The Right Track: Building a 21St Century High-Speed Rail System

Home , Bus station, Empire Corridor, High Speed Rail Alliance, Keystone Corridor

The Right Track Building a 21st Century High-Speed Rail System for America

U.S. PIRG Education Fund The Right Track Building a 21st Century High-Speed Rail System for America

U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Written by: Tony Dutzik and Siena Kaplan, Frontier Group

Phineas Baxandall, Ph.D., U.S. PIRG Education Fund Acknowledgments

U.S. PIRG Education Fund thanks the following individuals for their review and insight- ful suggestions: Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology; John Robert Smith, president and CEO of Reconnecting America; and Kevin Brubaker, deputy director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Thanks also to Susan Rakov and Elizabeth Ridlington for their editorial support.

The generous financial support of the Rockefeller Foundation made this report possible.

The authors bear responsibility for any factual errors. The recommendations are those of U.S. PIRG Education Fund. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or those who provided review.

With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, U.S. PIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organiza- tion, works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer Americans meaningful opportunities for civic participation. For more information about U.S. PIRG Education Fund or for additional copies of this report, please visit www.uspirg.org.

Frontier Group conducts independent research and policy analysis to support a cleaner, healthier and more democratic society. Our mission is to inject accurate information and compelling ideas into public policy debates at the local, state and federal levels. For more information about Frontier Group, please visit www.frontiergroup.org.

Cover photos: High-speed Train, Archives, iStockphoto.com; Downeaster: Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority; Transbay Terminal (photo illustration), California High-Speed Rail Authority; Arrival board, Terraxplorer, iStockphoto.com. Layout: Harriet Eckstein Graphic Design Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1 Introduction 6 Why Intercity Passenger Rail? 9 Reducing Congestion 9 Curbing Oil Dependence 10 Boosting the Economy 11 Increasing Transportation Options 13 Providing Comfortable, Efficient Travel 13 Protecting the Environment 15 An Emerging Vision for American Passenger Rail 17 The Northeast 19 The Southeast 26 Florida 30 The Gulf Coast 32 South Central 34 The Southwest 36 The Midwest 41 The Pacific Northwest 47 California 49 High-Speed Passenger Rail: Going From Vision to Reality 53 1. Invest Adequate Resources 53 2. Maximize “Bang for the Buck” 55 3. Encourage Private Investment, But With Strong Public Protections 56 4. Invest to Realize Full Energy and Safety Benefits 57 5. Build Stations in the Right Places 58 6. Manage for Performance 58 7. Assure Transparency 58 8. Encourage Domestic Manufacturing 58 9. Set Standards 59 10. Encourage Cooperation Among States 60 11. Articulate a Vision and Measure Progress 60 Notes 61

Executive Summary

merica’s highways and airports are that figure does not include many other increasingly congested. Our nation’s important and worthwhile projects that Atransportation system remains de- were not requested because they were fur- pendent on oil. And our existing transpor- ther away from being “shovel-ready.” tation infrastructure is inadequate to the State requests for passenger rail funding demands of the 21st century. under ARRA—coupled with the broader Intercity passenger rail can help Amer- agenda for high-speed rail development ica address each of these challenges. Most articulated by the Obama administra- major industrialized countries have (or are tion—present a powerful vision for the fu- now building) well-functioning intercity ture of transportation in America, touch- rail systems. High-speed trains traveling ing virtually every region of the country. from 125 mph to 200 mph or more have long served residents of Europe and Ja- Passenger rail can help address pan, and China is currently in the midst of America’s toughest transportation building a $293 billion, 10,000-mile high- challenges. speed rail system.1 Now, for the first time, the federal gov- • Passenger rail curbs congestion on ernment has invested significant resources highways and in airports, saving trav- toward the development of high-speed elers time, money and aggravation. rail in the United States, with an $8 bil- The Center for Clean Air Policy lion allocation in the American Recovery and the Center for Neighborhood and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and $2.5 Technology estimate that completion billion more in Congress’ fiscal year 2010 of a national high-speed rail network budget. would reduce car travel by 29 million States across the country are hungry for trips and air travel by nearly 500,000 improved passenger rail. Indeed, states flights annually. That is more flights have requested seven times more mon- than depart each year from Atlanta’s ey for passenger rail improvements Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the than was allocated under ARRA. And nation’s busiest.

