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 Printable Version
September 12, 2008
[Below is text of identical letters sent to Senators Obama and McCain]
The 24,000-plus member National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), shares your concerns about the myriad problems facing Americans, including oil prices and other economic challenges, and the need for more transportation choices and an effective response to climate change. Passenger trains are an important part of the answer.
Americans are flocking to trains as airline and private vehicle travel become more expensive and less convenient. July 2008 was the highest ridership month in Amtrak’s 37-year history, with 14% more passengers than in July 2007. Individual routes recorded up to 43% even as Americans drove and flew less. Similarly, domestic travel over the Labor Day weekend this year increased on Amtrak but declined on other modes.
Amtrak is reaching capacity limits on its aging, inadequate fleet. Federal policy must empower Amtrak to invest in a renewed, expanded fleet. Amtrak will need at least $1.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2009 – including $100 million to repair sidelined rolling stock – to meet immediate growth needs.
At the same time, the federal government needs to improve significantly on this year’s modest, $30 million program to match state intercity passenger train investments. For the most part, such state investments still involve foregoing matching grants available for other modes. Thus, ironically, by offering big federal matches for highway and aviation investments but virtually nothing for intercity passenger trains, federal policy is discouraging progress on the form of travel which Americans want most and where expansion clearly makes good public policy.
Indeed, your colleague, Senator Tom Carper, said at a June 23 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, “When I was Governor of Delaware, if we wanted to build a road or a highway or a bridge, the federal government paid for 80% of it. If we wanted to do transit investment, the federal government provided 50% of it. If it made more sense to put in inter-city passenger rail, the federal government provided nothing. And I’m sure we made investment decisions which were probably wrong decisions because of the difference in those measures of federal support.” [emphasis added].
More significant long-term funding is needed. S. 294, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, a five-year passenger rail reauthorization, provides a longer term funding framework, including more state matching grants. Both the House and the Senate have passed S. 294 by veto-proof majorities.
Lost too often in the energy debate is the superior efficiency of passenger trains. Even with today’s aging fleet, Amtrak is 17.9% percent more efficient than airlines, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Congress must act now to finalize passage of S. 294, increase Amtrak’s appropriations for Fiscal 2009, and acknowledge the important role trains must play in meaningful responses to the transportation, environmental and energy crises facing the U.S.
Congress this week quickly threw $8 billion of general funds into the Highway Trust Fund and now is seriously considering a huge favored lending program for the Big Three. Surely, therefore, Congress also can increase intercity passenger train funding by $600 million in fiscal 2009 and send S. 294 to the White House.
The highway and automaker efforts are understandable because of the desire to save jobs, but they reinforce dependence on energy-intensive automobiles and make it even more important for a balancing action that puts people to work building energy-efficient passenger train systems.
We urge you to make the same case to your colleagues on Capitol Hill and we look forward to hearing how you, as president, would ensure greater funding for passenger trains. Thank you for your consideration, and please let us know if there is any more information we could provide.
Sincerely,
Ross B. Capon
Executive Director
National Association of Railroad Passengers
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