Posted by Citizens Taking Action for transit and trains
High-Speed
Rail Drives Obama's Transportation Agenda
By
Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 8, 2009; A01
The Northern Lights Express is
little more than an idea -- a proposal for a 110-mph passenger train between
Minneapolis and Duluth, Minn., that has crept along in fits and starts for
years.
But the slow ride may soon be
over. The project is one of dozens nationwide that are likely to benefit from
President Obama's initiative to fund high-speed and intercity passenger rail
programs, including $8 billion in stimulus money and $5 billion more over the
next five years in the administration's proposed transportation budget.
The money represents the first
major step toward establishing a genuine high-speed train network in the United
States and has sparked a stampede among states, advocacy groups and lobbyists
who are not accustomed to this level of funding.
"We're going to turn over
every stone we can," said Steve Raukar, a commissioner in St. Louis
County, Minn., who chairs the Northern Lights Passenger Rail Alliance, which is
spearheading the drive for the $500 million project. "We're trying to get
everything moving as fast as possible with the understanding that this is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for funding."
High-speed rail has emerged as
the cornerstone of Obama's ambitious attempt to remake the nation's
transportation agenda, which for half a century has focused primarily on
building highways and roads. Nearly half of the $48 billion in stimulus money
for transportation projects will go toward rail, buses and other non-highway
projects, including $1.3 billion for Amtrak and its successful rapid rail
service, Acela. The Transportation Department also would receive $2 billion
more under Obama's proposed 2010 budget, most of it for rail and aviation
improvements.
The dream of rail backers is a
nation connected by high-speed lines that would be faster and more convenient
than driving or flying. For instance, a trip on a proposed 432-mile line
between Los Angeles and San Francisco would take 2 1/2 hours.
But experts and government
officials caution that despite the billions, the amounts are still not nearly
enough to pay for the kind of sleek "bullet train" systems that
crisscross Europe and Japan at speeds of 200 mph or higher. The California
project, for example, would cost an estimated $45 billion, including $9 billion
in state bonds that voters approved last year.
"It sounds like a lot of
money to Americans, but it's really just a start," said James P. RePass,
president of the National Corridors Initiative, a nonprofit rail advocacy
group. "We're not going to wake up in a year and see a bullet train. But
we are going to see much faster service for relatively little money."
Amid praise from rail and
transit advocates, however, many Republicans have zeroed in on Obama's
high-speed train initiative as a prime example of government excess. In his
response to the president's address to a joint session of Congress last week,
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said that the program represents "wasteful
spending" and suggested that the bill included money for a proposed
magnetic levitation, or maglev, line from Las Vegas to Disneyland in Anaheim,
Calif. The project could be eligible for such funding, but it is not named in
the bill.
Administration officials say
the rail initiative is particularly important to Obama, who routinely talked
about the benefits of high-speed passenger service during the presidential
campaign and who initially requested $10 billion in stimulus money for such
projects. In a speech to U.S. mayors last summer, Obama noted that China is
home to the world's first commercial maglev train, capable of speeds faster
than 300 mph.
"I don't want to see the
fastest train in the world built halfway around the world in Shanghai,"
Obama said. "I want to see it built right here in the United States of
America."
The next step is doling out
the money. The Federal Railroad Administration, which distributed $30 million
for similar grants last year, is scrambling to develop guidelines for the
program within the next six weeks, officials said.
"We are pulling in staff
from all over the department to help with this," said one senior
transportation official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "The
department is allowing us free rein."
The official played down
remarks by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who recently told reporters
that he submitted a report to the White House identifying half a dozen
corridors as prime candidates for funding. The railroad administration has
already designated 11 high-speed corridors around the country, but other
projects -- such as the Las Vegas or Minnesota projects -- could apply for
stimulus funding.
"There is no preset
position on what projects will be funded," the official said, adding:
"Part of our criteria for selecting projects will be that there is a
visible benefit to the public."
Although railroads are a major
player on Capitol Hill, most of the industry's lobbying efforts have focused on
freight trains rather than passenger rail. Of $44 million in lobbying
expenditures by the railroad sector last year, less than $2 million was spent
by companies or organizations focused on promoting high-speed passenger
service, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. The handful
of foreign companies that specialize in building rapid electrically powered
trains, such as Bombardier of Montreal, also have relatively low profiles in
Washington.
"High-speed and intercity
passenger rail beyond Amtrak haven't gotten a lot of attention from the federal
government historically," said Paul Dean, government affairs director for
the American Public Transportation Association. "This is a new
thing."
Industry experts and
passenger-rail advocates say the strongest candidates for funding come from
three areas of the country with the most developed plans for high-speed rail
service: California, the Washington-New York-Boston corridor, and the web of
rail lines centered around Chicago.
Laura Kliewer, director of the
Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission, said her organization identified
$815 million in short-term projects that could be started almost immediately in
the 10 states that belong to the organization. The group has also identified
$15 billion worth of longer-range projects, including a $9 billion proposal to
provide 110-mph train service between Chicago and eight states.
Thomas Simpson, executive
director of the Railway Supply Institute, which represents companies that build
and maintain rail lines, said the Obama administration faces a choice between
spreading the $8 billion around the country or focusing on a few large-scale
projects to serve as showcases for high-speed rail. He noted that France's
storied TGV high-speed rail service began in 1981 with a single line, between
Paris and Lyon.
"Everybody saw how great it was and how successful it was, and then other parts of France scrambled for high-speed rail," Simpson said. "Ray LaHood and the Department of Transportation has to decide: Is someone going to be king or are you going to spread it around? Do you pick the Midwest corridors? Do you pick the planning that's furthest along? That's the dilemma."
Back to Citizens Taking Action
www.CTAriders.org