America 2050

Bill Threatens U.S. Transit Funding

2012-02-02T23:37:14Z

A new proposal by the House Ways and Means Committee would eliminate a crucial source of mass transit funding, posing a major threat to the nation's transit systems.

The bill would prohibit the use of gasoline-tax revenue to support public transportation, a funding stream that has been in place for more than three decades. If the bill were to pass, it would introduce a level of uncertainty that will make planning for capital projects far more difficult and expensive.

]]> In the tri-state region, capital projects such as the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access to bring Long Island Rail Road in Grand Central Terminal would be endangered if the bill were made law. Long overdue repair and replacement on PATH, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and New Jersey Transit and maintenance of the bus fleet throughout the region also would be affected.

Nowhere in the nation is the success and growth of the regional economy more dependent on the provision of safe, reliable public transit to get people to their jobs. Throughout the tri-state area, the repair and expansion of our mass-transit systems provides thousands of jobs in the construction industry and in the manufacturing of equipment.

"This bill threatens to fracture a longstanding surface-transportation coalition of highway and public-transit advocates that together have been instrumental in enacting the nation's transportation policies since 1982," said Petra Todorovich, director of RPA's America 2050 national planning program.

"Without transit, the transportation bill will not get through Congress this year. Already delayed for two years, this pushes the passage of the transportation bill further into the future, and with it, the job creating effects of our nation's transportation program."

The U.K. Moves Ahead With High-Speed Rail. Can the U.S. Follow?

2012-02-01T19:02:17Z

While high-speed rail has struggled to secure adequate financing in the U.S., in Britain, the government has given the green light to begin construction on the country's second bullet train. The U.K. government's decision to move forward with the controversial project offers important lessons as the U.S. pursues its own high-speed rail corridors in California and the Northeast.

]]> In proposing the new high-speed line, which will link London to Birmingham in under an hour, the U.K. government sought to emphasize the project's lasting economic and environmental benefits. A government evaluation analyzing the economic costs and benefits of the project showed that every $1 invested in the $29 billion first phase of the London-Birmingham line will generate $1.70 in overall economic benefit. That figure includes a category dubbed "wider economic impacts," a measure used commonly in Europe, but far less often in the U.S., to calculate indirect benefits to society. For example, it might factor in the economic gains that emerge when high-speed rail increases a region's competitiveness and productivity and draws businesses to concentrate along the rail corridor.

With that assessment in hand, economists and transportation planners were able to make a case to the general public and business communities that the decades-long project would pay huge dividends over the long term. Including a measure of wider economic benefits in studies in the U.S. would make it easier to make a more complete case for high-speed rail projects.

One advantage the U.K. has is that it has already successfully built high-speed rail. The first line, known has High Speed 1, opened in 2007, connecting the Channel Tunnel to London. The line's operations and maintenance responsibilities were sold as a concession in 2010 to a consortium of Canadian pension funds, allowing the U.K. to recoup about one-third of its initial investment. The train operators pay fees to use the tracks, creating a revenue stream that is then used to maintain the infrastructure and provide a return to the investors. This deal demonstrates the feasibility of attracting private financing to high-speed rail projects.

In contrast, the U.S. is still awaiting its first high-speed line. The Northeast Corridor stretching from Washington, D.C. to Boston has characteristics similar to the U.K.'s busiest rail route, the West Coast Main Line. The two corridors have comparable lengths: the Northeast Corridor is 455 miles long and the West Coast Main Line stretches nearly 400 miles from London to Glasgow. They also serve similar-size populations and economies: the Northeast megaregion is home to about 52 million people and has an economy valued at $2.9 trillion; England has 52 million residents and a $2.2 trillion economy.

In the late 1990's, the U.K. decided to upgrade the West Coast Main Line at a cost of $20 billion, disrupting traffic on the corridor for more than 10 years. When the overhaul was completed in 2008, the line was already near capacity again. To address future demand on the line, the U.K. has now chosen to embark on its High Speed 2 project, building two dedicated tracks connecting London, the West Midlands and northern England, securing much-needed capacity and transforming intercity travel in the U.K.

The Northeast Corridor also is operating at or near capacity along several segments and has an enormous backlog of critical infrastructure projects. In 2010, Amtrak and states in the Northeast completed a report that concluded $52 billion of investment is needed to bring the corridor back to a state of good repair (much of the normal maintenance on the corridor has been neglected for years, due to battles over Amtrak funding in Congress) and meet capacity needs over the next 20 years. These improvements would probably take until 2030 to complete on the corridor, which serves nearly three-quarters of a million passengers each day. What the U.K. experience upgrading the West Coast Main Line shows is that incremental improvements alone might not suffice, and that pursuing high-speed rail is the most effective way to deal with capacity constraints on the corridor.

