(The following editorial by Frank Lautenberg and Trent Lott was posted on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on July 23. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) and Trent Lott (R., Miss.) are United States senators from New Jersey and Mississippi, respectively. They serve on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Lott chairs the rail subcommittee.)
PHILADELPHIA — Fifty years ago this summer, the leaders of our nation agreed to a visionary plan for a system of interstate highways. It’s hard to imagine where we would be today without that system.
Now we need the same kind of vision to create a transportation system that will meet our needs in the 21st century – including high-speed passenger rail service across the nation.
The first step is to shore up the only U.S. high-speed route already in operation – Amtrak’s Northeast corridor – and we have introduced a bipartisan plan to strengthen and reform Amtrak. We hope that bill will reach the Senate floor this month.
Our bill, providing $11.4 billion over six years, would enable Amtrak to make needed infrastructure improvements in the Northeast corridor and to begin to invest in other high-speed rail corridors across the nation.
The Federal Railroad Administration has designated 10 potential corridors, including the Keystone corridor from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Cities and states are enthusiastic about this concept, but they can’t fund the infrastructure by themselves.
Imagine what world-class rail service could mean to cities like Pittsburgh, Atlanta, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and all the smaller communities that would be linked to them by high-speed trains.
Intercity travelers would have an alternative to highway congestion and airport delays. Daily commuters would have a low-stress option to get to work. Fewer cars would mean less air pollution and less oil consumed.
We would also be less vulnerable to a disaster like the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which shut down our aviation system, or Hurricane Katrina, which stranded thousands of Gulf Coast residents who didn’t own cars.
Those who are fortunate enough to live along the Northeast corridor already know the benefits of good rail service. Amtrak served a record 25.4 million passengers last year, and Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is the second-busiest in the nation. Amtrak’s rail lines are also used by commuters on SEPTA, New Jersey Transit and other systems.
The Northeast corridor is a success story, but even there we have failed to maintain an infrastructure that is almost a century old in some places.
Since 1982 the federal government has invested $450 billion in highways and $200 billion in our aviation system – but only $20 billion on passenger rail. It’s time to make a real investment in rail service by modernizing the Northeast corridor and replicating its success in other parts of the nation.
It takes vision to build the transportation infrastructure we will need in the future. We did it when we created the Interstate Highway system 50 years ago – and we can do it again with 21st-century rail lines.