Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility

Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility Renamed 'Northeast Alliance for Rail'

2013-02-10T23:00:36Z

The Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility has officially been renamed, The Northeast Alliance for Rail (NEAR). The new name more clearly describes the work that the coalition does - it is no longer just a business alliance, as many civic and planning groups are active members, and our advocacy work is now more focused on passenger rail investments in the Northeast Megaregion, as opposed to broader mobility. The Northeast Alliance's new acronym, "NEAR," speaks to the proximity created by investments in passenger rail that reduce trip times between major urban hubs, and the hope that these investments will be made in the near-term.

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Hurricane Sandy Relief Is on the Way

2013-02-01T16:20:00Z

The Senate (barely) passed the Sandy Relief Bill on Monday, Jan 28 on a 62-36 vote (60 votes were needed) and President Obama signed it into law later that day. So, after more than three long months of negotiations, relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy is finally on the way.

Relief funding in the bill totals $50.66 billion, which includes a total of $13 billion for transportation programs - $2 billion for FHWA and $10.9 billion for FTA. Of that amount, $5.4 billion will be available for grants to projects that strengthen transit infrastructure to protect against future storms. Amtrak will be eligible to apply for a portion of these funds. Amtrak was appropriated $118 million - $86 million in capital funds and $32 million in operating funds - to cover repair expenses associated with Hurricane Sandy.

House Passes Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill

2013-01-17T21:30:17Z

On Tuesday night, the House passed a $50.66 billion Hurricane Sandy Relief Package, which includes a total of $118 million for Amtrak - $86 million in capital funds and $32 million in operating funds to cover expenses associated with Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012. Amtrak requested $336 million in the previous legislative session and the Senate had included the full amount in their version of the bill, but Congress failed to pass a bill before the end of the last session, so they had to start over in the new session.

A total of $10.9 billion will also go to repairing the public transportation systems in the New York region, including the New York City Subway, Metro-North and Long Island Railroads, and NJ Transit. The bill's next hurdle is in the Senate, where lawmakers will conference with the House before sending a final bill for the President to sign.

]]> The bill faced fierce criticism and opposition from fiscal conservatives in the House, many of whom voted no on the final bill. Only 49 Republicans voted for the final package and 179 voted against it. The final tally was 241 to 180. Many Republicans were hoping to pass amendments that would have required the relief funding to be offset by discretionary spending cuts.

Amtrak Breaks Ridership Record (Again)

2012-10-15T21:01:15Z

Amtrak recently announced that the railroad broke their all-time annual ridership record for the ninth time in 10 years in fiscal year 2012, carrying 31.2 million passengers, surpassing the previous record, set last year, by one million trips. More people rode Amtrak trains in July 2012 than during any other month in the company's history. Since 2000, Amtrak ridership has grown by nearly 50%, as people seek out alternatives to highway traffic congestion, and hassles and delays at airports. However, these are not the only milestones that Amtrak has achieved of late.

]]> Aside from increasing ridership, the average on-time performance of Amtrak trains also reached a new, all-time high. As rail ridership continues to rise across the country, it is now more important than ever to improve the reliability of Amtrak's trains. Amtrak also has been steadily expanding and upgrading the nation's rail infrastructure and services. Last month, they opened the new Niantic River Bridge in East Lyme, Conn., on schedule after three years of work replacing the 105-year-old span. Amtrak also recently announced the long-awaited extension of Northeast Regional service to Norfolk, Va., where service was eliminated way back in 1977. When the service begins in December, riders in Norfolk will have a one-seat ride as far north as Boston.

Furthermore, Amtrak has made all of this progress while requesting less operating support from Congress each year. Amtrak is requesting 44% less federal funding for rail operations than it did in 2004 and now says that it covers 85% of its costs using ticket revenue. This is an impressive feat given that the average farebox recovery ratio for public transit agencies in the U.S. is less than 30%.

Amtrak On Pace for Record Ridership

2012-09-11T20:50:24Z

Over the last nine years, Amtrak has broken their all-time annual ridership record eight times! Last year, Amtrak set the current ridership record of 30.2 million passengers. This year, they're on pace to set the bar even higher.

