Hotline #766 -- July 6, 2012 (UPDATED)

(UPDATED: Saturday, July 7, 2012 -- The California Senate approved the high-speed train by a 21-16 vote.  Congratulations to all the NARP members and partners who worked so hard to move this project forward.)

Funding for the California high-speed rail project was approved by the State Assembly last night in a 51-27 vote.  The plan today faces a much stiffer vote in the State Senate, where—since each of the Chambers’ 15 Republican Senators have vowed to vote “no”—Governor Jerry Brown (D) will have to marshal the support of 21 of the 25 Democratic Senators.

As this was written, the debate was under way.   Live-streaming audio is available online (RealPlayer required).

NARP Council Member Dennis Lytton was published in the San Bernardino Sun, making the economic case for the high-speed train:

The project will create an estimated 450,000 direct job-years throughout its lifetime, as well as a million job-years from all economic activity generated by the statewide project. It is the lack of jobs that is causing our state's budget crisis as tax revenues have plummeted while the unemployed draw on public services. With high-speed rail starting construction next year, the huge number of new jobs generated will dramatically increase tax revenues flowing into the state budget.

…

High-speed rail will be a tremendous benefit for new businesses looking to locate in California and for homegrown businesses looking to expand.

As a state, we need to solidify ourselves as the place to do business. That means having world-class infrastructure that efficiently moves people.

Amtrak’s $25 million renovation of Chicago’s Union Station wrapped up in June, bringing the historic building’s interior systems up to modern standards and upgrading passenger facilities.  Crews also made improvements to the attached 8-story office building, which will increase the revenues Amtrak collects on the property.

The Midwestern-based Mortenson Construction Company performed significant restoration work on the 87-year-old building's mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, giving special care to preserving the building’s historic feel.  This work will open the upper stories of the building, allowing Amtrak to lease out more office space at a higher price.  From Mortenson’s press release about the project’s completion:

Amtrak is already reaping financial returns from the capital improvement program, which it can use to offset operating costs. It has moved its Chicago office employees back into the building, partially occupying the second and third floors and saving more than $2 million in annual rent. By eliminating inefficient radiator heat, utility costs have dropped by more than $1 million so far in 2012, with an expected yearly savings of more than $2 million.

In addition, air conditioning in the Great Hall is making it a hot spot for cool events in the summer, with a record nine events in May and four weddings in June.  The Great Hall, a waiting area for Amtrak and Metra train passengers and favorite location for movies from "The Untouchables" to "Man of Steel," is now a year-round venue for events and expected to bring in another $1 to $2 million annually.

To generate more revenue to put toward operating costs, Amtrak is working with Jones Lang LaSalle, the building's property manager, to market the rest of the available Headhouse office space as well as 60,000 square feet of upgraded retail space surrounding the Great Hall. "What was previously unrentable space because of life-safety issues and inadequate ventilation systems has become prime real estate," says Ray Lang, President of the Amtrak-owned Chicago Union Station Co. and the railroad's chief of state government relations. 

The project is an example of the benefits that come with well-built transportation infrastructure, and another indication that train stations are resuming their traditional role as centers of economic and civic activity.

In news made all the more relevant by the conflict that has arisen between proponents of California’s high-speed rail project and the state’s environmental community, the Regional Plan Association (RPA) released a study last week on how misguided implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) dramatically increases project delivery timelines, driving up the cost of infrastructure.

In "Getting Infrastructure Going: Expediting the Environmental Review Process," RPA looks at construction trends that have emerged since NEPA was adopted in 1970.  While the RPA argues that NEPA still provides “a strong regulatory framework for protecting the environment,” it argues that inconsistent and misguided implementation has undercut the value of the law:

[In] 2011, the average time it took to complete an environmental impact statement on a highway project was more than eight years, compared with two years in the 1970s.

The study describes how inconsistent policies among myriad government agencies contribute to delays. Some environmental reviews are longer and more complex than necessary, in part as a defense against the risk of future litigation. An absence of consensus from the outset over the nature or scope of projects also leads to logjams, as stakeholders seek to modify project goals during the environmental review process.