In 2011, Amtrak released a high-speed rail plan for the Northeast, proposing two dedicated tracks to run the length of the corridor. The new line would dramatically increase passenger capacity and reduce travel times to 90 minutes from New York to Washington, D.C. and to 100 minutes from New York to Boston. The project is estimated to cost $117 billion over 20 years and is still in the conceptual phase.

Whether the U.S. and the Northeast opt for an ambitious vision of high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor will be determined by a variety of factors, including the outcome of the presidential and congressional races, progress on the California project, and an environmental impact study on the Northeast Corridor to begin this year.

As the U.S. endeavors to introduce high-speed rail, the U.K. government's push for the London-Birmingham line suggests that a concerted effort to explain the economic benefits could jump-start the effort here. But as in the U.K., proponents of high-speed rail in the U.S. will need to overcome major concerns about the country's financial constraints and deep skepticism about infrastructure projects that take decades to complete.

This article, written by Dan Schned, Associate Planner, and Petra Todorovich, Director, RPA's America 2050 initiative, was originally published in Spotlight on the Region.

Images: www.go-hs2.com

Remaking the San Francisco Penninsula Corridor with a Bicycle Expressway

2012-01-12T15:25:55Z

Commentary by Osman Dadi

Accommodating high-speed rail trains in the San Francisco peninsula has been a contentious topic because of potential noise and visual impacts on the surrounding communities. Recently, the California High-Speed Rail Authority announced its support for a "blended approach" that would utilize the existing Caltrain corridor. But what if a solution could be found that ensures grade separation between trains and automobiles while also opening up dramatically enhanced commuting options for bicyclists?

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The San Francisco peninsula is known for many things, among them a workforce driven by innovative ideas (especially in Silicon Valley), great weather nearly all year round, a culture that largely embraces healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyles, and strong support for biking. The bicycle network of the Bay Area, while quite extensive, is simultaneously also quite disconnected. Particularly in the central Peninsula, there are few dedicated off street bicycle corridors, and routes on streets are frequently disconnected to each other. Thus, there is presently no direct means for a bicyclist to traverse many portions of the Peninsula without mixing into automobile traffic, itself a dangerous proposition given the high speed nature of main routes like El Camino Real or the Expressways around San Jose.

Simultaneously, the existing peninsula Caltrain corridor is slated for a much needed change. The present line has not been significantly upgraded for several decades, but has been planned for large scale electrification for many years. When the California High Speed Rail plan was announced between San Francisco and Los Angeles, an opportunity arose to couple that electrification project with a broader reconstruction that also accommodates high speed rail service by expanding, electrifying, and grade separating the corridor. The configuration of the new route, though still undecided, will likely be elevated on an embankment, elevated on a structure, or (if communities along the route are willing to help fund it) trenched.

The benefits of grade separation and electrification alone are enormous: eliminating grade crossings allow faster train speeds, eliminate noise pollution from train horns, and electrification removes diesel fumes and noise. Additionally, automobile conflicts with trains are eliminated, also making it safer and faster for drivers to cross the railway.
Ideally, a new bicycle route would be directly integrated into the new Caltrain system, making it extremely easy and efficient to bring your bicycle onto a train, thus extending the reach of that transit system. As a hypothetical example, two cars on the north side of each train (the direction of travel is irrelevant) could be designated bicycle cars, and feature extra room for bicycle storage. Where on current trains bringing bicycles on board requires you to carry them up train stairs and through the carriage doors, this process would be dramatically simplified with level boarding. The northern part of each platform would be designated bicycle loading zones, similar to how we have zones for boarding people with wheelchairs; these would in turn connect directly into the expressway. Thus, a train rider could complete a journey to destinations that are beyond convenient walking and bus distances by connecting to the cycle expressway at the station and biking the remaining distance safely.

A critic might ask: how much more would such an addition cost? Do we really need to add a bicycle expressway? Adding a new easement would cost more, yes, but the benefits would be equally numerous. Considering that a rebuilt corridor is already slated to cost several billion dollars (regardless of whether HSR is adopted), adding a bicycle route would add only a small fraction to the grand total, yet would provide a dramatically new and fast means to traverse the Peninsula. A new route would dramatically extend the reach of the Caltrain network, providing another means for transit riders to access locations out of walking distance from stations. Since the region is going to rebuild the Peninsula rail corridor anyway, it should be built completely and properly, with the greatest needs of the metropolis factored in. If a bike sharing network is ever introduced in the Bay Area, it would likely make extensive use of the new cycle expressway.

The peninsula has unfortunately become the most contentious area for accommodating the planned California High Speed Rail line. The debate has largely failed to recognize the incredible potential of reconstruction to change mobility options in that entire region. Failure to integrate biking into this critical piece of infrastructure would mean that the entire Peninsula will miss an opportunity to add new travel means - or anything similar--to the region for decades, possibly even for the next century. Adding a route would benefit the Peninsula tremendously, helping add to the vibrant discourse of ideas that frequently stem from this portion of the country.