Through the first eleven months that have passed in the current fiscal year (October 2011 to August 2012) ridership nationwide is up 3.4 percent. "In each month of the current fiscal year," Amtrak wrote in a press release, "[we have] posted the highest ridership total ever for that particular month (i.e., the best October ever, the best November ever, etc.) with the final month of September also expected to be a new record." On top of that, Amtrak carried more passengers in July that any other single month in its history.

Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service is helping lead this surge in ridership. Through July, ridership on the corridor spine is up 4.1 percent and revenue is up 5.4 percent. Northeast branch lines are also posting ridership increases: the New Haven-Springfield line is up 0.8 percent, the Empire line is up 2.8 percent, the Adirondack line is up 3.9 percent, and the Keystone line is up 5 percent.

]]>
In other Amtrak news:

-- Late Friday night, the last train to ever cross the old Niantic River Bridge rolled over the 105 year old movable bridge, as Amtrak shifted all rail traffic to a new bascule lift bridge. This marks a major milestone in the completion of this $140 million project.

-- The Governor of Virginia announced that the extension of Amtrak's Northeast Regional Virginia service to Norfolk, VA is set to open this December. Riders will now have access to one seat rides to all stops on the Northeast Corridor, including stations in Virginia, such as Richmond and Lynchburg. This marks the resumption of a service that ended back in 1977.

Download Amtrak's press release about ridership increases.

Download Amtrak's press release about the Niantic River Bridge.

Download Amtrak's press release about the extension of Northeast Regional service to Norfolk, VA.

NEC FUTURE Public Scoping Meetings

2012-08-02T15:30:08Z

The FRA has announced details of the public scoping meetings for the NEC FUTURE program. Nine meetings are scheduled between August 13 and 22, all at different locations in the eight states served by the Northeast Corridor and District of Columbia. The purpose of these meetings is to inform and involve the public in defining the scope of the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement and Service Development Plan study to be completed as part of this program.

Public engagement is a critical part of the NEC FUTURE process and your input will make a substantial impact on the final vision for future rail improvements in the Northeast. We strongly recommend you attend the meeting in your area to provide comments and explain to the FRA why NEC improvements are important to your community, business, or industry group, and our region as a whole. You should be prepared to describe what kind of rail service you'd like to see offered over the next 40 years (to where, at what travel time, frequency, price points, and with what service amenities). We are also planning on submitting an official letter to the FRA on behalf of the Business Alliance advocating for our highest priority objectives. So, if you are unable attend a meeting, please feel free to email me your thoughts on what we should advocate for in this letter.

Meeting dates, times, and locations listed after the jump.

]]> The scoping meetings, scheduled as follows, will be held in an informal, open house format from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., including display stations with presentation boards staffed by NEC FUTURE team members to answer questions and obtain participants' input. A brief presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m., after which there will be an opportunity to provide comments and ask questions either publicly or privately. You are welcome to arrive at any time during the open house.

Monday, August 13 -- Boston, MA
Mass. State Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Conference Rooms 1, 2 & 3

Tuesday, August 14 -- New Haven, CT
Shubert Theatre, 247 College Street

Wednesday, August 15 -- Baltimore, MD
Univ. of Baltimore, Thumel Conference Facilities, 11 W. Mount Royal Street

Wednesday, August 15 -- Newark, NJ
NJTPA Board Room, One Newark Center, 17th Floor

Thursday, August 16 -- New York, NY
Farley Post Office / Moynihan Station, 380 West 33rd Street, Room 4500

Monday, August 20 -- Philadelphia, PA
SEPTA Board Room Complex, 1234 Market Street, Mezzanine Level

Monday, August 20 -- Wilmington, DE
Carvel State Office Building, 820 North French Street

Tuesday, August 21 -- Washington, DC
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 777 North Capitol St NE

Wednesday, August 22 -- Providence, RI
Department of Administration, One Capitol Hill

(Click the links for a map and directions)

A Scoping Package for the NEC FUTURE program is available online, which explains the program's goal and objectives, and process. You can also visit the Business Alliance's Back on Track Blog for a recent article that provides an overview of the NEC FUTURE program.

Comments submitted by participants will be documented, and adjustments to the project scope will be made to reflect those comments. At the conclusion of the scoping process, a Scoping Summary Report will be prepared to summarize the comments from stakeholders, along with the adjustments to the scope to reflect those comments.