The practical result has sometimes been to unwittingly incentivize less environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects.  Because lawmakers have carved out more “categorical exemptions” from NEPA law for highways, for instance, it is often quicker to move forward on road building than more energy-efficient passenger projects.

The RPA worked with legal experts and environmentalists to develop quick and practical fixes that they believe would allow environmental analysis to be completed more quickly without sacrificing environmental protections.  Solutions include establishing broad agreement on project goals at the outset; prioritizing federal leadership on major job-generating projects, while simultaneously reducing federal involvement in minor projects; increasing accountability through clear deadlines and public transparency; and adopting digital transmission of environmental documents.

As part of the long-term effort to transform the Northeast Corridor into a truly world-class rail corridor, the Federal Railroad Administration issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to conduct a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Northeast Corridor. 

The EIS will evaluate potential passenger rail improvements between Washington, D.C., New York, NY and Boston, MA.  The NOI provides information on the project purpose, potential types of alternatives to be evaluated, and information on how the public can comment.  This process is needed before major new improvements can be undertaken.   

To participate in the scoping process, you may attend a meeting, send an email to info(at)necfuture.com" _mce_href="mailto:info(at)necfuture.com" target="_blank">info(at)necfuture.com, or comment on www.NECfuture.com, which was launched to facilitate public engagement with the effort to improve the Northeast Corridor.

The city council for the Washington State city of Blaine voted on June 25 for a resolution supporting the creation of an Amtrak stop for the border town.  Blaine—on the border between Washington State and British Columbia—has a population of around half a million, and is looking to connect to Amtrak’s popular Cascades Service.

(Correction: it was erroneously stated that the city of Blaine has a population of half a million.  This article should of stated that the population of the metropolitan areas that have gone on record in support of the Blaine Amtrak stop is half a million.  Blaine's population is actually under 5,000 people.)

Councils in the British Columbia cities of Surrey, White Rock and Langley are also supporting the effort.  Currently, Canadian residents of those towns have to travel north to Vancouver, B.C. to access the train service.  The closest stop on the U.S. side is Bellingham, Washington.

"I think it's encouraging that the communities in the Lower Mainland are getting behind this effort," Blaine City Manager Gary Tomsic said. "I think it's real significant, too. It's not just a matter of the little city of Blaine trying to make a pitch to become a stop."

Washington State’s Department of Transportation's Rail and Marine Office warned that the bar will be high for a new stop.  The corridor has received multiple federal high-performance rail grants, all given as part of an effort to create efficient intercity service.  Proponents of the Blaine stop will have to clearly demonstrate that the service will generate significant new revenue by adding a stop.

Local business leaders, however, are already on board, signaling an enthusiasm for the added economic advantage increased mobility would bring.

"For the Board of Trade, as a business organization, we are always evaluating the best ways in which to enhance the local economy and, in conjunction with that, utilize different transportation hubs," Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman told Surrey Now.  "By advocating for a stop in Blaine we're calling on the State of Washington to really allow for convenience for passengers south of the Fraser."

You can find out more information at http://blainestation.com/.

Traveler’s Advisory:

Track work on the Union Pacific Railroad tracks west of Jefferson City will affect three of the four Amtrak Missouri River Runners -- Trains 311, 314 and 316 between July 9 and October 20:

·         Train 311 (St. Louis – Kansas City) will depart St. Louis at 7:15 a.m. All subsequent arrivals and departures will occur two hours earlier than normally scheduled.

·         Train 314 (Kansas City – St. Louis) will depart Kansas City at 7:15 a.m. All subsequent arrivals and departures will occur one hour earlier than normally scheduled.

·         Train 316 (Kansas City – St. Louis) will depart Kansas City at 5 p.m. All subsequent arrivals and departures will occur one hour later than normally scheduled.

Running #311 two hours earlier breaks the connection from the eastbound Southwest Chief and means an ever longer wait in Kansas City since #316 is running an hour later.