communities and suburbs that would be bypassed by future high-speed and intercity passenger trains.

  • LCL: Georgia may miss out on federal funds already allocated for commuter rail from Atlanta to Griffin if there continues to be no sign of activity on its planning and construction. *** A Montgomery newspaper applauds Alabama’s initial overtures of interest in bringing back the Gulf Breeze, which connected Mobile, Montgomery and Birmingham until 1995. *** Studies of the effects of stimulus spending confirm that each job created on a road-building project comes at a higher price than each transit construction job. *** The politics behind Louisiana’s sudden about-face on requesting stimulus funds for a New Orleans-Baton Rouge link. *** When it comes to making smooth connections, Europeans are (not surprisingly) outdoing us. *** We can dream, can’t we? A fictional press release in 2051 from the Association of High-Speed American Railroads.

    • —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: high-speed rail, highways, news, passenger trains, profitability, radio, ray lahood, robert samuelson, ryan avent, stimulus, subsidies, transportation,

    Flag Stops: Doing the Math

    Tuesday, September 22, 2009

    The latest news and views round-up.

  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • A Washington Post review 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

    • —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,

    Hopping the Local: News from State Rail Advocacy Groups

    Monday, October 05, 2009

    The first installment of an occasional blog feature reporting interesting news from NARP’s state-level cousins.

  • Maine: Gov. John Baldacci (D) presented a strong vision for the future of passenger trains in his state in the pages of TrainRiders/Northeast’s Summer 2009 issue of TrainRider. The Governor’s statement acknowledges the advocacy group’s hard work, calling it a “critical force in the December 2001 commencement of the Downeaster service.” “Without TrainRiders, there would be no Downeaster,” he proclaims, “and passenger rail service in Maine might be a dead issue even today.” Baldacci, who has ridden the Downeaster on various occasions, announced the state’s submission of pre-applications for Recovery Act high-speed rail funds to extend service north to Brunswick through Freeport, and to upgrade track on the existing line to increase speed. He also promised to seek extension of the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ, pronounced SEE-mack) money on which Downeaster relies, and noted the legislation he signed to dedicate half of the revenues from the state’s car rental tax to an account for non-highway transportation projects. “I understand that all modes of transportation, including road, aid and water travel, require government subsidies to continue in operation,” Baldacci explains. “Passenger rail is no different, and should be treated no differently.”
  • New York: A bill has been introduced in the New York state legislature to establish a state Rail Authority, reports the Empire State Passengers Association in The ESPA Express (July/August). “The new public authority would be independent of the State Transportation Department and outside the normal budget process,” similar to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an independent agency funded by both states that runs ferries, PATH trains, the tunnels and bridges across the Hudson into Manhattan, and the city’s bus terminal. The legislation intends the Rail Authority to be the operator of “an affordable high-speed rail network across New York State” and to finance incremental improvements to existing service. Funding for the Authority would come from a variety of public and private sources. Also noteworthy is that the bill stipulates that one of the members of the Authority’s 17-member governing board be “a member of a statewide rail passenger advocacy organization.”
  • New York: Also from ESPA comes news that the Finger Lakes Railway, operator of freight and excursion passenger trains in the west central part of the state, is advancing a proposal to extend Amtrak service to and from Geneva via Syracuse, using a currently out-of-service ex-New York Central line that splits from the CSX main line at Lyons. The company envisions an existing New York City-Albany Empire Service train being extended west to Geneva (home to 13,000 residents and two colleges), providing an early morning eastbound departure from Geneva and a late evening westbound arrival. Finger Lakes Railway will provide a station and overnight servicing facilities at Geneva.