Press Release: High-Speed Rail Will Deliver Growth, Improve Access to Jobs in California

2011-12-15T21:17:08Z

Download the press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 15, 2011

We commend Chairman John Mica and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for holding a hearing today to focus on the viability of high-speed rail in California.

Our research indicates that there are two markets in the nation that have the concentrations of population, employment, and existing travel markets to support high-speed passenger rail today: California and the Northeast. California, having started planning this project in the mid-1990s, is now poised to be the first state in the nation to build world-class high-speed rail. In doing so, it will transform the state's geography, shrinking time distances among the state's major job centers and connecting California residents to economic opportunity for decades to come.]]>
California high-speed rail will shrink time distances in the state, opening up the job markets of the Bay Area and the Los Angeles basin to residents in the Central Valley.

"California is faced with unavoidable costs to meet the transportation needs of its future population," said Petra Todorovich, director of America 2050, a Regional Plan Association initiative. "These needs can be met with high-speed rail, or they can be addressed by spending far more to build added highway lane miles, airport gates, and runways. Without high-speed rail, California's already-jammed highways and airports will grow more clogged, and air quality and residents' health will suffer."

About America 2050: America 2050 is Regional Plan Association's program to develop an infrastructure plan and growth strategy for the U.S. For more information, please visit www.america2050.org

Congressional High-Speed Rail Hearing Misses the Point

2011-12-07T18:00:00Z

The Transportation & Infrastructure Committee of the House of Representatives held a hearing on Dec. 6 to evaluate the U.S. Department of Transportation's High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program. This hearing follows two successive federal budgets (2011-2012) in which Congress has provided no new funding for the high-speed rail program. Some members of the committee strongly criticized the program's focus, while the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, gave impassioned testimony in defense of the Administration's strategy.

The concerns that were voiced at the hearing missed the point of this critical program -- which is not only to build new high-speed rail corridors, but to expand and improve service on existing passenger rail corridors -- by focusing excessively on whether funded projects are truly "high-speed." What could have been an opportunity to hear firsthand from state leaders about the progress of passenger rail projects in Washington, Illinois, North Carolina, Maine, Connecticut, Michigan, and others was largely wasted. (A hearing focused on California is scheduled for Dec. 15.) Only Joan McDonald, New York Transportation Commissioner, was there representing a state with a passenger rail project funded by the program.

Image: Federal Railroad Administration

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"From here," Secretary LaHood wrote on his blog, "the future is bright. During the next six months, more than $1.1 billion of new job-creating construction projects will begin." Investments in the Northeast Corridor infrastructure and rolling stock will increase the top speed of Amtrak's Acela trains from 150 to 186 mph. California's statewide high-speed rail project is set to break ground this summer. Funds awarded to Illinois will cut rail travel times between Chicago and St. Louis to four hours and introduce six new modern trains, purchased through a joint Midwest equipment order. In Connecticut, improvements to the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Corridor will quadruple the frequency of service, going from 6 to 25 daily round trips when the project is complete.

The network of train service that the program envisions does not, and should not, include only high-speed (220 mph) trains. It includes a variety of passenger rail services operating at different speeds, which meet the needs of local communities, connected at intermodal stations integrated with other transit services. Higher-speed regional trains supporting smaller regions and emerging markets, supported by local transit service act as feeder routes for core, dedicated, high-speed rail. One day, these services may develop the ridership to support an upgrade to dedicated, express service. In the meantime, more Americans will have alternatives to higher gas prices, dangerous roads, and traffic jams, by riding passenger rail.

Survey: Using Online Tools to Improve Landscape Conservation

2011-12-06T14:53:31Z

America 2050 is calling on landscape conservation practitioners and interested citizens to take the Landscape Conservation Tools Survey. The survey is intended to inform our efforts to create web tools for people working to protect and conserve large natural areas of open space, scenic beauty, historic significance, or wildlife habitat. The survey includes a list of questions to gauge how people might use a large landscape web portal and should take less than five minutes to complete.

The partners in this effort include: America 2050, Regional Plan Association, The Trust for Public Land, the University of Montana's Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and other members of the Practitioners' Network for Large Landscape Conservation, who are looking at ways to facilitate landscape conservation through on-line tools and websites.

]]> America 2050 and Regional Plan Association's Northeast Landscape Initiatives Atlas has successfully used online mapping and database tools to identify how and where landscape conservation practice is occurring in the Northeast Megaregion. The survey will be used by our project partners to assess whether and how these and other web-based tools can help landscape practitioners share best practices and advance their conservation work and how best to create a nationwide website.

