Give me my Super Chief!

House Passes Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008

In days of $4.00 a gallon gasoline, the United States is in serious need of additional mass transit and longer range railroad infrastructure. Given the size of the United States and the speed and convenience of airline travel, passenger rail service in the form of government owned Amtrak has diminished substantially over the years and become unprofitable. However, now that fuel has become almost prohibitively expensive, rail service could make a come back.

HR Bill 6003, known as the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 aims to provide renewed funding for Amtrak, as well as to fund private efforts to establish rail service on class 1 freight rail lines as well as improve state and regional rail infrastructure.

The bill is primarily Democrat backed and lead by Rep James Oberstar (D-MN). Critics see it as funding of a dying horse in Amtrak. However, given the critical need of this country to create cost effective and fuel efficient mass transit services, I view this as a potentially great use of public funds.

The US, unlike Europe, does not have a significant passenger rail infrastructure to fall back on. We need one.  Airline travel has become brutal.  Security screening, high passenger volume, decreased service to smaller destinations and the shear cost of tickets, have made airline travel ugly. It's a necessity, but darned ugly.

Here's just some of what HR 6003 includes.

state preparation of state rail plans. Requires studies of passenger rail service, locomotive biofuel, and the use of bio-based lubricants. Requires Amtrak to establish a Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee. Directs the Secretary to establish a rail cooperative research program, and the Comptroller General to compare the U.S. passenger rail system with the systems in specified other countries. Authorizes a public transportation authority or rail carrier to submit disputes over trackage use and railroad rights-of-way to the Surface Transportation Board for non binding mediation. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to establish a high-speed rail corridor program, including capital project finance grants. Directs the Secretary to solicit proposals for projects for an initial high-speed rail system between Washington, DC, and New York City (Northeast Corridor), as well as for additional projects on any other corridor. Directs the Secretary to conduct an alternatives analysis of the December 1, 1998, extension of the designation of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor.

What if train service became fashionable again?

In these days of high speed electric rail trains in Europe and Asia, as well as the Amtrak Acela trains, why cant rail services be established to serve 150 to 500 mile rail corridors profitably?   Consider a high speed train with modern internet connections, airline type seats,  meeting room cars,  satellite television, dining and bar cars (of course!) etc? Combine those amenities with modern, hybrid locomotives and this might be a real winner.

"I'm telling you, as a 100K a year flyer, I'd use these kinds of services. Delta could still haul my luggage and me to Los Angeles from Atlanta, but I'm not going to pay them $1400.00 to take me to Jackson, MS. when I could go from Atlanta to Jackson for less than $100.00 by train."

I need speed to get to where I am going, but more importantly I need productive time. If I could use my internet connections and cell phone while rolling through the countryside to a region where I would be for several days, I would use the train without question and happily.

Give me my Super Chief!   It's time for America to get back on the railroad.

Eric

clipped from www.progressiverailroading.com House signs off on Amtrak, high-speed rail bill Yesterday, the House approved the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 6003) by a 311-104 vote. The bipartisan legislation was introduced last month. H.R. 6003 would reauthorize Amtrak for five years and provide more than $500 million annually for a state intercity passenger-rail grant program. The bill also would enable private operators to launch passenger-rail service pilot programs on freight-owned tracks in Amtrak's worst-performing corridors, and require the federal government to work with states and railroads to plan rail infrastructure projects. The bill aims in a number of ways to improve and expand U.S. passenger-train service," said National Association of Rail Passengers Executive Director Ross Capon in a prepared statement. "The bill will allow for significant investment in rolling stock and tracks, including the addition of needed track capacity at some key chokepoints where Amtrak and freight trains both suffer delays." In addition, H.R. 6003 calls for developing high-speed rail service between Washington, D.C., and New York City that would complete the trip in under two hours. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to solicit proposals for engineering, finance and development plans for the system; create a commission comprising state, local, federal, rail and rail labor stakeholders to evaluate the proposals; and report recommendations to  Congress.

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