Hotline #918

July 2, 2015

U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) sent a letter calling for increased investment in transit and passenger rail on behalf of 35 California Democratic members of Congress. The letter, addressed to House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), outlined 21 transportation reauthorization priorities, including providing for a long-term, well-funded transportation bill and increasing transit funding.

NARP has come out in support of the Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act of 2015 (RREEA 2015), released last month by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Provisions favored by the association include: $1.8 billion in funding for Amtrak and passenger rail grants in Fiscal Year 2016, steadily increasing funding levels over the duration of the authorization to $2.8 billion in FY 2019; a U.S. DOT program to issue three-year operating assistance grants to launch or restore intercity rail passenger transportation; and a 50/50 federal-state partnership for passenger rail rehabilitation and improvement, designed to address the state of good repair backlog that is hindering the efficient operation of U.S. trains and preventing growth across the national network. We continue to urge members to contact their congressional delegations and encourage them to support RREEA 2015.

An editorial on train safety published in NJ.com mirrors NARP’s position: providing dedicated and consistent funding for a safe and efficient passenger rail system. It blasted the House of Representatives for cutting Amtrak's budget by $242 million a day after the May 12 derailment in Philadelphia. “We have to be wise with how we spend our tax dollars. Lawmakers would be wise to keep adequate funding to ensure our passenger and freight rail lines run smoothly, safely and economically,” said the editorial.

Pennsylvania’s Septa is one of a just a few transit agencies across the country on pace to meet the Dec. 31, 2015, deadline to have its Positive Train Control system up and running, reports CBS Philadelphia. The Senate’s rail reform bill (RREEA 2015) creates prioritizing grants to implement PTC technology and identifying common sense steps to speedily improve safety, such as creating speed limit action plans and addressing crew communication.

The Federal Railroad Administration this week said it was partnering with Google to provide the locations of 130,000 public and 85,000 private grade crossings via the Google Maps app, reports the New York Times. The information company will also provide audio and visual alerts to the app for when drivers use the turn-by-turn navigation feature.

Eyebrows are being raised in Boston after French-owned Keolis Commuter Services, which runs the city’s beleaguered MBTA, hired a new maintenance chief who doesn’t have rail experience, reports Boston.com. Kenneth A. Trahan, who was previously maintenance director for United Airlines, was tapped as the chief mechanical officer to oversee the maintenance of the T’s aging and balky fleet of trains.

Down the road, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo says a $41 million investment in rail infrastructure will help the state remain competitive and have a good business environment, reports the Boston Globe. A groundbreaking ceremony was held this week, with construction of new platforms at the Kingston train station and an additional section of track so Amtrak’s high-speed train can bypass regional rail service is scheduled to be complete next summer.

NARP believes people should consider intermodal and rail as they would any other transportation investment. The payoff to a municipality, state or region to invest is in whether the transportation fulfills a local or regional need in bringing jobs and the pre-conditions for a healthy economy and jobs to that area.

In the case of rail, the rule of thumb that has emerged from examples across the country suggests that on average every dollar invested in rail and improvements yields at least a three-dollar return to the surrounding community and often much more. Government transportation investment can help create the conditions to attract private capital, kick-starting growth and strengthening communities, states, regions, and ultimately the country.

The Washington Post covers how Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) made decisions on two major transportation projects in the region. He approved funding for the Purple Line, a light-rail link between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in the D.C. suburbs. But he nixed Baltimore’s $2.9 billion Red Line light-rail project, calling it “economically unfeasible.”

Across the U.S., engaged citizens, often catalyzed by our mayors and other local political and business leaders, recognize the importance of maintaining or enhancing their community’s connections to a regional and national transportation network. These citizens and their elected leaders know that only connected communities and regions have a chance of attracting the jobs and people that make an economy grow and create vibrant places to live and work. They’re willing to put politics aside to advocate for what is needed for their communities.

Lawmakers in Washington state approved a gas tax hike that included a measure authorizing Sound Transit to move ahead with a ballot initiative asking voters for another $15 billion in taxes to extend light rail in the Puget Sound region, reports the Olympian. The money could help fund an extension of the light rail from Seattle to Tacoma. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has been a strong proponent of getting the funding for the light rail system.

The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway has received funding for a new feasibility study for service between Iowa City and The Eastern Iowa Airport, reports the Gazette. Light rail service was studied 10 and 20 years ago, and this time, HDR of Omaha will oversee a $40,000 study that will focus on general information about cost, ridership, equipment and regulations. A 2006 study found that the cost of the project, at $21.4 million, was too high, without the ridership needed to sustain it.

Texas Central Railway is using private funding to build a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. But critics of the California High-Speed Rail Authority blast the agency for a lack of private-sector investment in its program after promising voters it would find one-third of the $68 billion project from private investors, reports the Fresno Bee. To fix this, the agency this week reached out to private industry, asking for input on how they can best participate in financing, building and delivering a ready-to-operate system of electric passenger trains by the early 2020s. Construction of the high-speed line began in June, and the agency has about $6 billion available to build about 120-130 miles of the line in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Tulare and Kern counties.

NARP is cautiously optimistic about the prospects for high-speed rail as a way to further support the development of the national passenger rail network, and as a way to complement existing Amtrak services. Efforts to build high-speed rail in California, Texas and Florida confirms what rail advocates have long known: passenger rail isn’t a blue state or a red state thing, it’s an American thing. All Americans, whether liberal, conservative, or moderate, can agree that our nation’s transportation future rests on balanced, multimodal investment.