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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,

    Young Train Supporters Make Waves in Montana

    Monday, May 17, 2010

    Demonstrated support from those who would benefit from a government action is an essential ingredient in any advocacy campaign. In the case of our campaign—along with other like-minded organizations—to expand the national passenger train network, we can all learn from the example being set by students at the University of Montana in Missoula, who have held many rallies and have otherwise vociferously pushed for the reinstatement of Amtrak’s North Coast Hiawatha. This train plied the then-Northern Pacific (now BNSF) main line through southern Montana and North Dakota until 1979, as a complement to the Empire Builder, with stops at Helena, Bozeman, Missoula and other locales. Under Congressional mandate, Amtrak studied [PDF] the impact its revival would have on ridership, revenue and costs.

    The students—with the assistance of the student government and the Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG)—held a well-attended rally in mid-March that was covered by the local CBS affiliate TV station:

    They have gathered signatures on a petition to state and federal leaders to find the funding to bring the train back as quickly as possible. The cause has already won the support of both Montana Senators, particularly Sen. Jon Tester (D), and of the state’s at-large Congressman, Denny Rehberg (R), who appeared at NARP’s Capitol Hill Reception in late April. During meetings with NARP Council members, staff members for North Dakota’s Congressional delegation also expressed support for the route. NARP is working with their offices to make sure that funding for the route is included in the fiscal 2011 spending bill.

    Not only is the student activism an effective example for other Route Support Teams to follow, it is also shows how young people are shaping our future for the better—by working for more convenient, affordable, enjoyable and sustainable transportation choices—thereby leaving America better prepared to meet our 21st-century energy, environmental and mobility challenges.

    —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: amtrak, energy, environment, media, missoula, montana, north coast hiawatha, restoration, students, television, trains, university, young people,

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