If you can not attend a scoping meeting, you can also submit your comments to me by the end of the month and I will consolidate them into the Business Alliance's official letter to the FRA. Or you can submit them individually via the following methods by September 14, 2012: by email at info@necfuture.com, through the NEC FUTURE website, or by postal mail to the following address:

Rebecca Reyes-Alicea
U.S. DOT, Federal Railroad Administration
Office of Railroad Policy & Development
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590

Amtrak Releases Master Plan for Washington Union Station

2012-07-25T18:05:00Z

On Wednesday, Amtrak released its $7.5 billion Master Plan for Washington Union Station, which would transform the station area into a multimodal transportation hub and a major commercial, retail and residential center for the entire Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The plan would triple the passenger capacity of the station and add several new tracks for high-speed rail. But the plan is more than just expanding station capacity, it also includes the development of Burnham Place, a mixed-use real estate project over the tracks behind the station.

Download Amtrak's Washington Union Station Master Plan

]]> Most of the expansion of Union Station would come below ground, where Amtrak plans to add new tracks, platforms and shopping areas, including six tracks dedicated to high-speed rail. The expansion would relieve passenger and train congestion and improve passenger experience in the multimodal transportation center.

Burnham Place, named after Union Station architect Daniel Burnham, is a 3 million square-foot smart growth project, including 1.5 million square feet of office space, more than 1,300 residential units, 500 hotel rooms, and 100,000 square feet of retail space. The station area would become a vibrant commercial, retail and residential center that is easily accessible by pedestrians, public transit, and high-speed trains.

The expansion and transformation plan for Union Station represents a unique opportunity to stimulate growth in the D.C. metropolitan area, to set a great example for transit-oriented development real estate, and to accelerate the planning of a true high-speed rail in the Northeast. The next step would be to come up with a financing and implementation plan to make the great visions become reality. We commend Amtrak's long-sighted vision for Washington's Union Station and call for a feasible implementation plan.

NEC FUTURE: Shaping the Vision for the Northeast Corridor

2012-07-23T14:35:40Z

The Federal Rail Administration recently initiated the NEC FUTURE program, a planning effort to define, evaluate and prioritize future investments in the Northeast Corridor (NEC). In the following two weeks, the Back on Track Blog will feature a two-article series on the NEC FUTURE program. The series will introduce the concept, scope, and elements of the program, and how the public and business community can participate in the process. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit NEC FUTURE's website regularly for the latest progress and to voice your opinions.

]]> Overview of NEC FUTURE

Over the past few years, the NEC's aging and deteriorating infrastructure has been the subject of multiple planning and visioning efforts. In 2010, Amtrak published the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan and A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, and most recently a 2012 update report, The Amtrak Vision for the Northeast Corridor. These efforts have clearly defined Amtrak's long-term vision for upgrading the NEC, including a world-class, next generation high-speed rail service on new, dedicated tracks. Other groups and institutions have contributed to this discussion as well, including the University of Pennsylvania, which have published three separate reports.

To study these options more thoroughly, the FRA launched the long-awaited environmental review process for the NEC in February 2012, now known as NEC FUTURE. The NEC was ineligible for previous rounds of federal high-speed rail funding because it did not have an up-to-date environmental impact statement. The commencement of the NEC FUTURE program is hence an urgent and critical step towards expanding the heavily-traveled, but capacity-bound transportation spine of the nation's most important economic powerhouse.

The purpose of the NEC FUTURE program is to prepare a Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan. This PRCIP will consist of two parts: 1) A service development plan that articulates the overall scope, alternatives, and approach for proposed improvements, and 2) a tier 1 environmental impact statement, which will evaluates and addresses the broad, corridor-wide environmental impacts due to the improvements. Technical teams, composed of consultants from the Parsons Brinckerhoff / AECOM Joint Venture, are responsible for preparing the SDP and tier 1 EIS; while technical working groups, composed of intercity rail and rail transit experts from the FRA, Volpe National Transportation System Center, Joint Venture team, and outside stakeholder groups, have been established to serve as advisers to the lead technical team. The TWGs will work to ensure the validity of data and technical analysis throughout the process. The Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility was chosen to be a member of one of these TWGs - the Alternatives Development TWG - which will assist in developing the rail improvement alternatives.