In the Northeast Megaregion, complex urban development patterns and high demand for land and resources pose particular challenges for conservation. America 2050 and RPA are working across political jurisdictions to produce a comprehensive inventory of landscape conservation initiatives that protect watersheds, wildlife habitat, and other natural processes at the appropriate geographic scale. The project was launched in November, 2010 with the support from The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area.

Visit the website to learn more: Northeast Landscape Conservation Atlas

5th Annual Transportation & Infrastructure Convention

2011-11-08T14:52:00Z

America 2050 is pleased to participate as a National Co-Host for the 5th Annual Transportation & Infrastructure Convention on March 7-9, 2012 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Please save the date for this three-day event that has attracted many prestigious registrants and speakers from 25 states, nine countries and over 30 national and international trade associations and interest groups.

The purpose of the Convention is to educate policy makers concerning the current transportation issues at both the local and national levels. The Convention is unique, in that, it brings together the leading transportation and infrastructure officials from the current Administration, Congress, and State legislatures, providing us the opportunity to dialogue personally with those who have a direct influence on future policy decisions of the nation.

Participating as a National Co-Host Organization allows members of America 2050 to register for the Convention at the discounted government rate! Online registration is available now! To register please go to www.transportationsummit.com.

America 2050 is excited to be a part of this event and strongly encourage members of the America 2050 network to attend this event in Washington, DC this March. For further information about the 5th Annual Transportation & Infrastructure Convention, please contact Karen Brown at 214-750-0123 or kbrown@dean.net.

]]> The Convention will feature a number of prominent speakers. Among those already confirmed for the March Convention are John Horsley, Executive Director of AASHTO, as the Master of Ceremonies; Mort Downey, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation; Karen Phillips, Vice President of Public and Government Relations, CN; and Paul Priestman, Director of Priestmangoode. Last year's Convention welcomed U.S. Senator Mark Begich, Member, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation; U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Ranking Member, House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, & Hazardous Material; U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member, House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; U.S. Congressman Thomas Petri, Member, House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee; U.S. Congressman Nick Rahall, Ranking Member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee;Rodney Slater, Former Secretary, U.S. DOT; Rod Diridon, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute and Former Board Member, California High-Speed Rail Authority; Daniel Elliott, Chairman, Surface Transportation Board; Deborah Hersman, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board; Bill Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association; and Richard Lawless, CEO, U.S.-Japan High Speed Rail.

Following the Convention, the 15th Annual Transportation & Infrastructure Summit, featuring the 5th Annual Global High-Speed Rail Forum, will be held on August 14-17 in Irving, TX. America 2050 is participating as a National Co-Host for this event as well and we will pass along more information about it over the next few months.

America 2050 Update: November 2, 2011

2011-11-03T18:12:46Z

In this Update:

California HSR Business Plan; 'Knowledge Corridor' Rail Report
US HSR Conference Nov. 6-8
Senate Preserves Rail Funding
Carnegie Report Backs Oil, Gas Taxes

]]> California Unveils High-Speed Rail Business Plan Includes realistic cost estimates and timeline On November 1, the California High-Speed Rail Authority released a business plan for its statewide high-speed rail plan with revised cost and ridership estimates and a longer and more detailed time frame for construction. Certain to attract the most attention is the price tag for the project, which has grown from $43 billion to $65.4 billion in 2010 dollars, or $98 billion accounting for inflation over the life of the project.

The business plan also includes details on what it would cost California to accommodate the same amount of growth in travel without high-speed rail: $171 billion to pay for 2,300 lane miles of new highway capacity, 115 airport gates, and 4 runways. With high-speed rail, the business plan estimates the high-speed rail plan will generate 100,000 jobs in the first 5 years, while reducing carbon emissions by 3 million tons annually.

As described in the business plan, the first phase of the project (the "initial construction segment"), currently funded at $5.2 billion, will connect Fresno to Bakersfield, the spine of the statewide system, with construction completed by 2017. Once these tracks are built, the Authority will choose an initial operating segment in the Central Valley, which will either be between Bakersfield, Merced, and San Jose or Merced and the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. Subsequent construction will be implemented in phases, including the "Bay to Basin" - constructing high-speed rail tracks from Fresno and Bakersfield to San Jose and the San Fernando Valley, respectively; and the final track approaches to San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim. The full high-speed rail line from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim is expected to be operational by 2033. Each segment is intended to provide independent utility, and to generate an operating profit.

The release of the business plan kicks off a formal public comment period, from November 1 to December 31, which can be submitted via the Authority's online comment form.

America 2050 applauds the California High-Speed Rail Authority for developing a business plan that lays out a realistic framework for bringing high-speed rail to California.

