Transportation Solutions News

For Immediate Release                                                  Contact: Jacob Koetsier (609) 394-8155

October 16, 2008                                                                         John Krieger (202) 546-9707

Bush Approves Landmark Passenger Rail Investment: Will Help Meet Booming Demand and Create New Routes

Washington, DC: President Bush signed legislation today that will strengthen the nation’s intercity passenger rail network to accommodate record ridership and make possible new routes.  The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, which was supported by wide bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate,  authorizes close to $13 billion over five years to promote rail travel, relieve bottlenecks and begin investment in a new generation of high speed rail.

“This an important and timely commitment from Congress and the administration,” said John Krieger, an advocate for transportation at U.S. PIRG, “America’s economic competitors in Europe and Asia are spending tens of billions for networks of energy-efficient high speed rail that can travel over 200 mph. In an age of oil scarcity, we can’t afford to fall further behind.”

Amtrak posted double-digit growth this year and the fifth straight record year for ridership, carrying over 28.7 million passengers. Meanwhile total vehicle miles for cars and trucks fell for the first time since the oil crisis of the 1970s.

The authorization includes much-needed funding for rail infrastructure repairs and investment in improved efficiency, unlike past passenger rail allocations which barely provided for operations along the system while long-term sustainability suffered.

Along with increased funding, the legislation will establish a competitive state grant process for high-speed corridors with matching grants of up to 80 percent. New highway projects typically receive federal matching money equaling this 80 percent level of cost sharing, while public transportation projects have typically received, at best, a 50 percent match.

“America needs to invest in the trends of the future, and that means more and faster rail travel.  Anyone who has been to a gas station or airport lately can see that,” said Krieger.

“This bill will bring much needed upgrades to the Northeast Corridor including replacing aging tracks, signals and switches and ensuring that the 100,000 New Jerseyans who take the Northeast Corridor everyday can look forward to dependable service,” said Koetsier

The authorization passed in conjunction with new safety regulations that will require more rest for rail workers and new braking technology to avoid collisions. 

The bill passed by overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate. In the House, the vote was 377 to 38. In the Senate, the 74 to 24 margin was also more than enough to overcome a presidential veto if the President had refused to sign the legislation.

For ridership statistics on individual routes, see http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/FY08RidershipRevenue.pdf

For more USPIRG information on transportation, see http://www.uspirg.org/issues/transportation

The United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) is a citizen member-based nonprofit advocacy group with affiliates in most states.