Executive Summary 1 • Passenger rail reduces our depen- between cities, fostering regional dence on oil. On average, an Amtrak business connections and encourag- passenger uses 23 percent less energy ing exchanges of information in the per mile than an airplane passenger, emerging “knowledge economy.” 40 percent less than a car passenger, Investments in passenger rail can also and 57 percent less than a passenger reduce the need for costly investments in an SUV or pickup truck. Newer in highways and airport capacity. locomotives are becoming far more efficient, and switching rail lines • Passenger rail can provide con- from diesel to electric power can venient, efficient travel, where curb America’s oil dependence even riders can work, relax, enjoy greater further. legroom, and travel directly from downtown to downtown, even in in- • Passenger rail will boost America’s clement weather—avoiding the need economy. The task of building out to drive to outlying airports, wait in the nation’s high-speed passenger long security lines, or jostle for park- rail network is estimated to create ing in congested center cities. up to 1.6 million construction jobs, and can provide a needed shot in the • Passenger rail protects the arm for America’s struggling manu- environment. The Center for facturing sector. Economic growth is Clean Air Policy and the Center also spurred by making travel easier for Neighborhood Technology

Figure ES-1. Proposed Passenger Rail Improvements, United States

The Right Track estimate that a national high-speed • Florida is seeking to build the first rail network would reduce global truly high-speed rail system in the warming pollution by 6 billion United States, with an initial network pounds, the equivalent of taking linking Tampa, Orlando and Miami. almost 500,000 cars off the road. Trains traveling at 165 mph or more would bypass traffic on the state’s Investments in passenger rail can congested highways and link together benefit virtually every region of the many of the state’s biggest attrac- United States. State requests for fund- tions. Florida is also seeking to re- ing under ARRA would begin to deliver store rail service along its east coast, many of those benefits. providing new service to important coastal destinations. • In the Northeast, proposed investments would extend the region’s • The Gulf Coast states are pursu- already successful rail network to ing the restoration of passenger rail new locations, such as Scranton, service east of New Orleans that was Brunswick, Maine, and the cities of disrupted after Hurricane Katrina. Massachusetts’ South Coast. Planned Over the long term, the states are investments would also speed up looking to build a modern passenger trips on New York state’s important rail network with links between New Empire Corridor from Buffalo to Orleans and Baton Rouge to the Albany, and Pennsylvania’s east-west north, Houston to the west, Birming- Keystone Corridor from Pittsburgh ham to the northeast, and the Florida to Philadelphia, providing important Panhandle to the east. links in a regional high-speed rail network and serving as an effective • The proposed Texas “T-Bone” high- alternative to flying or driving along speed rail network would serve as a those routes. core for improved passenger rail service throughout the South Central • The Southeast would benefit from region. The “T-Bone” network— extending successful near-high-speed running from Dallas to San Antonio service along Amtrak’s Northeast and east to Houston—would serve Corridor further south, to Virginia fast-growing metropolitan areas with and North Carolina. North Carolina more than 15 million residents. Ad- also plans to improve and expand ditional connections would include rail service between Charlotte and high-speed service between Texas, Raleigh—reducing congestion in one Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and an of the fastest-growing regions of the eventual high-speed rail connection country. Finally, the Southeast’s plan with Little Rock. for high-speed rail would restore Atlanta to its historic status as a • The rapidly growing Southwest passenger rail hub, linking the city trails other regions in planning with rail lines running northwest to for high-speed rail, but has several Nashville, northeast to Charlotte and potential corridors for new service, Washington, D.C., west to Birming- including potential lines serving ham, and southeast to Savannah and Denver, Colorado’s Front Range, Jacksonville. Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas.