How Rail Investment Could Deliver Growth to the 'Knowledge Corridor'

A new report by Regional Plan Association and America 2050 recommends strategies for leveraging the $400 million public investment in the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Rail Corridor to boost economic growth. The report, "Dependable Rail in 2016: What Will It Mean for the Knowledge Corridor Region?", includes lessons from successful passenger rail corridors in Maine and Northern California, and suggests steps that will bring the most benefit to cities and businesses, such as providing connecting transportation services, offering free-transfer vouchers and planning for increased commercial and residential activity around train stations.

On October 25, about 100 business leaders and local officials met in Rocky Hill, Conn., to explore the next steps for achieving the maximum economic boost from the project. Read coverage of event in the Hartford Courant . The rail project adds a second track along the majority of the corridor, upgrades and improves stations, platforms, bridges, grade crossings, and signal systems, and upon completion adds capacity for up to 25 daily round trip trains, up from 6 today.

Northeast HSR Conference Nov. 6-8

The U.S. High-Speed Rail Association will hold its Northeast Corridor conference in New York City on Nov 6-8 at the New Yorker Hotel. Registration is still open. Speakers this year include Secretary Ray LaHood; Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, director general of the International Union of Railways; John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and many more. America 2050 Director Petra Todorovich will participate in a panel on developing high-speed rail around the nation.

The conference comes shortly before the start of a planning study and Environmental Impact Statement led by the Federal Railroad Administration for Northeast Corridor high-speed rail. The environmental study will evaluate options such as those proposed by Amtrak and the University of Pennsylvania.

Senate Acts To Preserve Rail Funding

The U.S. Senate voted on November 1 to approve a "minibus" bill that combined transportation, housing, and other spending bills. The minibus bill included $1.48 billion for Amtrak and $100 million for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program in fiscal year 2012.

While the $1.48 billion for Amtrak falls short of its $2.2 billion budget request, the Senate bill avoids the drastic cuts proposed by the House that would cut operating funding by 60 percent and shut down the state-supported lines that serve approximately 9 million passengers in 15 states - almost one-third of Amtrak's passengers - with severe consequences for the communities served by these corridors. Amtrak just had its most successful year ever, serving a record 30.2 million passengers in the 2011 fiscal year. Read more.

Carnegie Report Backs Oil, Gasoline Taxes

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace joined Regional Plan Association in New York on November 1 to present their new report, Road to Recovery: Transforming America's Transportation. Panelists including former Senator Bill Bradley, New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson, and Amtrak director Anthony Coscia discussed the report's key findings: Transportation is contributing to the national deficit; system upkeep is insufficient; and investments are not geared toward economic growth. The report recommends implementing an "upstream" oil tax on producers, refiners, and distributors that would increase with the price of oil, balanced by a "downstream" tax on gasoline that would rise when world oil prices fall, to stabilize gasoline prices at about $3.50 to $4.00 a gallon. Read more.

California Unveils High-Speed Rail Business Plan

2011-11-02T18:03:17Z

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has released a business plan for California's statewide high-speed rail program. The business plan makes significant refinements to the previous ridership and revenue projections and cost estimates. The Authority also updated the phasing plan and overall timeline, and established a new funding plan that shows the feasibility of substantial private financing to pay for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of various segments of the project. The aspect of the business plan that is certain to attract the most headlines is the project's new price tag, which has grown from $43 billion to 65.4 billion in 2010 dollars, or $98.5 billion when accounting for inflation over the life of the project.

The business plan also includes a detailed analysis of what it would cost California to accommodate the same amount of growth in travel without high-speed rail - $171 billion over the next 40 years to pay for 2,300 lane miles of new highway capacity, 115 new airport gates, and 4 new runways. With high-speed rail in California, the business plan estimates that the system's construction will generate 100,000 jobs within the first 5 years, and 1 million jobs over time.

]]> As described in the business plan, the initial construction segment, currently funded at $5.2 billion will connect Fresno to Bakersfield, the spine of the statewide high-speed rail system, with construction complete by 2017. While these tracks are being built, the Authority will choose an initial operating segment in the Central Valley, which will either be between Bakersfield, Merced, and San Jose or Merced and San Fernando Valley. Subsequent construction will be implemented in phases, including the "Bay to Basin" construction segment - tracks from Fresno to Bakersfield to San Jose and the San Fernando Valley, respectively, and the final track approaches to San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim. The full high-speed rail line from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim is expected to be operational by 2033. Each phase and segment of the project is intended to function independently if needed, and to generate a net operating profit, giving planners and politicians the flexibility to adapt the scope or phasing to financial realities if necessary.

The release of the business plan kicked off a formal public comment period, from November 1^st to December 31^st, which can be submitted via the Authority's online comment form.

America 2050 applauds the California High-Speed Rail Authority for taking this critical step toward a better and more realistic understanding of project costs and benefits.

