Hotline #752 - March 30, 2012

Congress passes three-month extension of surface transportation law; MBTA mulls over fare hikes; two rail bridges take important step forward.

Updated: April 2, 2012; the original version of this hotline incorrectly stated that Senator Mary Landrieu was a Republican.  The entry has been updated to reflect that the Senator from Louisiana is a Democrat.

President Obama today signed into law a three-month extension of the surface transportation authorization, avoiding a lapse of the gasoline-tax that would cripple highway and transit infrastructure projects.

The Senate had previously expressed a reluctance to go along with a short term extension, having already passed a two-year bill that would modify some provisions of existing transportation law while maintaining current levels of funding.  But since House leadership refused to take up the Senate proposal, it was either accede to another stop-gap measure or engage in a showdown with the House that would risk transportation infrastructure funding right as the summer work season begins—current law would’ve expired on March 31.

Senate Democrats were not shy about expressing their frustration at having to go with another extension, however.

“I absolutely will object to any other short-term resolution on this bill for as long as this Congress is in session,” said Senator Mary Landrieu (R-LA). “This is enough.”

The House and Senate begin a two-week recess today; what direction their work will take once they come back is unclear at this point.  House GOP leadership expressed confidence that they would be able to resuscitate their five-year proposal, previously panned by members of both parties.

“We are working on putting together the final touches on that bill. It will be ready when we get back,” said House Leader John Boehner (R-OH). “We will move quickly and kick it over to the Senate.”

House Democrats described this thinking as overoptimistic—in ungentle terms.

“What miracle will come upon us after we come back?” asked Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a press conference.

And certainly, there are many obstacles on the path to reviving the House GOP proposal.  GOP leadership has backed off on an attempt to stop funding transit from the Highway Trust Fund.  That proposal cost them the votes of Republicans who are moderate or represent suburban parts of the country.  However, jettisoning the transit proposal makes funding the bill more difficult.  This is a problem, given freshman members who swept into office on promises to cut spending.


The House yesterday voted 228-191 for a budget resolution that, as Politico reported, constituted “walking away from the August debt accords but inviting another October shutdown fight with Senate Democrats unless the House alters course.”  To protect the Pentagon against the automatic spending cuts in last summer’s debt ceiling agreement, the resolution “gives six other House committees an April 27 deadline to come up with an additional $261 billion in 10-year savings to forestall a January sequester from defense…When adjusted for inflation, that would leave most agencies with less money than they received at any time under President George W. Bush…In fact [House Budget Chairman Paul] Ryan’s plan is even more severe than his first attempt…last year.”  10 Republicans voted against their party’s budget resolution.

Aviation News reported that this resolution “proposes deep cuts in transportation and other domestic discretionary spending…Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, argued that the Republican plan would slash transportation outlays by 46 percent in FY13 at a time when there is 17 percent unemployment in the construction industry. He argued that the proposed cut in transportation spending is “not good for the economy.” 


With both House and Senate out on break, Members of Congress will be back home in their districts to meet with voters.  NARP is asking train advocates to take advantage of this opportunity to meet their elected official and make the case for trains.

With the appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2013 kicking off, and the fate of the surface transportation reauthorization still in the balance, Congressmen need to hear from the folks who depend on trains to get to work, to visit family, and to get around the country.

So reach out to your elected officials’ offices to find out about town hall events being held in your area!  And some Representatives and Senators set aside time to meet with constituents one-on-one, so don’t hesitate to reach out to them and ask.

If you don’t know your representative, check out the House’s website to get in touch with their office to find out about town hall meetings. 

Click here to get in contact with either of your senators.


The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority appears to have come up with a final proposal to address its $160 million budget gap, putting forth a plan that will raise fares while avoiding serious cuts to service in most cities and towns.

Starting July 1, bus passengers will pay an extra twenty-five cents for a total of $1.50, and subway passengers will pay an extra thirty cents a total of $2.00.  For commuter rail passengers, the cost of a Zone 1 monthly pass would increase to $173 from $135A (an increase of 28%), and a Zone 9 monthly pass would increase to $329 from $265 (an increase of 24%).

There was a feeling that things could’ve been worse.  Many communities were worried about the earlier ends to commuter rail service for many workers.  The MBTA had also discussed broadly ending weekend train operations, which would hurt weekend travelers and the businesses that depend on them in equal measure.

“We’ve cleared a big hurdle today,” Malden Mayor Gary Christenson told the Boston Globe. “I think we’re out of the woods here.”

However, serious cuts remain, including the elimination of weekend train service on the Needham, Kingston/Plymouth, and Greenbush lines.  Also, E Branch weekend service between Brigham Circle and Heath Street would be eliminated.

And not everyone was content to accede to the necessity of the fare increases, with some transportation advocates voicing concern over the timing of the fare raises when so many residents of Massachusetts are struggling to make ends meet.