Executive Summary 3 • The Midwest already has extensive riders in the last three months of rail lines, which states are seeking to 2009. Ridership on regional com- modernize, creating a regional net- muter rail lines has increased as well. work of efficient passenger rail routes with Chicago as the hub. St. Louis, • The creation of near-high-speed Kansas City, Cleveland, Detroit, service between Boston and Wash- Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapo- ington, D.C., has resulted in rail lis-St. Paul would all enjoy convenient capturing nearly half of the air/rail connections with Chicago—and each travel market in the Northeast other—with a revitalized regional rail Corridor. system. Building the system is estimated to create over 152,000 person-years • Initiation of 110-mph service along of work and 57,000 permanent jobs. the Keystone Corridor between Har- risburg and Philadelphia has contrib- • In the Pacific Northwest, ridership uted to a tripling of ridership on that on Amtrak’s Cascades line between line over the last decade. Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Van- couver, B.C., has increased eight- • Faster service along the Chicago fold over the past 15 years. Further to Detroit corridor has led to a 24 improvements to the line will reduce percent increase in ridership over the travel time and add round trips, at- past five years, despite the region’s tracting more than 3 million passen- severe economic downturn. gers a year and relieving congestion on crowded Interstate 5. • Similarly, increases in frequency of service along the Chicago to St. • California’s high-speed rail system, Louis line contributed to a doubling one of the most comprehensive of ridership over a five-year span. and modern networks planned in the United States, will be a big step • Americans are hungry for access to forward in addressing the state’s more and better rail service. A 2009 problems with traffic and air pollu- survey found that if the cost and tion. The network will provide the travel time were equal, 54 percent of efficient travel between California’s Americans would prefer to travel to major cities that the state’s large cities in their region by high-speed population and economy require, rail, with only 33 percent preferring with multiple trains per hour stopping car travel and 13 preferring air travel. in all of the state’s largest cities and Of Americans who had actually rid- traveling at top speeds over 200 mph. den high-speed rail, an overwhelming 82 percent preferred it to Recent investments in passenger rail air travel. have already paid off in higher ridership. The United States should build an • Over the last decade, Amtrak rider- efficient and fast passenger rail- net ship has increased by 26 percent, work, with high-speed rail as a central with an additional 5.6 million pas- component, to help address the na- sengers per year riding intercity rail. tion’s transportation challenges in the Despite the economic downturn, 21st century. Eleven key steps toward Amtrak served a record number of achieving that goal are as follows:

The Right Track • Investing the necessary re- to a variety of transportation options sources—America must reverse the for completing their trip and where half-century-long trend of underin- passenger rail can provide a catalyst vestment in passenger rail by creating for transit-oriented development. a reliable funding source and chan- neling the necessary resources toward • Assuring transparency in all making passenger rail a convenient aspects of the decision-making choice for more travelers and build- process over passenger rail, ing the high-speed rail networks that including the expenditure of funds will be necessary to meet the nation’s and contracting. travel needs in the decades to come. • Managing for performance by • Maximizing “bang for the buck” collecting and publicizing data on by investing in lines with the greatest ridership, energy consumption, safety ridership potential and using incre- and other aspects of rail service, mental, short-term improvements in and setting concrete goals for the passenger rail to help lay the ground- achievement of specific targets in work for eventual faster high-speed each of these areas. service. • Encouraging domestic manu- • Balancing private investment with facturing to supply the equipment public safeguards—Harnessing needed for the build-out of the private investment can help to deliver nation’s passenger rail system and high-speed rail improvements, but make America a leader in an emerg- the public must retain control over ing global technology. key infrastructure and decision-making, and any private deals should be • Setting standards for high-speed undertaken only with full transpar- rail equipment so that the nation can ency and accountability. Wherever benefit from economies of scale. possible, new rail lines should be built on publicly owned right of • Encouraging cooperation among way. Public investments in privately states, and between states and the owned tracks should be tied to agree- federal government, in the developments to secure greater priority for ment of high-speed rail. passenger trains. • Measuring progress against a • Investing to achieve full benefits vision. The nation should set an by refusing to cut corners in new rail ambitious goal for the development investments, particularly with regard of the nation’s rail system. We call to investments that can improve en- for linking all major cities within ergy security, environmental perfor- 100 to 500 miles of one another with mance, and safety. true high-speed rail by mid-century. Whatever the goal, it should be set • Building stations in the right and progress measured against its places, where passengers have access attainment.

Executive Summary 5 Introduction

n 1919, a young Dwight D. Eisenhower distance road travel faster, safer and more traveled across the United States in an convenient than ever. IArmy convoy to test whether the na- Similarly, the federal government tion’s roads were adequate for its defense. played a key role in building out the na- At an average pace of 6 miles per hour, 81 tion’s air transportation system. Indirect- vehicles made their way from Washing- ly at first, and then, after World War II, ton, D.C., through the Midwest, across through direct subsidies, the federal gov- the Rocky Mountains, and down to San ernment sought to take advantage of the Francisco, taking more than two months potential of air travel to link distant U.S. to cross the country. The convoy had cities together with each other and with more than 230 accidents along the way, the world. The federal government subsi- as heavy trucks sank into mud or ran into dized the construction of airports and built other problems on the dirt roads and trails and operated the air traffic control system that made up half the route.2 that allowed for the massive expansion of Eisenhower’s experience was typical of air traffic while keeping the flying public the time and the poor quality of the na- safe. Recently, the federal government has tion’s roads brought businesses and civic made similar investments to ensure the leaders together in a “good roads” move- security of air travel. These investments ment that eventually led to a strong feder- helped ensure that America would be able al role in road construction. As president, to compete and collaborate effectively in Eisenhower took that federal commitment the emerging global economy. even farther, pushing for the creation of Meanwhile, however, the third key por- the Interstate Highway System to solve tion of America’s intercity transportation the country’s road transportation prob- system—our passenger rail network—was lems. Requiring more than three decades virtually left to die. During the pivotal De- of effort, and $425 billion of the nation’s pression and postwar years, passenger rail wealth, the Interstate Highway System service remained the responsibility of the transformed American life, making long- nation’s private railroads, which provided

