Hotline #725 - September 23, 2011

NARP President Ross Capon will be appearing on “Midday with Dan Rodricks” on Wednesday, September 28, 1-2 p.m. Eastern. For station listings and online streams of episodes, check out their website
. Previous shows are archived on the web site, including the May 17 joint appearance of Capon and Amtrak Vice-President Policy and Development Stephen Gardner.

The show will focus on the federal funding situation and its threat to Amtrak’s existence.


The Senate Committee on Appropriations passed a transportation bill that would fund Amtrak at $1.48 billion, and was successfully amended to include $100 million for the High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail program.

Under the Senate proposal, Amtrak would receive $544 million for operations and $937 million for capital and debt servicing.  The figure is a significant improvement over its House counterpart, and doesn’t include the controversial, House-originated prohibition on using federal operating funds on state-supported routes which could very well have led to an Amtrak shut-down. 

Nonetheless, both the capital and operating grant numbers are problematic for Amtrak.  The Senate’s operating grant actually is lower than what apparently is in the continuing resolution ($544 million vs. $552 million) and both are lower than the current level ($561 million).  The Senate’s capital number is $937 million, but with $15 million earmarked for the Gateway project, and $271 million needed to avoid defaulting on debt, that leaves only $651 million when the need is for $775 million just to fund basic rolling stock and infrastructure needs plus keep on schedule in bringing all stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  It seems to be a foregone conclusion that work to address the backlog of investment needs on the Northeast Corridor (not included in that $775 million) will come to a halt.

The $100 million restoration of funds for the High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail program was a last minute addition led by Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-MI), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA).  Several transportation and growth advocacy groups—including NARP—led a call-in campaign directed at the Senate, helping pro-rail forces win the day.

However, with little hope of reaching a compromise on the many appropriations bill before the end of the fiscal year (September 30), it appears funding in the coming year will be determined by a continuing resolution, or a series of continuing resolutions.  That sets up Amtrak for a likely budget of $1.46 billion—with $552 million for operating and $909 million for capital and debt servicing.  The figure would likely keep all Amtrak routes operational, but force layoffs, weaken key planning activities, and erode maintenance programs as noted above.

Wrangling between the Senate and the House over a GOP-led effort to include $1.5 billion in offsets for $3.65 billion in disaster aid is holding up passage of the compromise budget however.  Senate Democrats are signaling that they won’t consider the offset, which eliminates an Energy Department program guarantees loans to automakers engaging in the production of fuel-efficient vehicles.  Unless a bargain is reached by the end of September, a government shutdown will go into effect.  Amtrak could operate on ticket revenues for four weeks or more without government payments. 


Peter Voser, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, told the Financial Times this week, “We most probably will see a tightening of the supply-demand balance and hence rising energy prices for the long term. I think we should just get used to that.”

Although part of his message was aimed at building support for more domestic U.S. energy production, he agreed that a huge challenge remains whatever is done in the U.S.

The FT’s article (Sept. 22 print edition) also had this:

“Oil output from fields in production declines by 5 per cent a year as reserves are depleted, so the world needed to add the equivalent of four Saudi Arabias or 10 North Seas over the next 10 years just to keep supply level, even before much of an increase in demand, Mr. Voser said.”

Voser also said there will be plenty of “volatility.” Obviously, a severe depression would postpone but not avoid the energy crunch.


The U.S. Department of Transportation announced September 20 that it is delivering $82.3 million for high-speed and intercity passenger rail improvements in the Northeast 

The money will fund infrastructure upgrades in Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut and Vermont, improving service on the Northeast Corridor, Connecticut’s New Haven—Springfield line, Maine’s Downeaster route, and the Vermonter service. 

“These are the kinds of investments that will improve reliability and on-time performance and attract more passengers,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We are creating jobs throughout New England, building our rails with American-made materials and growing the New England economy.”

The $82.3 million will be distributed between five projects:

• Rhode Island Department of Transportation; $26.2 million—Design and construction work for an electrified third track running alongside the NEC’s main line, along with a new platform for the station in Kingston, RI.
• Rhode Island Department of Transportation; $3 million—Preliminary design and environmental review work to ensure American with Disabilities Act compliance for Amtrak’s Providence station platform.
• Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA); $20.8 million—Upgrades to tracks between Wilmington and Ballardville, MA, including double-tracking and signal upgrades.  Known locally as the “wildcat,” this line saw freight trains only for many years until it was reactivated to offer faster Haverhill-Boston service; it has fewer grade crossings than historic route through Reading.  Today, it is used by some Haverhill MBTA trains and all Downeasters.  The projects will also replace old track between between Lawrence and Bradford, MA with continuously-welded rail.  Infrastructure upgrades will improve service on Amtrak’s Downeaster service.
• Connecticut Department of Transportation; $30 million—Design and construct six miles of new double-tracks from Hartford to Windsor, CT, along with an 8,500-foot siding through the Hartford Yard to better clear freight out of the way of passenger trains.
• Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans); $2.7 million—Extend improved signal and train control technology along a 16-mile stretch of track used by Amtrak’s Vermonter service, enhancing safety and operational speed and efficiency.