  • New Jersey: Two major sports arenas around New York City, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and the Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, NJ (Home to the New York Giants and New York Jets (NFL football), New Jersey Nets (NBA basketball), New York Red Bulls (MLS soccer) and a horse racetrack), now have direct commuter rail service. As ESPA reports, the “Yankees - E. 153rd St” station on Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson Line, which opened on May 23, allows residents in the outlying areas served by all three Metro-North lines to go to Yankees baseball games and other stadium events without having to drive all the way into the Bronx, and has been well-used so far. Meanwhile, the Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers (DVARP) announces that, on July 20, New Jersey Transit (NJT) inaugurated train service to the Meadowlands via a 2.5-mile branch of the Pascack Valley Line from Hoboken Terminal. Trains will only be run during football and soccer games, concerts and other large events at the Meadowlands, with a bus connection to all NJT lines at Secaucus Junction available for all other events there.

    • —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: albany, downeaster, finger lakes, geneva, john baldacci, legislature, maine, meadowlands, new jersey, new york, passenger trains, rail authority, sports, stadium, trainriders, vision, yankees,

    Near-Term Rail Upgrades are Excellent Job Creators

    Monday, February 01, 2010

    The Associated Press’s Joan Lowy wrongly downplays the importance of the good American jobs that will be created through the Obama Administration’s investments in higher-speed intercity passenger trains in a Jan. 29 article. “There will be U.S. manufacturing and engineering jobs for slower trains often described as ‘higher speed’ or ‘midspeed,’” she writes, in a tone that suggests that these endeavors are not worthwhile compared to the kind of super high-speed trains that Europe and Asia have. In reality, the Administration’s current strategy is absolutely necessary to reboot domestic railroad manufacturing and engineering industries.

    Fifty years ago, while the U.S. let railroads wither while pouring billions into new highways and airports, other industrialized countries did exactly what we are now beginning to do: make important outlays towards expanding and improving their rail networks. This laid the building blocks for their high-speed lines by providing connecting systems that feed passengers to the bullet trains and fostering a culture in which the train is a vital mode of travel.

    Admittedly, it will be necessary for the U.S. to gain from other countries’ expertise in the short term, but by awarding contracts to foreign companies now, we will enhance our own knowledge base and quickly become more independent in the rail field.

    We cannot simply build brand new high-speed railroads overnight. By gradually strengthening the existing rail network to allow for faster, more frequent passenger (and freight) service, we not only create jobs, but we also enhance the quality of many Americans’ travel experiences.

    —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: ap, domestic, high-speed rail, jean lowy, job creation, jobs, manufacturing, obama, passenger trains, transportation, travel, upgrades,

    Capon Praises Grants on NBC

    Tuesday, February 02, 2010

    This segment featuring NARP President & CEO Ross Capon appeared Saturday evening (Jan. 30) on NBC Nightly News:

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: grants, high-speed rail, nbc news, passenger trains, ross capon,

    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

    » read more...

    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,

    Flag Stops: Making No Small Plans

    Friday, February 26, 2010

    Reasons to be hopeful, to be concerned, and to take action.

  • As we have reported, the jobs bill passed by the Senate on Monday contains no investment in 21st-century transportation alternatives like trains. Our partners at Transportation for America are calling on everyone to write Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and ask that he include investment in better transportation in a future jobs package, as more appear to be in the works. Please join us in taking action.

  • While we’re on the subject of taking action, why not take a minute (especially if you live in or near New Orleans) to ask New Orleans Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu to make restoring the New Orleans-Florida Gulf Coast Connector a transportation priority. Click here and scroll down to the middle left of the page.

  • The nascent flow of federal money to intercity passenger rail improvement is jumpstarting rail planning in states that have lagged far behind for decades. One example is West Virginia, where a small group of dedicated NARP members called Friends of the Cardinal is working with influential state legislators to enact a bill that will match $1 billion from the Recovery Act with state funds to put together both a comprehensive rail plan and a high-speed rail plan for the state. The bill, SB 527, is expected to pass the full Senate on Monday, but may face a difficult journey through the House, with the legislative session set to end on March 12. One of the rail advocates working the halls of power in Charleston, long-time NARP member Bonni McKewon, penned an op-ed for the Charleston Gazette. If you live in West Virginia, ask your Delegate in the House to work for swift passage of SB 527. You can also follow Friends of the Cardinal on Twitter.