Image: California High-Speed Rail Authority

Senate Acts to Preserve Rail Funding ... Bill heads to Conference

2011-11-02T17:02:22Z

On November 1 the U.S. Senate voted to approve a "minibus" bill that combined transportation, housing, and other spending bills. The minibus bill included $1.48 billion for Amtrak and $100 million for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program (HSIPR) in the Fiscal Year 2012.

While the $1.48 billion for Amtrak falls short of its $2.2 billion budget request, the Senate bill avoids the drastic cuts proposed by the House that would cut operating funding by 60 percent and shut down the state-supported lines that serve approximately 9 million passengers in 15 states - almost one-third of Amtrak's passengers - with negative impacts on the communities served by these corridors. Amtrak just posted its most successful year ever, serving 30.2 million passengers in the 2011 fiscal year.

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The bill now goes to conference committee, where the Senate and House must reconcile the different funding levels. America 2050 recently gathered 100 signatures from organizations, Mayors, and business and civic leaders in a letter sent to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate appropriations committees urging them to preserve the Senate's levels of funding for Amtrak and high-speed rail.

Nov 1 Event: Road to Recovery: Transforming America's Transportation

2011-10-27T14:31:35Z

America's transportation system is facing demolition by neglect. Calls to "do more with less" when the nation's infrastructure is crumbling ignore the needs of a system in rapid physical decline. Failure to reform the transportation system risks deepening U.S. dependence on oil and eroding global economic competitiveness. Is there a way to produce a long-term strategy that will simultaneously stabilize gas prices, finance America's transportation infrastructure, and decrease the deficit?

On November 1, Regional Plan Association and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host a breakfast forum at the Harvard Club to present Carnegie's new report, Road to Recovery: Transforming America's Transportation.

A panel including Senator Bill Bradley, NJ DOT Commissioner James Simpson, and former Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Anthony Coscia will discuss the recommendations for reforming and funding the federal transportation program in the report. The report's findings will be presented by Shin-pei Tsay, Director, Cities and Transportation Initiative, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Limited spaces are still available for the event. To register, please email steven@rpa.org or call (212) 253-2727 by Oct 28.

New Report: Dependable Rail in 2016: What will it mean for the Knowledge Corridor Region?

2011-10-25T13:49:26Z

A new report released today by Regional Plan Association recommends strategies for leveraging public investments in improving the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) Rail Corridor for economic growth. Titled, "Dependable Rail in 2016: What Will it Mean for the Knowledge Corridor Region?", the report includes lessons from successful passenger rail corridors in Maine and Northern California, and proposes a broad set of strategies to build on the $400 million initial public investment being made to upgrade the NHHS Rail Corridor.

These preliminary, recommended strategies are offered for discussion at a convening of business leaders and local officials today in Rocky Hill, who will explore additional strategies and next steps for achieving the maximum economic benefit from the NHHS rail project.

Download the Report (PDF - 5MB).

Download the Press Release.

Event: Opportunities for Growth in the Knowledge Corridor

2011-10-05T16:28:18Z

On October 25^th, 2011 America 2050, Regional Plan Association, and the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation are co-sponsoring an event that will explore ways to leverage the recent investments in the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail project to spur development, job creation, and economic growth in the Knowledge Corridor region.

Connecticut is moving forward with plans to improve passenger rail service in the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield corridor in Central Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. These rail improvements will allow the frequency of passenger rail service in the corridor to increase to every half hour at peak times. Participants in the event will identify strategies that the region must implement in order to maximize the economic impact of this project.

]]> Event Details:
What: The New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Rail Project: Opportunities for Economic Growth
When: 9:00 am - Noon
Where: Hartford Marriott Rocky Hill
100 Capital Boulevard, Rocky Hill, CT (Interstate-91, Exit 23)

Speakers:
Steve Fitzroy - Vice President, Economic Development Research Group
Dan Hodge - Principal Economist at HDR Decision Economics
David Kooris - Vice President, Regional Plan Association
Kip Bergstrom - Deputy Commissioner at Connecticut's Department of Economic and Community Development

Register by clicking here.

For more information on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail project, visit www.nhhsrail.com. For more information on the October 25^th event, call 860-594-2002 or email Ann Calafiore with ConnDOT at ann.calafiore@ct.gov.

This is the second event America 2050 has co-sponsored in the Knowledge Corridor region that examined strategies for achieving greater economic growth in the region based on the passenger rail investments that the state and federal government have recently made in the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail corridor. The first workshop, "Dependable Rail in 2016: What Will It Mean for the Knowledge Corridor Region," on June 3^rd in Hartford, CT convened about 90 people, and featured experts Patricia Quinn of Maine's Downeaster Service and Gene Skoropowski, who ran the Capitol Corridor in California. They shared their case studies, which highlighted the benefits that were achieved through modest investments in passenger rail and the economic development strategies that proved successful, such as:

Effective marketing campaigns that boosted ridership,
Working well with host freight railroads to achieve on time performance,
Attracting private investment around station areas,
Developing partnerships that brought together municipalities, and
Maximizing connecting transit services that brought riders to their final destinations.