Preparation of the SDP and tier 1 EIS will proceed simultaneously. Throughout the entire process, stakeholders and the public will be engaged early and continually by the FRA and the technical teams to provide advice and comments in public meetings. Interested individuals and organizations can also raise their concerns online or mail them to the following address from today until September 14, 2012:

Rebecca Reyes-Alicea
U.S. DOT, Federal Railroad Administration
Office of Railroad Policy & Development
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590

Environmental Impact Statements

The National Environmental Policy Act states that any project that receives federal funding must give proper consideration to environment impacts and involve the public in its decision-making process. In accordance with this law, all improvement projects to the Northeast Corridor must undergo an environmental review to study their impact on the region's natural resources. This includes evaluating and screening all of a project's reasonable alternatives by comparing their costs and benefits based on measurable criteria. Ultimately, the alternatives that do not merit further consideration are eliminated and a preferred alternative is selected by the organization conducting the study. In this case, the Federal Railroad Administration is the lead agency with support from the JV team.

Tiering

Given the scope, complexity, and number of stakeholders along the Northeast Corridor, a "tiered" approach to the environmental review process was chosen. Improvements to the corridor will actually be a program composed of individual projects, and each project will need to study its own environmental impacts separately. A tiered process first analyzes broad, programmatic impacts in a tier 1 EIS (or program-level EIS, or PEIS), so that those issues do not need to be studied again as individual projects in tier 2 (or project-level) EISs. Theoretically, tiering is intended to speed the process along.

The tier 1 EIS for the Northeast Corridor improvements will select a preferred alignment on a broad level. A tier 1 record of decision would then be issued approving the general area where actions would be implemented. Following this decision, tier 2 EISs will be prepared for each individual project. The NEC FUTURE program includes only the Tier I EIS review.

Study Area
The study area of the tier I EIS for the NEC, as shown in the map, includes eight Northeastern states plus the District of Columbia. It encompasses the region served by the Northeast Corridor, plus those areas that can be reached from it directly by train or via a single transfer to connecting corridors (e.g. the Empire Corridor in New York). The exact extent of this study area will be refined as the NEC FUTURE program progresses and alternatives are identified.

Tier I Environmental Impact Statement Process

The Tier I EIS for the Northeast Corridor formally started on June 22, 2012 when the FRA released a notice of intent, notifying agencies and the public that they intended to undertake and prepare a tier I EIS. This notice provides basic information about the project, such as the limits of the project, project purpose, and problems to be solved, and information on who to contact in the event that there are questions or clarifications needed.

Next, the FRA will initiate the scoping process, during which preliminary information on the project is provided to affected federal, state, and local agencies, and the public. All stakeholders are invited to provide comments on the proposed project through an open comment period and at scoping meetings. A Scoping Summary Report will be prepared at the conclusion of the process, which will outline how the comments received during the scoping process will be addressed in the next phase of the environmental review process.

After the scoping process, the FRA will begin to prepare the tier I draft EIS (or DEIS) that will consist of the following elements:

Project purpose and need,
Alternatives considered,
Affected environment and environmental consequences, and
Potential measures to minimize or mitigate impacts.

The tier I DEIS approved by the FRA will be circulated for agency and public comment, and subsequent public hearings throughout the study area will be held to provide the FRA with comments on the draft document. Based on the public input and the results of tier I analyses, the FRA will recommend a preferred alternative. A tier I final EIS (or FEIS) will then be prepared to respond to comments on the Tier 1 DEIS and present the preferred alternative. After the tier I FEIS is released, there will be a last round of public review of that document. Finally, the FRA will prepare a record of decision that documents the selection of the preferred alternative and lay out all of the agreed upon mitigation strategies and project commitments to be carried out during the tier 2 environmental reviews. The results of this process will provide the basis for the development of the final NEC FUTURE service development plan.

Tier I EIS Scoping Process

The purpose of the public scoping meetings is to inform the public about the NEC FUTURE program and the scope of the studies to be completed, and to hear the thoughts, concerns and interests of the public regarding improvements to the passenger rail service on the Northeast Corridor. Public scoping meetings will be held in informal open house-type formats, including display stations with presentation boards staffed by NEC FUTURE program team members to answer questions and obtain participants' input and a short presentation. Comments submitted by planning and regulatory agencies and the general public will be documented, and adjustments to the project scope will be made to reflect those comments. At the conclusion of the scoping process, a Scoping Summary Report will be prepared to summarize the comments from stakeholders, along with the adjustments to the scope to reflect those comments.