  • In answering questions after his testimony [PDF] before the Senate Budget Committee this week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proclaimed that “streetcars are coming back to America,” citing Portland, Oregon, as a model for other cities. His comments come as more people are realizing how the world’s most expansive streetcar network, which covered every small and large American city early in this century, was decimated as road-building mania, combined with pressure from oil and rubber interests, made buses the seemingly more economical choice for urban transit. Yet, for a number of reasons, buses don’t attract riders the way streetcars do. More and more cities, with help from Uncle Sam, are looking to join in the American trolley revival.

  • New York State is already home to more train stations (of all types) than any other state, and intercity service on the New York City-Albany-Buffalo trunk line is set to be upgraded [PDF] thanks to the Recovery Act. Yet many are still pushing for brand-new high-speed tracks along this line, including the President of the state Senate. The means that Sen. Malcolm Smith’s wishes are highly appropriate—a state High-Speed Rail Authority, a council to pursue public-private partnerships, and a business council to raise awareness and build support—but more thinking is needed about how to get there. Continuing to improve service by adding more frequencies and shaving an hour or two off NYC-Buffalo travel time, and investing in connecting bus and rail service to bring more communities on-line will prove to be the best way to get to an even faster future.

  • LCL: One of Amtrak’s newest stations is far exceeding projections for passenger boardings and alightings since it opened. * * * The Washington-Lynchburg, Va. extension of the Northeast Regional continues to outpace ridership projections. * * * Another sign that passenger train equipment manufacturing in the US is headed for revival. * * * A Seattle resident has a pleasant Amtrak trip to the Vancouver Olympics, but a not-so-pleasant experience with border security. * * * A new Amtrak site caters to African-American riders and students at historically black colleges.

    • —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: amtrak, budget, congress, gulf coast, investment, jobs bill, legislation, new orleans, new york city, passenger trains, rail planning, ray lahood, ridership, senate, sunset limited, take action, transportation, west virginia,

    Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City

    Wednesday, March 03, 2010

    PBS aired a thoughtful look at challenges facing America’s transportation network in an era when simply building more roads is no longer tenable solution to current transportation problems.

    The documentary treats the rise and fall of the city of Detroit as a microcosm for automotive transportation in general, and investigates alternative solutions for the 21st century—including high speed trains.

    You can watch the full video online:

    Posted by NARP

    Tags: automobile, blueprint america, challenges, detroit, motor city, passenger trains, pbs, transportation,

    LaHood: If you build it, they will come.

    Thursday, March 04, 2010

    This morning, the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development of the US Senate Appropriations Committee heard from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on the President’s fiscal 2011 budget for his agency [PDF], as the committee begins work on determining spending levels for the year to begin October 1, 2010. During the question and answer period, Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO) engaged LaHood in a heated discussion surrounding DOT’s high-speed intercity passenger rail grant program. Even when Bond tried to steer the discussion towards other transportation topics, LaHood remained focused on promoting the high-speed rail program.

    Here is a sample of their back-and-forth. Note that this is a rough and incomplete transcription resulting from hurried note-taking. Exact quotes are marked by quotation marks.

    Senator Bond: How do you measure [livability]? We [Congress] develop locally-based community plans for neighborhood stabilization and economic development. I support access to [alternative] transportation. The BRT [bus rapid transit] program in Kansas City has been very important. But ... livability means having a decent highway for many of my rural constituents. We lose three people a day [in accidents] on Missouri’s highways. At least one third of those deaths are due to poor highway conditions. It’s a question of staying alive. If we want all these dollars “to go in and build urban livability sections,” there need to be broader criteria.

    Secretary LaHood: [To use] an example from your home state: Kansas City’s $50 million [TIGER grant] is for some of the most simple things we take for granted, like making sure people have a sidewalk to walk on. That may sound silly to you, but I took a tour and found an abandoned neighborhood where people can’t even drive down the street. We [DOT] worked with [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] to build affordable housing so people could stay in the neighborhood. That’s what livable communities [means].