This event was also co-sponsored by Capitol Region Council of Governments and Urban Land Institute-Boston.

Click here for more information and to download the briefing materials, PowerPoints, and audio files from this event.

Image: Wikipedia

America 2050 Update: September 29, 2001

2011-09-29T18:07:11Z

New report: High-Speed Rail: International Lessons for U.S. Policy Makers
Senate Keeps High-Speed Rail Funding Alive for Now
Northeast Corridor Funding Sent to States and Amtrak
America 2050 in the News

]]> New Report: High-Speed Rail: International Lessons for U.S. Policy Makers

America 2050 has collaborated with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to publish a new report on high-speed rail, called "High-Speed Rail: International Lessons for U.S. Policy Makers." The report applies over four decades of international experience in high-speed rail to the U.S. context, and recommends prioritizing corridors with demonstrated markets, such as the Northeast and California, and exploring alternative management and financing arrangements including separating infrastructure development from rail operations and forming public-private partnerships.

International case studies suggest that high-speed rail could create significant transportation, economic, environmental, and safety benefits in American cities and regions. While it requires significant upfront investment, high-speed rail promotes economic growth by improving access to markets, bringing the cities within megaregions closer together. This boosts the productivity of knowledge workers, expands labor markets, and attracts new tourism and visitor spending. When planned thoughtfully with complementary investments in the public realm, high-speed rail can promote urban regeneration and attract commercial development, as shown in several European examples. High-speed rail also has greater operating energy efficiency than competing modes and takes up less land than highways.

The report describes several funding strategies that have proven to be successful in other countries, and makes specific policy recommendations to better position the federal high-speed rail program for success.

Strengthen the federal policy and management framework by expanding the federal role in planning and prioritizing high-speed rail corridors and working with the states to secure rights-of-way.

Prioritize corridors that meet investment criteria by clarifying the objectives and desired outcomes of the federal program and promoting investments in those corridors that exhibit the characteristics that are indicative of success.

Establish new mechanisms for corridor management by developing legislation that enables the creation of public infrastructure corporations that can operate across state and national borders and attract private investment.

Plan for maximum land development benefits by coupling high-speed rail station investments with policies that encourage land development around station areas. In general, well-connected stations in center-city locations offer the greatest potential for urban revitalization.

Focus initially on the Northeast Corridor and California, which offer the best opportunities for Core Express high-speed rail service in the United States, by addressing the management and financing challenges each region faces.

Secure adequate and reliable funding by drawing on a full complement of potential federal, state, and private sources. Such sources could include increasing existing transportation-related fees (such as a portion of the gas tax or ticket surcharges), creating an infrastructure bank, forging public-private partnerships, and expanding existing credit assistance programs.

Download "High-Speed Rail: International Lessons for U.S. Policy Makers" at http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/1948_High-Speed-Rail.

Senate Keeps High-Speed Rail Funding Alive for Now

Last week, hundreds of America 2050 supporters contacted their Senators, Representatives, and President Obama, asking them to preserve funding for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program in the fiscal year that starts October 1, which had been slashed to zero by the House Appropriations Committee. On September 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee salvaged funding for the program, by passing an amendment introduced by Senators Durbin, Lautenberg, Feinstein & Landrieu to provide $100 million for High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail.

The Senators also resisted an attempt by the House Appropriations Committee to slash Amtrak funding and shut down state-sponsored corridors, which carry one-third of Amtrak's national ridership.

While $100 million does not go very far in building high-speed rail projects, it is a modest investment to continue the momentum states are making in building and planning their passenger rail networks. Grants could help complete discrete rail construction projects or help states complete planning, design and engineering work for their passenger rail networks.

Next week, Congress is likely to pass a six-week continuing resolution to keep the government operating past the current four-day "C.R." that keeps them going through the weekend. (The continuing resolution extends this year's funding levels, which include zero dollars for the high-speed rail program.) When that expires, if Congress passes an appropriations bill for FY 2012, they will need to reconcile the Senate's $100 million appropriation with the House's appropriation of zero.

Please take a moment to thank Senators Durbin, Lautenberg, Feinstein, and Landrieu, for their actions on behalf of this important program in a tough fiscal environment.

Northeast Corridor Funding Sent to States and Amtrak

Even if no new money has become available for high-speed rail this year, the $10.1 billion that was appropriated in 2009-2010 is now being put to work as the federal government signs agreements and sends the money out to states.

