(The States for Passenger Rail Coalition issued the following on October 29.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The States for Passenger Rail Coalition is calling on Congress to set aside $250 million of its Stimulus II economic package for projects for state intercity passenger rail improvement projects in the United States.
Two Congressional committees — The House Ways and Means Committee, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — met on October 29 to develop the Stimulus II legislative package.
The States for Passenger Rail Coalition recognizes that a variety of remedies will be part of the stimulus package. The coalition strongly urges including funding for state intercity passenger rail projects for the following key reasons.
— The Amtrak System, including state supported corridors, is approaching a record ridership of 29 million passengers this year. This record is largely due to soaring gasoline prices, and the ridership increases are expected to continue.
— The result of this increase is that critical track and signal improvements need to be made to address congestion problems that already impact service reliability in many parts of the country.
— Equipment for state supported services is in short supply. 17 percent of Amtrak’s locomotives, and 15 percent of its passenger fleet are out of service.
— Investing in rail produces good paying jobs in America. For every $1 billion spent on rebuilding rail, 30,000 new jobs are created throughout the country.
— States have worked closely with Amtrak and freight railroad partners to develop “ready to go” projects that can be used to stimulate the economy now.
— Investing in rail helps reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil. Passenger rail consumes 18 percent less energy per passenger mile than airlines, and 17 percent less than automobiles, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“We applaud Congress for returning to Washington to deal with the slump in the national economy,” coalition chair Frank Busalacchi said. “We understand Congress will be considering ways to inject money quickly into the economy. We want Congress to remember that the US passenger rail system has been underfunded for years. Investing in passenger rail helps meet the growing passenger demand, while creating thousands of new, good-paying jobs. That’s a major double benefit.”
Busalacchi also is Secretary of The Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission identified, in its 2007 report to Congress, $66 billion in needs for intercity passenger rail infrastructure and equipment between now and 2015.
“A $250 million commitment is a good down payment on addressing critical needs in our nation’s passenger rail system,” Busalacchi said. “The needs are great, and they are before us now.”