    Bond: When did it become DOT’s responsiblity to build sidewalks?

    LaHood: You all [Congress] did it. I was part of it as a member of Congress.

    Bond: I question how much money is spent on sidewalks when we need highways and bridges.

    LaHood: [DOT is] just working with the priorities Congress set.

    Bond: We could have used a whole lot more for highways and bridges. Every dollar we’re spending is going on the deficit. [...] The Wall Street Journal had an article by Wendell Cox on January 31st called “The Runaway Subsidy Train.” [Read our response here.] Did you see it? [LaHood: No]. I’ll give you a copy of it. [Cox says] only two [high-speed rail] segments have broken even. If you want to make it profitable, there must be high fares. What’s going to be the total cost of high-speed rail? California estimates [their system will cost] $40 to $60 billion, all taxpayer money, while the airlines flying there aren’t being subsidized by the taxpayer. [Highway users] are helping subsidize high-speed rail. What is the justification? [...] Missouri’s $30 million [in HSIPR funds] will provide extra sidings so trains can pull off & others can pass. What are the ridership projections? Can we justify that cost to the nation’s taxpayers?

    LaHood: I’ll answer your question for the record. When Eisenhower signed the Interstate [Highway] bill, nobody knew how we were going to pay for it. I know this: Americans want high speed passenger rail. So many around America want good passenger rail transportation. It will connect opportunities for people. If you build it, they will come. The Interstate system is an example of that. European and Asian governments have made big investments and these lines have been huge economic engines. I can cite examples chapter and verse: if you build it, they will come. The contractos will invest a lot of private money in it.

    Bond: As Governor of Missouri, I supproted and started subsidizing Amtrak. Have riders come in large numbers? No. Few people ride it. I’m not willing to spend billions more simply on the thought that they will come.

    LaHood: But as Governor and Senator, you were willing to build a [highway] bridge [across the Mississippi River] on the promise that people [would] use it. “The same principle is true for high-speed intercity passenger rail.”

     

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: appropriations, christopher bond, discussion, high-speed rail, kit bond, missouri, passenger trains, ray lahood, secretary, senate committee, senator, transportation,

    A Healthy Dialogue

    Wednesday, March 10, 2010

    In a welcome show of responsiveness to Amtrak’s most loyal riders and supporters, President & CEO Joseph Boardman requested, and TRAINS Magazine hosted, a public forum on the present and future of the passenger railroad at the Merchandise Mart adjacent to Chicago’s Union Station, the main hub of the long-distance train network. Over 300 people signed up on a first-come, first-served basis and about 250 showed up to hear from, and ask questions of, Boardman, Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor, Vice President for Marketing and Product Development Emmett Fremaux, Chris Jagodzinski (a senior official who reports directly to V.P. for Transportation Richard Phelps), and other top officials.

    Amtrak officials did discuss the possibility of splitting the Lake Shore Limited at Toledo instead of Albany, with the New York section running via Pittsburgh/Altoona/Harrisburg, partially recreating the Broadway Limited. As columnist Don Phillips put it, “They mentioned this at the same time they said they would operate no new long-distance routes. Train reroutes can have the effect of creating a new service.” As for adding new long-distance routes, the assembled officials would only commit to improving existing services. Fremaux pointed to the fact that the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008 emphasizes the expansion of short-distance corridor services and relies on state leadership. “This country builds stuff, including Amtrak, then walks away from it and doesn’t give it the support it needs,” said Boardman. “I want to do real stuff.”

    Fremaux did make a commitment that efforts would be made to improve existing long-distance trains, including daily operation of the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited (as a through Chicago-Los Angeles train with a connection at San Antonio for Houston, New Orleans and points in between) and the introduction of on-board wireless Internet service across the entire Amtrak system.

    On the condition of Amtrak’s fleet, Jagodzinski emphasized “We don’t want 60-year-old equipment. The passengers don’t want it, and we don’t want to maintain it.” He reiterated that the Heritage diners and baggage cars, which are around 60 years old, will be the first to be replaced, within the next five years. After the forum, attendees were led on a tour of three newly-rehabilitated passenger cars—two Superliner sleepers and one Superliner diner—and a rebuilt P42 locomotive that were parked in Union Station’s trainshed.