The U.S. Department of Transportation also announced the delivery of $31.1 million to Washington State’s Department of Transportation, which will use the money on passenger and freight improvement projects on the Cascades corridor.
“The investments we’re making in the Cascades line will improve reliability and service for passengers while putting people to work on crucial rail projects,” said Secretary LaHood. “It’s a win-win because these investments will also help create jobs and grow the economy by building and maintaining railways with American-made materials.”

$16.1 million of the grant will fund design, environmental review, and construction work to stabilize and improve track between Blaine, and Vancouver, WA.  The infrastructure improvements will help to address passenger and freight disruptions due to seasonal, heavy rainfall that reduces soil stability.

The other $15 million will go to construct a new rail access point to the Port of Vancouver, adding grade separation at an existing road-rail crossing which has been a severe chokepoint for passenger and freight traffic.

“Ridership continues to grow with travelers choosing Amtrak Cascades in record numbers,” said Washington Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “Securing these federal dollars gets us going on improvements to make the service more reliable so our passengers can get to their destinations on time,” she said.


The U.S. Department of Transportation also announced $22 million for the Maryland Department of Transportation last week to finish up the preliminary engineering and environmental work for the replacement and expansion of the 105 year-old Susquehanna River Bridge on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.

“Coupled with previously appropriated NEC money totaling $1.75 billion, the Obama Administration’s historic investment in the Northeast Corridor will upgrade aging railways and drastically expand our transportation network’s capacity for high-speed rail,” said Secretary Ray LaHood.  “In doing so, these projects are creating thousands of good-paying jobs and using materials made in the USA.”

The bridge’s replacement is “a key component to the region’s long term plans to drastically expand capacity, and improve reliability and on-time performance for high-speed and regional trains.”  The NEC corridor serves approximately 18% of the U.S. population, and is the nation’s busiest rail line.


This morning the full Michigan State Senate passed a full supplemental appropriations bill that includes the required match for the $161 million federal High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail grant to the state. The supplemental passed the Republican-controlled body convincingly, with 30 ayes, six nays, and two abstentions.

Ninety percent of the grant ($150 million) will go toward the purchase and restoration of 135-miles of track between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, laying the groundwork for higher-speed passenger service.  Also, the Ann Arbor to Detroit rail corridor will receive $7.9 million, and the Chicago-Detroit high-speed rail corridor will receive $3.2 million for planning.


On October 3, four panelists—including NARP’s Malcolm Kenton—will discuss how to promote the use of non-automobile methods of transportation in a Denver panel discussion on alternative transportation.

The panel will put a particular focus on young people, and includes the Director of the Denver Regional Transit District and other transportation advocates.

Local NARP members are encouraged to come!  Full details listed on the NARP Calendar.


The Federal Transit Administration awarded the City of Charlotte a $25 million grant for a streetcar line that will provide a fast, clean, energy efficient transportation option for residents of one of America’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas, laying the groundwork for economic development in the center

“Putting American workers on transportation construction sites in cities like Charlotte is a crucial part of the President’s vision for the future of this country,” said Secretary LaHood. “Unemployed construction workers across the country are ready to roll up their sleeves right now.”

The money will fund the design and construction of 1.5 miles of the line, connecting six stops that include the Charlotte Transportation Center near Time-Warner Cable Arena (home of Charlotte’s NBA franchise), the city’s Government Center, Central Piedmont Community College, and Presbyterian Hospital.  Charlotte has acquired three vintage streetcars.

The project will eventually extend 10 miles and serve the entire metropolitan area. 

Image: DOT Fastlane

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA) has been holding a series of public events throughout the Central Valley, allowing supporters and opponents of the ambitious project to air their views.

The San Francisco Chronicle began the week with an article about the three lawsuits facing the high-speed rail corridor—two counties seeking to stop the project, and the city of Palmdale looking to ensure that the line will run through their community.

The city of Palmdale, which is within Los Angeles County, has expressed worries that CAHSRA will abandon an alignment that runs the corridor through Antelope Valley in favor of running parallel to Interstate 5 instead.  The city is looking for legal guarantees that they will be served by the line.

Conversely, Kings County officials are saying they will do everything in their power to prevent the line from running through their community, saying it will destroy valuable farmland.

It is certainly not a surprise that a project on such a grand, far-reaching scale should cause controversy.  Anytime an infrastructure project touches as many lives as the Los Angeles to San Francisco corridor will, heated disagreement between proponents and opponents is sure to follow—with one faction charging NIMBYism and the other appealing to property rights.

That’s why these hearings are so vital to the development of California’s high-speed rail system.  It is essential that CAHSRA hear and address the concerns of the public so that cities and property owners along the corridor are treated fairly. 

CAHSRA also needs to drive home the point that California is projected to add around 25 million people by the year 2050, and if the state doesn’t build the high-speed line it will need to build 3,000 miles of new freeways, five new airport runways, and build 90 new airport departure gates—costing an estimated $100 billion.  The public needs to understand that the high-speed line is still the most cost-effective, land-efficient way to handle the coming population boom.


This week, the NARP blog looked at Jet Blue’s CEO’s comments about the benefits of high-speed rail.

Read More.