(The following article by Jennifer A. Dlouhy was posted on the Albany Times-Union website on February 28.)
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration on Tuesday blasted a plan by a group of rail-riding senators to overhaul Amtrak and give the passenger railroad an annual subsidy of $3.2 billion to repair aging lines and start new service.
Joseph Boardman, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, told a Senate Commerce Committee panel that the administration has serious reservations about the proposal and that the federal government must stop subsidizing Amtrak.
Giving the railroad more money undermines the incentive for the railroad to become more efficient and businesslike, Boardman told the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security.
Boardman’s comments were dismissed by a determined group of senators seeking to revamp Amtrak.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said he and other supporters were going to make it happen and pass the overhaul legislation, despite resistance from the White House.
Lautenberg’s proposal, also sponsored by Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., would:
* Authorize roughly $3.2 billion a year for six years for Amtrak.
* Allow the federal government to fine freight railroads that delay Amtrak trains — a move designed to cut delays on long routes.
* Authorize federal funding to help repair Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, running from Washington, D.C., to Boston. That would include work to preserve tunnels under the Hudson River.
* Direct the treasury secretary to try to refinance Amtrak’s outstanding debt to bring down debt service costs of almost $300 million annually.
* Set aside $237 million annually to help states create new routes and expand service.
The Lautenberg-Lott proposal is popular; similar legislation passed the Senate last year but it never got a House vote.
Lautenberg said the legislation is vital to bolstering the beleaguered national passenger rail system, which has seen ridership steadily increase despite a debt of $3.6 billion and a sprawling network of routes.
Lautenberg said improved train service will lure motorists and plane passengers away from congested roads and skies.
“Our highways are jammed with cars, … and we know our skies are becoming jammed as more planes take to the air,” Lautenberg said. “Along with air and vehicle travel, passenger rail should be one of the three pillars on which our transportation network rests.”
State transportation officials and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told the panel that the federal government needs to do more to help states expand intercity passenger rail service.
Rendell said he and Pennsylvania transportation officials dream of building a rail line between Scranton and Lehigh Valley, instead of widening highways along the same route in Pennsylvania.
But, Rendell complained, though the federal government will help states pay for expanding highways, it leaves states largely on their own when it comes to new rail lines.
“Unless we get federal participation in the rail line, … we can’t go forward” with the Scranton-Lehigh Valley route, Rendell complained. “And it makes no sense at all.”
Frank Busalacchi, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said states have big plans for expanding rail service; for instance, he envisions a train running from Milwaukee to Madison, Wis., which would cost $400 million.
But, Busalacchi said, “What’s missing is a strong federal partner to make it happen.”
“The federal government provides the support for highways,” Busalacchi said. “It is needed for rail as well.”
Amtrak, formally called the National Rail Passenger Corp., was created by Congress in 1970 to replace a network of bankrupt, decaying passenger lines. Amtrak’s nationwide rail network now spans 22,000 miles of track throughout 46 states.
Amtrak’s ticket revenue — $1.37 billion last fiscal year — was a record for the rail system, and came as ridership rose slightly.
But Amtrak is still heavily dependent on government subsidies — as it has been since its creation 37 years ago.
The White House has repeatedly asked Congress to revamp Amtrak, wean it off federal funding and allow private companies to operate some of the most profitable routes. Congress has rejected those requests.