    Another topic of concern to attendees was Amtrak’s months-old policy prohibiting photography from station platforms, except by ticketed passengers and those with permission from a station agent or other Amtrak official. In response to criticism from train advocates, including NARP, O’Connor announced a program whereby photographers could register themselves and be amongst a group of citizens who act as a second set of eyes to warn of safety and security issues, similar to the one initiated by BNSF Railway.

    Boardman has promised that this will be the first of many such discussions. NARP welcomes, and stands ready to help facilitate, the further involvement of passengers and train advocates as Amtrak continues to plan and prepare for growth. —Ross Capon and Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: amtrak, amtrak policies, broadway limited, dialogue, expansion, forum, growth, improvement, joseph boardman, lake shore limited, long-distance trains, passenger trains, photography, sunset limited, texas eagle,

    Grassroots Pressure Gets Results

    Friends of the Cardinal, a route support group composed of active train advocates (many of whom are NARP members) based in Charleston, West Virginia, issued the release below today. The story of the introduction and passage of Senate Bill 527 in the West Virginia legislature is a great model for grassroots advocacy—showing what we are all capable of, with a little time and energy, as citizens in a republic.

    For Immediate Use, March 10, 2010:

    By a vote of 97-0 the West Virginia House of Delegates passed a Bill which mandates that the West Virginia Rail Authority must “establish a state plan for transportation and local rail services.”  The legislation requires that this plan meet the Federal requirements necessary to capture and administer Federal monies “for rail transportation, local rail services, and inter-modal facilities. . .”  Further, the act allows the Authority to seek input from “freight and rail passenger associations.”  The same Bill had already passed the WV Senate by a vote of 32-0 earlier in the session.  The Bill now goes to the Governor Joe Manchin’s desk for his signature.

    This legislation was developed in response to concerns expressed by many individuals about the lack of adequate planning for a passenger rail system for the state of West Virginia. The Friends of the Cardinal, a Charleston WV-based “Route Support Group” affiliated with the National Association of Railroad Passengers articulated these concerns to various members of the legislature.  The National Association of Railroad Passengers is the largest citizen-based advocacy organization for train and rail transit passengers in the nation.

    J. Charles Riecks, Chair of the Friends of the Cardinal, said: “I was very pleased with the overall positive response that passenger rail received in the West Virginia Legislature this year.  Hopefully, this bill is just the beginning of a new day for transportation in the state of West Virginia.”

    In speeches before several committees, and also on the floor of both legislative bodies, several members of the legislature spoke to the long overdue need for West Virginia to begin supporting a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want.

    Friends of the Cardinal, particularly Riecks and Bonni McKewon, participated in the legislative process from start to finish, corresponding with nearly every legislator and calling upon other West Virginians to contact their Representative and Senator. As soon as Gov. Manchin signs the bill into law, the state Department of Transportation will begin work on the rail plan, an essential first step towards better train service in the state and a process in which NARP and Friends of the Cardinal will continue to be involved. With a strong plan and agreements with Amtrak, MARC and the host railroads in place, West Virgnia stands a much better chance of winning future federal funds to improve existing service and potentially to add new routes.

    Check out this video of the passage on the House floor.

    —Malcolm Kenton

     

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: accomplishment, advocacy, grassroots, improvement, legislature, lobbying, passenger trains, rail plan, senate, victory, west virginia,

    Flag Stops: People in Motion

    Tuesday, March 30, 2010

  • Solid majorities of American voters think greater investment in trains and buses will be more effective at reducing congestion, pollution and oil dependence—and enhancing our quality of life—than building more roads, and are willing to pay higher taxes for it. These findings, based on a survey of 800 registered voters in all 50 states and DC, were released today by Transportation for America (T4A), a broad advocacy coalition of which NARP is a member. In another indication that train advocates’ goals are broadly shared, the sentiments respondents expressed cut fairly evenly across geographic, income and party lines. The main reason respondents gave for why they don’t use transit often, if at all, is that it is not available or convenient where they live, not because they are wedded to their cars or averse to using transit.