The Right Track it as a low-profit adjunct to profitable the highway system and $6 in aviation for freight rail service, often seeking to aban- every dollar invested in rail.4 Moreover, don passenger service whenever federal funding for Amtrak has been inconsistent, regulators would allow. Unlike highways varying year by year based on congressio- and airports, rail infrastructure did not nal appropriations and making it impos- benefit from federal investment. Between sible for the railroad to invest and plan for 1956 and the creation of Amtrak in 1971, the long term. the federal government invested a mere As a result of that legacy of disinvest- $2.4 billion in the nation’s rail system—33 ment, a train rider seeking to cross the times less than it invested in aviation and country today would likely experience 150 times less than it invested in highways some of the same frustrations Eisenhower during the same period.3 did in his cross-country drive—most nota- The creation of Amtrak to provide the bly the sense that the world’s most power- passenger rail service formerly operated ful and economically advanced nation can by freight railroads represented an in- surely do better. crease in the federal commitment to rail. In a few key corridors of the United Amtrak, however, was saddled from the States—particularly the Northeast—pas- start with a system in bad repair. Federal senger rail already works well (though not investment in rail transportation since the up to its full potential). But in most of the early 1970s has never caught up with the United States, including many corridors decades of disinvestment in the system of well-suited for rail service, passenger rail the postwar years. Over the half-century remains more of a novelty than a viable ending in 2006, the nation invested $16 in and convenient transportation option. As

Figure 1. Cumulative Federal Capital and Operating Investment in Highways, Aviation and Rail5

$1,400

Highways $1,200 Aviation $1,000 Rail

$800

$600 (Billion 2006$) (Billion

Transportation Modes Transportation $400

Cumulative Federal Investment in Investment Federal Cumulative $200

$0 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004

Introduction 7 airports and highways have become more restoring passenger rail service to a basic crowded and our nation’s dependence on level of adequacy. Congress’ additional oil more vexing, America’s need for a vi- authorization of $2.5 billion for fiscal year able passenger rail system has never been 2010 extends that momentum. greater. But even if all $57 billion in final state The inclusion of $8 billion in fund- requests for ARRA funding were to be ful- ing for high-speed rail projects in the filled, it would only represent a down pay- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ment on a long-term program of repair, (ARRA), enacted in early 2009, signaled expansion, and modernization that would that finally—after decades of half-steps create a passenger rail system worthy of and false starts—the nation stood ready to the 21st century. reinvest in its passenger rail system. States This paper reviews the state requests have poured forth with ideas and requests for high-speed rail funding under ARRA, for how to spend that money. Many of as well as the larger vision for high-speed those proposals have been geared not to- rail presented by the Obama administra- ward building the truly “high-speed” pas- tion, to paint a picture of the benefits a senger rail systems that America will need revitalized passenger rail network would in the decades to come, but simply toward deliver to regions across the country.

The Right Track Why Intercity Passenger Rail?