“Now is the time that the MBTA should be trying to grow ridership, but this level of fare increase will permanently force people off the system,” wrote Kristina Egan, Executive Director of Transportation For Massachusetts, in a statement.  “Once fares go up, they never come down. People who use the T shouldn’t be forced to shoulder the burden of such steep fare increases. Today’s deficit is not of their making.”


The Sunset Limited hasn’t run in the Gulf Coast region and Florida since Hurricane Katrina knocked it out in 2005.  But local advocates are looking to change that, and they’re asking for your help!

The Florida cities of Pensacola, Chipley, Crestview, Tallahassee, and Lake City have been entirely without passenger rail service since 2005.  So too have been other important cities in the region, like Biloxi, MS, and Mobile, AL.  And this route segment—which completes the busy I-10 corridor—connects the eight southernmost states that, together, have one of every three Americans and account for half the nation’s population growth since 1970.

NARP has set up an online campaign to let you reach out to your local elected officials, newspapers, and friends and family to build support for this vital link on the national network.


Amtrak hit an important milestone in the replacement of the Niantic River rail bridge this week, floating in the new lift span into place to attach it to the structure of the bridge itself.

The new lift span was floated into place on March 26, and crews have spent all week connecting it to the new pivot girders, which are located on the land side of the marine channel.  The bridge in East Lyme, Connecticut has been a worry to transportation officials—operations throughout the Northeast Corridor depend on its smooth operations, and at 104-year old, it had already passed the end of its originally-intended useful life.

Marine traffic was halted throughout of the week.  Amtrak is scheduled to finish up the connecting work today, which will allow boats to resume their movement under the Niantic River Bridge.

The next major step is to shift rail traffic onto the new span; the project remains on schedule to be completed by May of 2013.


Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) was joined by U.S. Department of Transportation officials yesterday at a groundbreaking for the construction of a new railroad bridge that will get rid of one of the worst rail bottlenecks in America.

Funded largely by the High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program, $22.6 million of the project’s total $28 million costs will be covered by the federal government.  The new railroad bridge will add capacity and reduce delays for the four Amtrak passenger trains that carry more than six-hundred passengers across the Osage River every day.  The bridge is on the heavily traveled Kansas City-St. Louis corridor.

“The improvements being made to this corridor will provide the people of Missouri with faster, more convenient connections to cities throughout the Midwest and help strengthen the economy throughout the region,” said Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Hedlund.

The new 1200-foot bridge will benefit the movement of goods as well, as more than 60 freight trains pass over the bridge everyday.  The bottleneck due to single-tracking will be eased once the bridge is completed, and trains running on the rail corridor between St. Louis and Jefferson City will operate almost entirely on two mainline tracks.


The U.S. Department of Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisers released a report today that calls for immediate investment in infrastructure to shore-up the middle-class and support energy security—both of which will be vital to America’s ability to compete in the long-term.

“This report highlights the need for critical investments in transportation to help ease the burden on middle-class families trying to make ends meet, create jobs where workers would especially benefit, and also strengthen our competitiveness and support business infrastructure over the long term,” said Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Jan Eberly.

The report, titled “A New Economic Analysis of Infrastructure Investment,” identifies multi-modal transportation investments as critical to ensuring the mobility and financial stability of American families:

In the short-term, investments in transportation create middle-class jobs—80 percent of the jobs created are in the construction sector, the manufacturing sector and the retail and wholesale trade sectors—where nearly 90 percent of the jobs have middle-class wages.
In the long-term, transportation choices, including public transit and high-speed rail, deliver benefits to families burdened by fluctuating global oil markets, congested automobile travel, and a lack of transportation options. The average American family spends more than $7,600 a year on transportation, which is more than they spend on food and more than twice what they spend on out-of-pocket health care costs. For 90 percent of Americans, transportation costs absorb one out of every seven dollars of income.

The treasury department also connected transportation infrastructure with energy independence, looking at how a more efficient infrastructure system would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.  Traffic congestion on American roads burns an extra 1.9 billion gallons of gas each year, costing Americans more than $100 billion in fuel and time wasted.

Also identified was broad public support for policy makers to engage with the issue, citing a study that found 19 out of 20 Americans expressed concern about America’s infrastructure, with 84% in support of greater levels of investment to address the country’s infrastructure problems.  The document pointed to the President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 transportation budget proposal as an appropriate level of funding.  The President’s plan would direct $2.5 billion towards passenger rail in the coming year, and $47 billion between now and the end of FY2018.

[You can read the full report on the U.S. Treasury’s website.]


President Barack Obama announced his intent to Nominate Yvonne B. Burke to Amtrak’s Board of Directors yesterday.

“Yvonne B. Burke is currently a member of the Committee on Congressional Ethics as well as the California Transportation Commission,” said a statement from the White House’s press secretary that detailed her qualifications.  “From 1992 to 2008, Ms. Burke served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which she previously served on from 1979 to 1980 as the first African-American representative on the Board.”

Ms. Burke also served six years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1972-1978), and six-years as a California State Assemblywoman (1966-1972).  She received a B.A. from the University of California-Los Angeles, and a J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law.

The Senate will have to confirm the President’s nomination.