  • Also from T4A: Despite the higher sticker price on housing closer to city centers, urban living is actually more affordable than auto-oriented suburban living when transportation costs are factored in, according to a Center for Neighborhood Technology study [PDF]. This phenomenon, called location efficiency, doesn’t just occur in large cities: it can be realized in suburbs and small towns that are walkable and oriented around transit nodes. This reinforces the message from a 2000 Surface Transportation Policy Project report, “Driven to Spend: The Impact of Sprawl on Household Transportation Expenses.”

  • Following on the heels of West Virginia, Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson (D) signed into law a bill mandating the state’s Department of Transportation to begin a passenger rail program, giving Kansas a better competitive position in the scramble for future rounds of high-speed and intercity passenger rail (HSIPR) grants. Another enacted law creates the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact, formalizing cooperation between Kansas and its neighbors to advance passenger service. This, plus federal grant approval announced last week, is aimed at making the Northern Flyer a reality. NARP congratulates our newest Council Representative, Deborah Fischer Stout (President of the Northern Flyer Alliance) for her tireless efforts to make this happen!

  • In a sign of support for an expanded long-distance network, two of President Obama’s nominees for Amtrak’s Board of Directors wrote Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) indicating they would press for refined cost estimates for restoring the Salt Lake City-Portland Pioneer. The two nominees, plus a third pick, have been approved by the Senate Commerce Committee and are awaiting a confirmation vote in the full Senate.

  • New high-speed train service between the central Chinese cities of Zhengzhou and Xian is so popular that all airlines have ceased flights between the two locales. The train takes less than two hours to traverse 314 miles (comparable to a trip from Washington, DC to New Haven, CT). The Chinese government is steadily moving towards its goal of having more than 8,000 miles of new high-speed railroads built by two years from now, a feat often cited by President Obama and other leaders to show how far behind the US is in terms of modernizing the national rail network.

  • LCL: Support for a major rail freight mobility project—with potential benefits for passengers—is bringing the governors of some affected states together, 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats. * * * The gears have been set in motion for the electrification of the Caltrain commuter line from San Jose to San Francisco—meaning faster, greener trains in five years—upon the completion of ten years of study. * * * Amtrak ridership from the 4-month-old station in Leavenworth, Washington, is 11% higher than Amtrak’s original estimate, with visitors from the Puget Sound area opting to take the train rather than drive to the Bavarian resort town. * * * Despite a host of other budget cuts made in the same bill, an amendment to withdraw $8 million in state operating grants to Amtrak was thankfully defeated in the Missouri House of Representatives. * * * Amtrak stations in California will soon get new electronic displays showing real-time train departure information and announcements.

    • —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: affordability, amtrak, china, high-speed rail, housing, kansas, mark parkinson, opinion, passenger trains, pioneer, ron wyden, rural, survey, trains, transit, transportation, travel choices, urban, voters, west virginia,

    NARP Leaders Educate and Advocate on Capitol Hill

    Thursday, May 06, 2010

    Each year, members of NARP’s Council of Representatives, our all-volunteer governing body, meet with Members of Congress and their staff to educate them about passenger train issues and urge their support for more funding and broader policy support for intercity trains.  This year, in addition to our perennial, yet always essential, ask for full funding of Amtrak, we also joined with a coalition of other rail advocacy and public interest groups in calling for $4 billion in fiscal 2011 funding for the nascent yet highly oversubscribed High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grant program to states.

    In addition to Council members, several general members of the Association joined our Day on the Hill this year. According to their reports, many Senators, Representatives and staffers—even those who haven’t supported Amtrak in the past—appeared open to hearing our case. No matter where the lawmaker stands on the issue, the most important thing about in-person meetings is to demonstrate the extent of public support for better transportation choices. And that we did very well.

