Post by vnc on Oct 9, 2008 16:51:40 GMT -8
I found this story:
Amtrak no longer skunk at the party
By RAJU CHEBIUM
Gannett News Service Thursday, October 9, 2008
Amtrak felt like an unwelcome relative throughout President Bush's two terms, and even feared for its existence after he threatened to shut it down.
But in the final days of the Bush presidency, the passenger rail service is enjoying greater congressional support and public popularity in an era of high gasoline prices and louder calls for alternatives to driving.
"It's a perfect, favorable storm," said Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. "Washington has a hard time getting the message that it's not about highways and aviation. The public is kind of helping them get it in terms of what they're doing, which is they're driving less and they're using mass transit more."
Congress has overwhelmingly approved legislation -- which Bush plans to sign -- that would give the railroad more money and strengthen rail safety programs in the wake of a fatal California commuter train crash on Sept. 12.
Supporters say Amtrak's star began rising after Democrats, traditionally friendlier than Republicans toward passenger rail, regained control of Congress in 2007 for the first time in 12 years.
Things truly started looking up as gas prices moved beyond $4 a gallon this summer before dropping.
In September, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced motorists drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in July compared with the same month in 2007, transit usage was up by 11 percent, and Amtrak's ridership set another record this summer.
Her announcement confirmed what mass transit advocates have been saying for a long time --that Americans are parking their automobiles and turning to mass transit in huge numbers.
Peters also announced new grants to help states expand rail service between cities within 400 miles of each other.
Alan Pisarski, a transportation consultant, said federal lawmakers want to show voters they're working to satisfy higher demand for rail and transit.
"Congress has the sense that they need to respond in ways that look innovative to the energy crisis," Pisarski said. That includes "a hard look at Amtrak and its potential," he said.
The rail legislation Congress approved Oct. 3 would allocate $1.6 billion for rail safety, renew and expand the Federal Railroad Administration, and invest nearly $13 billion over the next five years to expand and upgrade passenger rail in the U.S.
Of that $13 billion, Amtrak would get about $1.6 billion a year -- $300 million more than what it now receives -- for operations and capital projects like replacing tracks and repairing tunnels.
Though the measure calls for financial and other reforms within Amtrak, it doesn't require those steps to be taken before Congress releases the funding, which Pisarski said was a mistake.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said Bush plans to sign the bill because he supports the rail-safety provisions. Several Amtrak critics on Capitol Hill said they were forced into voting yes because supporters attached funding for the railroad to a broader bill boosting rail safety.
Bush and some Republicans have long criticized Amtrak as bloated and inefficient and have demanded it wean itself off public subsidies.
But supporters like Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., argue no railroad in the world makes a profit and rail deserves federal funding because it helps reduce global warming and relieve traffic congestion.
The measure that recently passed Congress won 74 yes votes in the Senate, more than enough to override a presidential veto. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama voted for it. His running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, who takes the rail service home to Wilmington, Del., every day, also voted yes.
Obama's Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, one of Amtrak's most consistent critics, voted against the bill.
The bill passed by voice vote in the House in September, but Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, chairman of the House transportation committee, said more than 300 lawmakers would have supported the bill in a roll call vote.
The legislation would provide a steady stream of funding for the rail service over five years, meaning Amtrak wouldn't have to engage in its annual fight for funding as it has since 2002, said Jim RePass, president of The National Corridors Initiative Inc., a Boston-based rail advocacy group.
"It gives them some continuity and the ability to plan it has never had," he said.
RePass said Amtrak's advocates have been fighting since 1971 to get this kind of support.
"It's wonderful to be an overnight success after . . . years of work," he said.
Contact Raju Chebium at rchebium@gns.gannett.com
Amtrak no longer skunk at the party
By RAJU CHEBIUM
Gannett News Service Thursday, October 9, 2008
Amtrak felt like an unwelcome relative throughout President Bush's two terms, and even feared for its existence after he threatened to shut it down.
But in the final days of the Bush presidency, the passenger rail service is enjoying greater congressional support and public popularity in an era of high gasoline prices and louder calls for alternatives to driving.
"It's a perfect, favorable storm," said Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. "Washington has a hard time getting the message that it's not about highways and aviation. The public is kind of helping them get it in terms of what they're doing, which is they're driving less and they're using mass transit more."
Congress has overwhelmingly approved legislation -- which Bush plans to sign -- that would give the railroad more money and strengthen rail safety programs in the wake of a fatal California commuter train crash on Sept. 12.
Supporters say Amtrak's star began rising after Democrats, traditionally friendlier than Republicans toward passenger rail, regained control of Congress in 2007 for the first time in 12 years.
Things truly started looking up as gas prices moved beyond $4 a gallon this summer before dropping.
In September, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced motorists drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in July compared with the same month in 2007, transit usage was up by 11 percent, and Amtrak's ridership set another record this summer.
Her announcement confirmed what mass transit advocates have been saying for a long time --that Americans are parking their automobiles and turning to mass transit in huge numbers.
Peters also announced new grants to help states expand rail service between cities within 400 miles of each other.
Alan Pisarski, a transportation consultant, said federal lawmakers want to show voters they're working to satisfy higher demand for rail and transit.
"Congress has the sense that they need to respond in ways that look innovative to the energy crisis," Pisarski said. That includes "a hard look at Amtrak and its potential," he said.
The rail legislation Congress approved Oct. 3 would allocate $1.6 billion for rail safety, renew and expand the Federal Railroad Administration, and invest nearly $13 billion over the next five years to expand and upgrade passenger rail in the U.S.
Of that $13 billion, Amtrak would get about $1.6 billion a year -- $300 million more than what it now receives -- for operations and capital projects like replacing tracks and repairing tunnels.
Though the measure calls for financial and other reforms within Amtrak, it doesn't require those steps to be taken before Congress releases the funding, which Pisarski said was a mistake.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said Bush plans to sign the bill because he supports the rail-safety provisions. Several Amtrak critics on Capitol Hill said they were forced into voting yes because supporters attached funding for the railroad to a broader bill boosting rail safety.
Bush and some Republicans have long criticized Amtrak as bloated and inefficient and have demanded it wean itself off public subsidies.
But supporters like Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., argue no railroad in the world makes a profit and rail deserves federal funding because it helps reduce global warming and relieve traffic congestion.
The measure that recently passed Congress won 74 yes votes in the Senate, more than enough to override a presidential veto. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama voted for it. His running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, who takes the rail service home to Wilmington, Del., every day, also voted yes.
Obama's Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, one of Amtrak's most consistent critics, voted against the bill.
The bill passed by voice vote in the House in September, but Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, chairman of the House transportation committee, said more than 300 lawmakers would have supported the bill in a roll call vote.
The legislation would provide a steady stream of funding for the rail service over five years, meaning Amtrak wouldn't have to engage in its annual fight for funding as it has since 2002, said Jim RePass, president of The National Corridors Initiative Inc., a Boston-based rail advocacy group.
"It gives them some continuity and the ability to plan it has never had," he said.
RePass said Amtrak's advocates have been fighting since 1971 to get this kind of support.
"It's wonderful to be an overnight success after . . . years of work," he said.
Contact Raju Chebium at rchebium@gns.gannett.com