Public engagement is a critical part of the NEC FUTURE program and inputs from the public throughout the process will make substantial impacts on the betterment of the corridor's rail service. It is highly recommended that interested parties attend the scoping meetings and provide comments on the program. The scoping meetings are scheduled between August 13 and 22, all at different locations in the eight states served by NEC and District of Columbia. The exact time and location of these meetings are listed here.

Interested parties who cannot attend a meeting can also submit comments in writing by mail, email at info@necfuture.com, or by posting on the program's website. Comments on the tier I EIS scope will be accepted until September 14, 2012.

Amtrak Unveils Updated Plan for the Northeast Corridor

2012-07-10T19:28:34Z

On Monday, Amtrak released an updated report on improving the Northeast Corridor that builds off of several years of planning work. The report, The Amtrak Vision for the Northeast Corridor (PDF), summarizes Amtrak's plans to upgrade the existing corridor and build a new high-speed rail alignment - concepts that were outlined in two previous reports published by Amtrak in 2010, The Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan and A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor. This new, updated report revises and integrates these two plans into a single, comprehensive investment program.

]]> The updated plan includes:

Revisions to Amtrak's conceptual high-speed rail alignment based on feedback from stakeholders along the corridor that improved ridership and revenue projections, as well as revisions to their capital cost estimates and plans for service and rolling stock,

A phased implementation strategy that achieves critical near-term improvements to existing infrastructure that expand capacity, increase reliability, and reduce trip times, and advances the long-term vision for a true high-speed rail system in the corridor,

A series of "stair-step" milestones that measure the improvement of service conditions over the next 30 years due to the completion of the various infrastructure projects,

A detailed look at the components and cost of the Gateway Program, a series of projects that will relieve congestion into New York from New Jersey - the biggest bottleneck on the corridor, and

Highlights from the recently completed Northeast Corridor Business and Financial Plan, which looked at how to fund and deliver this vision, and found potential for significant financial return.

Download the full report here.

New Momentum for a Trans-Hudson Rail Tunnel

2012-06-29T19:33:13Z

Transportation experts and agency chiefs from New Jersey and New York told a packed audience at RPA's "Crossing the Hudson" conference that expanding rail capacity in and out of New York City is vitally important for both states.

New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson expressed support for Amtrak's Gateway project, which calls for building two new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River. The new tracks would reduce severe congestion and service problems for NJ Transit and Amtrak riders between New Jersey and New York that ripple out along the entire the Northeast Corridor. "Gateway is the best project out there," Simpson said.

]]> Stephen Gardner, left, Jim Simpson and Joe Lhota speak at RPA's Crossing the Hudson forum.

While the plans for Gateway are still preliminary, the tracks would carry trains from the Palisades in Bergen County into Manhattan, emerging at the Penn Station complex, which will eventually include Amtrak's new New York base, Moynihan Station.

"There is a well-known need," Stephen Gardner, Amtrak's vice president in charge of the project, said on the panel he shared with Simpson and Joe Lhota, head of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The challenge, he said, would be to persuade a broader audience and come up with the funding for a project that Amtrak estimates would cost about $15 billion and take around a decade to build.

Expanding trans-Hudson capacity is a crucial issue for the MTA as well, Lhota told the conference. Transit bottlenecks hurt New York businesses, whose employees are often commuting from New Jersey. If transit capacity isn't expanded, he said, "the choke point will get to a point where it will choke the economy." In addition, the MTA shares Penn Station with both NJ Transit and Amtrak, so improvements to the flow of trains and passengers will benefit everyone.

New rail capacity is years away. In the meantime, New Jersey's Simpson said, it's important to look at other ways of expanding connections between New Jersey and New York, including increasing ferry and bus service. And he cautioned that in order to persuade taxpayers that the region should invest in such a large project, the benefits need to be made clear. "You can't be blind to what happened with ARC," he said, referring to the proposed NJ Transit tunnel project canceled by Gov. Chris Christie in 2010.