On August 22, the Secretary of the U.S. DOT, Ray LaHood, announced that Amtrak and the New York State Department of Transportation will receive the $745 million that was awarded to them back in May 2011 for two high-speed and intercity rail projects on the Northeast Corridor. The grant awards, announced just over three months previous, represented a major victory for the Northeast Corridor's passenger rail system and the announcement marks a major milestone in bringing the benefits of these improvements to the Northeast Corridor.

The $745 million will be used by Amtrak and the New York State DOT to fund two critically important state of good repair projects on the Northeast Corridor. The first is $450 million for upgrades to track and overhead wires between Trenton and New Brunswick, NJ, to create a "race track," where trains can reach speeds of 160 mph, and in the future, when Amtrak purchases new, next generation high-speed train sets, speeds of 186 mph along the improved track.

The second is improvements to the Harold Interlocking in Queens, NY, the busiest railroad interlocking in North America. Over 750 Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), NJ TRANSIT, and Amtrak trains travel through it each day, causing frequent conflicts and delays for over 300,000 daily Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak riders. New York State DOT will use $295 million to build a new flyover that allows Amtrak trains to travel through the interlocking separately from LIRR trains, and NJ TRANSIT trains on their way to the Sunnyside Maintenance Yard.

America 2050 in the News

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Transportation Nation Obama Calls on Congress to Pass Federal Transportation Bill And Keep The FAA In Business - Jim O'Grady - August 31, 2011

The Atlantic Cities Defining Cities in a Metropolitan World - Nate Berg - September 15, 2011

Huffington Post True High-Speed Rail Projects Unlikely To Be Fast-Tracked By Jobs Bill Funds - Matt Sledge - September 16, 2011

Transportation Nation Senate Amendment Saves High Speed Rail -- Sort Of - Andrea Bernstein - September 21, 2011

PR Newswire High-Speed Rail Can Work in the U.S., but Requires a Fresh Approach, Lincoln Institute Report Says - Lincoln Institute/America 2050 Join Press Release - September 26, 2011

The Atlantic Cities How to Keep High-Speed Rail Alive - Nate Berg - September 26, 2011

Eno Brief Board of Advisor Corner: Why Now is a Good Time to Plan for High-Speed Rail - Petra Todorovich - September 27, 2011

REGIONAL & LOCAL COVERAGE

Mobilizing the Region "Back on Track": A New Source for NE Corridor News - Rosanna Collars - August 1, 2011

WNYC Infrastructure and The Obama Jobs Speech - The Brian Lehrer Show - September 1, 2011

The Capitol New York Infrastructure Status Update - Jon Lentz - September 26, 2011

Boston Globe Calif., Northeast get top billing in study on high-speed rail lines - Eric Moskowitz - September 27, 2011

Regional Plan Association Spotlight Vol. 10 No. 15: High-Speed Rail Can Work Here, Despite Setbacks - Petra Todorovich and Dan Schned - September 27, 2011

High-Speed Rail: International Lessons for U.S. Policy Makers

2011-09-26T13:00:00Z

High-speed rail has been adopted throughout the world, and is now being planned and developed in the United States. Over the past 50 years, U.S. transportation spending has heavily favored the development of interstate highway and aviation systems. In the meantime, countries such as China, Japan, Spain, France, and Germany have been investing in modern, high-speed rail systems to satisfy the travel demands of their current and future generations. As the United States embarks on the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program launched in 2009, it can learn from the experiences of other countries in planning, constructing, and operating high-speed rail.

This long-term perspective, discussion of benefits, and recommendations for making high-speed rail work in the United States is presented in a new report released today by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, called "High-Speed Rail: International Lessons for U.S. Policy Makers" (PDF). Written by RPA authors Petra Todorovich, Dan Schned, and Robert Lane, the report documents lessons from over four decades of international experience in high-speed rail in Europe and Asia, applies them to the U.S. context, and recommends a fresh approach that creates new, accountable, rail management structures, brings in the private sector, and concentrates for now on California and the Northeast.

]]> International case studies suggest that high-speed rail could create significant transportation, economic, environmental, and safety benefits in American cities and regions. While it requires high, upfront investment, high-speed rail promotes economic growth by improving access to markets, bringing the cities within megaregions closer together. This boosts the productivity of knowledge workers, expands labor markets, and attracts new tourism and visitor spending. When planned thoughtfully with complementary investments in the public realm, high-speed rail can promote urban regeneration and attract commercial development, as shown in several European examples. High-speed rail also has greater operating energy efficiency than competing modes and takes up less land than highways.

Strengthen the federal policy and management framework by expanding the federal role in planning and prioritizing high-speed rail corridors and working with the states to secure rights-of-way.

Download the full report (PDF) at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy website.