    Here is a report from Council member Dennis Lytton, which was posted yesterday on the California High Speed Rail Blog:

    Last week I attended the National Association of Railroad Passengers annual meeting in Washington, DC. NARP is the largest national membership advocacy organization for train and rail transit passengers. In fact, it’s the only group in Washington, DC with a staff dedicated to this purpose.

    The most important part of our three day meeting is our “Day on the Hill” visiting Senators and Members of Congress followed our reception in one of the House office buildings. This year, along with other NARP council members from California, we visited our two senators, Boxer and Feinstein, as well as our House members. Our primary asks (lesson one visiting your Congressmember, always have a concise “ask”, with a handout) were:

      * $4 billion for intercity and high speed rail capital grants, and
      * Full funding of Amtrak’s appropriations requests for this year.

    NARP as well as Californians for High Speed Rail is a member of the Fourbillion.com coalition, which is advocating for this. Please visit and register to let your Congressional representation know that you want HSR and intercity rail. (I think my take away this year may be to always have a website for my “ask” each year!)

    Secondly, we were also pushing for passage of the stalled transportation reauthorization bill in Congress and for High Speed Rail to have a dedicated funding source. There is a consensus that this won’t happen before the November election. Which of course scares many of us since the next Congress may not have as friendly a composition as this one. More than one source on the Hill thought that the thorny issue of raising the gas tax would be brought up by the lame duck Congress in November or December.

    My overall impression? Having participated in NARP’s Day on the Hill since 2006, things have certainly changed for the better. The Congressional majority and Administration of that time barely noticed that the issue of trains for a sustainable, mobile future for our county existed. The federal DOT famously released a report during these years decrying road congestion but never mentioning rail for passengers or freight. Republican administrations since Reagan had regularly tried to write Amtrak out of the federal budget and even under Clinton a Gingrich inspired reauthorization of Amtrak passed in the late 90s that mandated Amtrak to become profitable with no investment.

    Our biggest fight now in Washington will be to get the $4 billion for HSR nationwide. The administration has only asked for one billion, just a year after their groundbreaking inclusion of $8 billion in ARRA (the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act). Anaheim to San Francisco is about $20 billion. We have almost $10 billion from the Prop. 1A bonds. We received a little more than $2 billion from ARRA early this year. Four billion a year, with California getting its fare share as it did in ARRA, will get us to completion of the first segment.

    Which leads me back to an earlier point – getting high-speed passenger rail into the transportation reauthorization bill stalled in Congress will be a great accomplishment. Funding HSR isn’t a political football in other countries in Western Europe, for instance. Once we get HSR into our federal transportation funding machinery funding it will be automatic and non-political. Just as it is for highways in this country.

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: advocacy, amtrak, appropriations, capitol hill, congress, dennis lytton, four billion, funding, high-speed rail, lobbying, narp, passenger trains, representative, senator, volunteers,

    Boardman Defends National Network on Fox Business News

    Friday, May 07, 2010

    In a televised interview with Fox Business News’s Brian Sullivan, a self-described “train aficionado” who nevertheless expresses skepticism about the future of high-speed rail and the need for passenger trains outside of certain densely-populated corridors, Amtrak President & CEO Joseph Boardman deflects what have become common doubts about his company.

    Boardman points out that Germany and Spain also only run true high-speed trains on a small percentage of their track miles. When Sullivan brings up Amtrak’s operating losses and asked if the railroad “should shed some unprofitable lines,” Boardman again turns to Europe, comparing Amtrak to Spain’s Renfe, which is “not expected to [make a profit in] ... providing mobility to a larger extent to its population.” He finishes by again touting rail’s energy-efficiency bona fides [PDF] and reiterating his argument that Amtrak is best suited to run “true” high-speed service in the US.

    Watch the full interview (6 1/2 minutes):

    —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: amtrak, brian sullivan, ceo, conventional trains, corridors, europe, fox business news, germany, high-speed rail, joseph boardman, national network, passenger trains, spain,

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