See two RPA studies highlighting the significant gains to real estate values and commute times tied to improvements in commuter-rail service.)

Listen to audio of the first panel discussion from the "Crossing the Hudson" conference.

Media coverage: WNYC; Star Ledger; the Record; Capital New York.

Getting Infrastructure Going: A New Approach

2012-06-29T19:32:42Z

Big infrastructure projects take years or even decades to complete. Too often, that's because planning work gets bogged down in protracted environmental reviews. But new research by Regional Plan Association has identified ways environmental analysis could be completed more quickly, without sacrificing environmental protections.

In "Getting Infrastructure Going: Expediting the Environmental Review Process," RPA finds that the National Environmental Policy Act adopted in 1970 still provides a strong regulatory framework for protecting the environment. But misguided implementation of the law contributes to lengthy delays in delivering big infrastructure projects.

]]> Stretching out projects far longer than initially projected drives up costs and delays improvements to vital infrastructure, from repair of aging roads and bridges to construction of new rail lines to the expansion of key shipping facilities. As projects take longer to complete, their costs rise. The uncertainty discourages private investors and erodes public confidence in government's ability to use infrastructure funding wisely.

In the more than 40 years since NEPA's adoption, the practice of carrying out environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects has significantly lengthened project delivery times. For example, 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.

To help government agencies, NEPA practitioners and others avoid unnecessary slowdowns in infrastructure work, RPA worked with more than a dozen legal experts and environmental practitioners from the public and private sector to develop guidelines for future projects. Among the recommendations:

Establishing broad agreement on project goals at the outset;
Prioritize federal leadership on major job-generating projects while reducing federal involvement in minor projects;
Increase accountability through clear deadlines and public transparency;
Adopt digital transmission of environmental documents.

To demonstrate the feasibility of following these recommendations, the report also presents three case studies in which environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects were successfully expedited.

Read the full report

Read the news release

Image: Minnesota Public Radio

Event: Getting Infrastructure Going

2012-06-26T15:49:17Z

Big transportation and other infrastructure projects typically take many years to complete, in part because of delays in the environmental review process. Regional Plan Association, the Eno Center for Transportation and the Bipartisan Policy Center will hold a policy discussion on Thursday, June 28, in Washington, D.C., to address the issue. Register here.

]]> The increasing delay of major transportation and other infrastructure projects in the U.S. is not only frustrating, but expensive. As more projects are delayed, the public's trust in government to deliver major projects also is eroding, making it more difficult to gain approval for work that modernize our transportation system and meet the needs of a 21st century economy.

On June 28, a panel of federal and local transportation officials and experts in transportation policy and environmental regulatory review will discuss ways to expedite project delivery in transportation, from the environmental review process to procurement to construction. Panelists will respond to a new paper by Regional Plan Association that discusses best practices in expediting the environmental review process while still achieving strong environmental protections. This timely discussion comes as the congressional conference committee on the surface transportation bill reconciles various proposals for environmental streamlining and expedited project delivery.

The event is sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Eno Center for Transportation and the Regional Plan Association.

Event details

Date: Thursday, June 28
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 am
Address: Bipartisan Policy Center
Venue: 1225 Eye St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005
Register here

Agenda:
Presentation of Regional Plan Association's new research
Petra Todorovich
Director of America 2050, Regional Plan Association

Panel discussion featuring
Roy KienitzFormer Under Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation

Will Kempton, CEO, Orange County Transportation Authority

Diana Mendes, Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Investments, Transportation: AECOM

Dr. T. Peter Ruane, President and CEO, American Road and Transportation Builders Association

Jim Tripp, General Counsel, Environmental Defense Fund

Moderated by: Megan McArdle

The event is in partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Eno Center for Transportation, with additional support provided by AECOM and the Northeast Maglev.

House Increases Funding for Amtrak over Senate Levels

2012-06-15T17:02:38Z

On June 6, House appropriators released the draft Fiscal Year 2013 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill and marked it up on June 7. The bill appropriates $1.8 billion for Amtrak, $370 million short of Amtrak's total $2.17 billion budget request, but $350 million more than what the Senate passed. The bill also requires Amtrak to spend at least $500 million on high-priority state of good repair projects, many of which are identified in the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan, such as structural rehabilitation for bridges and tunnels, and interlocking signals replacement. The Federal Railroad Administration would also receive $5 million more than the Senate proposed, for a total of $184 million. However, the bill provides no funding for the federal high-speed rail program.