merica’s intercity transportation better served by rail. The lack of effective system has three main components: passenger rail service in much of the coun- Aairlines, trains and highways (includ- try adds to congestion on our roads and in ing car and bus travel). For decades, the our airports—leading to frustration, delay nation has invested lavishly on highways and large losses to the economy. and airports, while passenger rail service Over the past three decades, the number has languished. of miles driven on U.S. roads has almost Passenger rail service can help solve doubled.6 Over the same period, traffic many of the problems that afflict our cur- congestion has skyrocketed. In 2007, con- rent transportation network—including gestion cost the country 4.16 billion hours traffic congestion and dependence on oil. of lost time. Long-distance trips add to Rail can provide safer, more comfortable, this congestion: the U.S. Department of and often faster travel for many trips. And Transportation estimates that Americans investments in passenger rail can help take more than 2 billion trips by car of 50 reinvigorate America’s manufacturing miles or more annually.7 sector, while improving the economic Similarly, the number of miles Ameri- competitiveness of America’s growing cans travel by plane has more than tripled “megaregions.” in the past three decades.8 The resulting crowding of airports and airspace has led to more delays and increasingly frustrated passengers. Air travelers wasted more than 2 million hours in airline delays in 2007, Reducing Congestion with the problem significantly worse at An effective intercity transportation sys- some of the nation’s most frequently used tem carries business travelers, tourists, and airports.9 others reliably and efficiently from one city Passenger rail can alleviate congestion to another. America relies almost entirely on highways and in airports—making on airplanes and roads for intercity trans- all aspects of the transportation system portation, including trips that could be more efficient. The Center for Clean Air

Why Intercity Passenger Rail? 9 Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Curbing Oil Dependence Technology estimate that building out a national high-speed rail network would Cars and airplanes are almost exclusively reduce car travel by 29 million trips and powered by oil—increasing America’s de- air travel by nearly 500,000 flights—more pendence on a limited supply of fossil fuel flights than currently depart each year largely controlled by other nations. Spikes from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, in oil prices in recent years have had dra- the nation’s busiest.10 The availability of matic effects on Americans’ willingness to additional options for intercity travel will drive or fly to their destinations. Expand- become even more important in the years ing and improving passenger rail service ahead as congestion on roadways and in can reduce the nation’s dependence on oil airports increases. and insulate travelers from the impact of In certain areas of the United States, fuel price spikes. passenger rail service already plays an im- America’s existing intercity passenger portant role in easing congestion. When rail network already contributes to reduc- the near-high-speed Acela service was in- ing America’s oil dependence, removing troduced in 2000, passenger rail’s share of an estimated 8 million cars from the road the travel between Boston, New York and and eliminating the need for 50,000 pas- Washington, D.C., rose dramatically while senger airplane trips each year.12 airlines’ portion fell. In 1999, 18 percent Intercity passenger rail—even when of travelers in the air/rail market between powered by diesel fuel—is more fuel-ef- Boston and New York took the train; by ficient than car or air travel, particularly 2008, this had risen to 47 percent, with for trips in the 100 to 500-mile range. On only 53 percent flying.11 average, an Amtrak passenger uses 23 per-

Passenger rail is an energy-efficient mode of travel, with Amtrak trains consuming 23 percent less energy per passenger-mile than airplanes. Credit: Jim Frazier, jimfrazier.com

10 The Right Track cent less energy per mile than an airplane hotels and other traveler services. Un- passenger, 40 percent less than a car pas- like airports, however, passenger rail hubs senger, and 57 percent less than a passen- would likely be located in existing down- ger in an SUV or pickup truck.13 town areas, where workers would be more These numbers underestimate rail’s oil likely to get to work via transit or other savings compared with airplanes. In terms transportation alternatives. of travel time, rail is most competitive against oil-intensive short airplane flights with trip distances of 500 miles or less—a traveler is much more likely to choose rail over air travel from Chicago to Minne- Boosting the Economy apolis than from Chicago to Miami. Short Building a modern passenger rail network flights use more fuel per mile than longer will be a boost to America’s economy. Be- flights, since a plane uses much of its fuel sides the jobs created in upgrading our in takeoff. railways, making connections between our A modernized passenger rail network cities quicker and more convenient will in the future will also likely use less oil better equip the country for the 21st cen- than American passenger rail service does tury economy. today. As a high-speed rail network is de- The 19th century was characterized by veloped in the United States, it will rely the phenomenal growth of America’s cit- more on electricity and less on diesel fuel. ies. Chicago, a town of less than a thousand Currently, about 40 percent of American people in the 1830s, grew to be the fifth- intercity passenger rail is powered by elec- largest city in the world by 1900.16 Other tricity, while 80 percent of European rail cities, from New York to St. Louis, experi- service is electric.14 enced similar meteoric rises. The 20th cen- As train service becomes faster, more tury, on the other hand, was characterized reliable and more frequent it will also like- by the growth of suburbia and the devel- ly draw more passengers, further lowering opment of metropolitan areas, which were per-passenger fuel usage. The more seats knitted together by mass transit and, later, on a train that are filled, the less fuel that by highways. Today, many American met- is used per passenger. Amtrak trains are ropolitan areas have far more people living typically about 50 percent full, compared in their suburbs than in the central city. with 70 percent for European high-speed Some analysts see the 21st century as trains.15 As rail travel in America improves the era of the “megaregion”—areas of and draws more passengers, it is likely that the country in which formerly distinct trains will be carrying larger loads of trav- metropolitan areas are now merging into elers, raising the fuel efficiency of a trip contiguous zones of integrated economic on a train. activity. The Boston-New York-Philadel- Finally, the location of passenger rail phia-Baltimore-Washington, D.C.-Rich- hubs in downtown areas can encourage mond corridor along the East Coast is and support land-use patterns that re- the most well-known of these regions, but duce the need to drive, further curbing oil experts have identified roughly 10 others use. Placing a passenger rail station in a (see Figure 2, next page).17 These 11 re- downtown area provides an inducement gions include more than 70 percent of the for businesses to locate nearby—just as nation’s population and the vast bulk of its airports spur development of office parks economic activity.18 for businesses seeking close proximity to The development of economically suc- transportation and the construction of cessful regions depends upon the ability to

