(Reuters distributed the following article on November 26.)
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a six-year, $42 billion national rail bill on Wednesday that would strengthen Amtrak, develop new passenger lines, and improve freight service.
“It’s designed to change the way we think about financing passenger rail service,” said Ernest Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat and ranking member of the Commerce Committee.
The lawmakers want to create a non-profit public-private partnership to issue $30 billion in tax-credit bonds to fund rail infrastructure development. The partnership would also award grants to states and Amtrak to help pay for new high-speed train service and projects for the freight industry.
Amtrak is the nation’s sole provider of city-to-city passenger rail service. Its Acela high-speed service between Washington and Boston is limited and has been plagued by reliability problems.
The plan was offered by Hollings, Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter, Maine Republican Susan Collins, Delaware Democrats Joe Biden and Tom Carper and Independent Jim Jeffords of Vermont.
Their proposal to give states and the private sector a bigger cost-sharing role and to make Amtrak more accountable to Congress and transportation planners, reflects some of the themes of a controversial Bush administration plan to overhaul passenger rail.
But the Transportation Department plan, unlike the Senate one, would essentially dismantle Amtrak and give states unprecedented authority over routes and whether to contract them to private companies.
That proposal has received a cool response in Congress where a number of lawmakers favor short-term, less dramatic remedies for financially troubled Amtrak before considering any massive rail plan.
There are a handful of interest groups pushing hard for short-haul rail corridor development in the South and Midwest. The Senate plan would give these concepts a boost but federal subsidies for Amtrak would continue.
Congressional negotiators have agreed to give Amtrak a record $1.2 billion subsidy for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
Amtrak says its biggest priority is to shore up antiquated stations, tracks, tunnels and other infrastructure in the Northeast. The Senate bill would give Amtrak $1.5 billion annually for infrastructure improvements.