]]> Federal funding for Amtrak's capital improvements is critical to addressing the $8.8 billion backlog of state of good repair projects on the Northeast Corridor. This bill is heavily tilted toward funding capital improvements; of the $1.8 billion appropriation to Amtrak, only $350 million is directed to operating subsidies. While this could negatively impact corridors outside the Northeast that rely on operating subsidies, it bodes well for the Northeast. Over 40 percent of Amtrak's capital budget is dedicated to important rail projects on the Northeast Corridor, where rail investment is urgently needed.

In 2010, Amtrak identified a backlog of $8.8 billion in projects that are necessary to bring the corridor's infrastructure and equipment up to a state of good repair, such as replacing close to a dozen 100-year old bridges on the corridor. The $500 million appropriated by the House would begin to make a dent in the $8.8 billion backlog. Meanwhile Amtrak expects to set a new ridership record for the current Fiscal Year 2012, which would be the eighth record in the past nine years. Demand is especially strong on the Northeast Corridor and will continue to grow, and Amtrak will need sufficient funding to keep up with this trend.

The lack of funding for the federal high-speed rail program means that the most that can be expected for this program in the final bill is the $100 million that the Senate included. This $100 million could fund planning and corridor development studies around the country important to maintain a queue of high-speed rail projects this program can fund when more money is available. One of those studies, the on-going Northeast Corridor environmental impact and service development planning study, could use this money to pay for its second and third phases, which are currently unfunded.

Image from Internet

Event: Crossing the Hudson: What's Next for Northeast Corridor Improvements

2012-05-30T22:22:59Z

Every day, approximately 275,000 commuters travel into New York City from New Jersey. The two single-track Hudson Tunnels, over 100 years old, are a major bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor, limiting commuter and intercity rail traffic in and through Penn Station, where 2 out of 3 trips on the Northeast Corridor begin or end. With the cancellation of the ARC tunnel project in 2010, the need to create redundancy to the Hudson Tunnels and expand capacity for travel along the Northeast Corridor is more urgent than ever.

On June 13 RPA will host a half-day conference to identify next steps for expanding travel capacity between New York and New Jersey. Featured speakers include: Stephen Gardner, Vice President, NEC Infrastructure & Investment Development, Amtrak; Jim Simpson, Commissioner, New Jersey DOT; Joseph Lhota, Chairman & CEO, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and Amtrak Board Member Anthony R. Coscia. Co-Sponsors include the General Contractors Association, The Northeast Maglev, and AECOM. Visit the event website to register and see the complete agenda. Registration is required and costs $50. Space is limited.

Image: US DOT via Transportation Nation

Business Alliance Urges House to Support Rail in 2013

2012-05-22T14:15:33Z

The Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility recently sent a letter to House appropriators requesting their support for passenger rail projects in the Northeast Megaregion. The letter, addressed to leaders of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD), including THUD Chairman Tom Latham (pictured) and Ranking Member John Olver, as well as House Leadership and the entire Northeast Delegation, urged the House THUD Subcommittee to provide funding for Amtrak's legislative grant request and the federal high-speed rail program in their fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill.

"Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration's high-speed rail program ... provide critical funding to improve the Northeast Corridor rail system," wrote Robert Yaro, chairman of the Business Alliance and president of Regional Plan Association, along with 23 other co-signing members of the Business Alliance. "Congress' financial support of Amtrak's capital budget and rail operations [and the Federal Railroad Administration's High Performance Passenger Rail Grant Program are] vitally important to the mobility and economic prosperity of the Northeast Megaregion."

Specifically, the Business Alliance asked the House THUD Subcommittee to fulfill Amtrak's entire fiscal year 2013 grant request of $2.17 billion and provide at least $100 million to the federal high-speed rail program in fiscal year 2013. Over 40 percent of Amtrak's capital budget is dedicated to important rail projects on the Northeast Corridor and funding for the federal high-speed rail program could pay for the final phases of the Northeast Corridor service development plan and environmental impact study, a public process that is defining a vision for future rail service and major rail infrastructure improvements on the Northeast Corridor.

Download the letter.

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