A major transportation bill charts new territory, Chinese rail investment attracts major corporations, two passenger rail critics miss the point, and more on this week’s roundup of reactions and ruminations related to rail.
Last week, Chaiman James Oberstar (D-WI) of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee unveiled his much-anticipated draft of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act. Transportation for America has the executive summary and full text (90 pages), and a discussion of how it would affect states and locales seeking money for new transit systems. The Transport Politic and Streetsblog DC also have commentary worth reading. NARP is encouraged that a rail title was included, representing a change from initial plans and a first for a major surface transportation bill. However, to our knowledge, the $50 billion authorized for the new high-speed rail program over five years still lacks a funding source.
China’s $87.9-billion rail investment is generating a lot of economic activity, and not just in China. IBM and General Electric are joining other multinational companies in producing the technology and infrastructure that could soon make China the world leader in rail volume and sophistication. Ramped-up rail investment on the home front would make a similar impact, generating a sizeable number of both blue- and white-collar jobs.
Bill Farley’s Charleston (SC) Post and Courierop-ed calling for an Amtrak shutdown shows that hostility to passenger trains is alive and well among the usual suspects. Distances between many U.S. cities are comparable to those in Europe. The key to the success of intercity trains there is that pedestrian- and transit-friendly urban development patterns enhance their accessibility and proximity to final destinations. but many depend on Amtrak even in less populated areas. The main reason why some foreign intercity passenger rail lines seem profitable is that their balance sheets do not account for the massive public investments that went into their construction nor the urban and suburban transit lines that feed into them, which nobody expects to be profitable. The U.S. is making progress on this score—consider Dallas whose train station is the hub of light rail and commuter rail services, and St. Louis where the new multimodal terminal has linked Amtrak to the highly successful light rail service and Lambert Airport. Farley also whined, “There are vast areas of this country where nobody lives and/or nobody wants to go.” But many depend on Amtrak even in less populated areas, not just in Montana, North Dakota and East Texas but in many of the other smaller cities that Amtrak serves. More and more Americans are taking trains, and with the proper investment and guidance, they can once again become “a major mover of people.”
A known critic of rail investment and smart growth policies once again focuses on the non-issue of passenger rail’s profitability. Why doesn’t anyone ever ask why highway construction and maintenance isn’t profitable, or why the air traffic control system doesn’t make money? Because that’s not the point. We invest in transportation infrastructure because society and the economy benefit from the dividends, and because almost all other profitable enterprises depend on efficient mobility.
LCL: Secretary LaHood talks up DOT’s guidance for high-speed and intercity passenger rail proposals; rail industry leaders discuss electrification in the US, Canada & Britain; Switzerland and Italy are working on the world’s longest railroad tunnel (35 miles Zurich to Milan); Michiganders hear a dubious proposal for a privately-financed hydrogen-powered maglev line while their cash-strapped state threatens to cut its operating grant for Amtrak and potentially terminate a route in the state; Michigan’s top transportation official defends high-speed rail; dramatic on-time performance gains draw riders back to the rails in Missouri; Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) wisely shelves maglev support in favor of the more acheivable Desert XPress proposal (meanwhile, the Las Vegas Sunevaluates the competing bullet-train proposals);federal rail money turns heads in Atlanta; and an op-ed in New Jersey’s Daily Recordechoes NARP’s concerns about the new tunnels under the Hudson River.
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 Postcolumn, 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.
Many reasons cited for car ownership drop, a way to show that conventional intercity trains actually do make money, Schwarzenegger’s missteps, and more.
The number of cars owned by Americans dropped by 4 million in 2009, even given the less-than-ideal state of alternative transportation. The recession and the “cash for clunkers” program contributed to the trend, but weren’t the only factors. “Increased urbanization, gas prices, traffic and congestion, automobile saturation and even concerns regarding climate change” were also cited in an Earth Policy Institute report. The benefits of less driving will grow as intra- and intercity rail, in particular, become more attractive.
A privately-commissioned financial impact study finds that the proposed Northern Flyer train, which would connect Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer with the Southwest Chief by running between Oklahoma City and Newton, Kansas, would generate $3.20 in regional economic benefit for every $1.00 of capital and operations cost. The train’s backers are taking the laudable approach of quantifying all its external benefits in dollar terms and adding them to the overall calculus, producing a much truer reflection of its economic impact than a mere comparison of revenue from passenger fares to both capital and operating costs.
An air-travel-weary young guest newspaper columnist from Eugene, Oregon, tries taking the train to Colorado. “When I fly, I tend to lose things: my bags, my wallet, my temper, my dignity, etc,” he writes. “Traveling with Amtrak is all about gains—friendships and experiences, mostly.” His trip would have been a lot more direct if the Pioneer was back in service.
If you were the governor of a state facing a record budget gap and a worsening transportation problem compounded by a booming population, would you be quick to recommend cutting gas taxes that pay for public transportation? Well, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to do just that [PDF]. Luckily, voters may get a chance to preserve transit funding in November.
Amtrak is offering 100 bonus points (the equivalent of frequent flier miles) to current Amtrak Guest Rewards (AGR) members who are Facebook “fans” of the railroad—and 750 bonus points to non-AGR members who join AGR. Go to Amtrak’s Facebook page and scroll down for the link.
LCL: CNN Tech shows how worldwide recognition of train’s lower environmental footprint is a key factor in the mode’s resurgence—particularly in China and Europe, but also in the US. * * * A new military complex in the Washington suburbs won’t be transit accessible—giving traffic planners headaches that could have been avoided with forethought. * * * A Yale history professor ponders how modernizing the US passenger rail network would enhance our global competitiveness.
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