Why Intercity Passenger Rail? 11 Figure 2. Megaregions in the United States19

share information and insights quickly and can be challenging as well. For many short conveniently. The growth of the Internet flights, the amount of time that it takes to and other forms of telecommunication travel to the airport and go through se- has not replaced the vital role of face-to- curity can be greater than the amount of face interactions in generating new ideas time actually spent in flight. and increasing economic productivity. In- Passenger rail—particularly high-speed person business and technology meetings rail—has the potential to link cities with- are considered essential for building rela- in megaregions together in a faster and tionships and trust. Consider the benefits more efficient way. Easier travel within gained by students in Cleveland who come megaregions means that businesses and to hear a lecture from a university pro- organizations will effectively be closer to- fessor in Chicago, or of employees from gether, making it easier to travel between throughout the Southeast called in for a branches, meet with potential employees one-day sales training in Atlanta. and clients, and make the other connec- Our current transportation system, un- tions that strengthen an economy. It will fortunately, does a poor job of connect- also make the United States a more at- ing residents and workers in the nation’s tractive location internationally, attracting megaregions. The main highways link- potential economic boosts such as tourism ing cities within megaregions tend to be and international meetings. congested—think of Interstate 95 in the Downtown train stations in a high- Northeast or Interstate 5 in the Pacific speed rail network would also help to re- Northwest or Southern California. Air vitalize downtown areas, including those travel for short trips within a megaregion in declining smaller cities, by bringing

12 The Right Track thousands of passengers straight to town Increasing Transportation and city centers, reducing the pressure for new sprawling development in re- Options gions where land is often scarce. Similar Americans are eager for alternatives to opportunities for in-fill development - ex driving and flying. The dramatic growth ist around airports served by direct high- of ridership on Amtrak illustrates the de- speed rail links. mand for intercity rail service. Over the last Between this economic benefit, and the decade, Amtrak ridership has increased by work required to build and operate the 26 percent, with an additional 5.6 million trains, an American high-speed rail system passengers per year riding intercity rail.24 could create millions of jobs. According Despite the economic downturn, Amtrak to an analysis by the Midwest High Speed served a record number of riders in the Rail Association (MHSRA), building the last three months of 2009.25 national system will create up to 1.6 mil- For many residents of smaller cities lion construction jobs. The economic around the United States, there is only boost from the system could translate into one practical way to get from city to city: up to 4.5 million additional permanent driving. Since deregulation of the airline jobs. Manufacturing the trains will require industry in the 1970s, and especially since additional workers—the MHSRA esti- the terrorist attacks of 2001, regional air mates up to 100,000 new jobs.20 service to smaller cities has fallen sharply.26 Creating this network will require a Residents of smaller cities seeking to make large investment. But solving our in- long-distance flights must now often drive frastructure problems will be expensive longer distances to major regional airports regardless of what types of travel are instead of hopping on a plane closer to prioritized. Expanding highways can home. A similar trend has taken place with range from under $10 million to over intercity bus service, with Greyhound cut- $70 million per mile of additional lanes, ting service to hundreds of communities and often is only a temporary fix for con- during the past decade.27 gestion.21 Moreover, in some of the most Passenger rail service can provide a densely developed regions, expanding new transportation option to residents of highways is even more expensive, or vir- smaller cities and towns, linking them with tually impossible. The reconstruction regional centers. And by creating air-rail and reconfiguration of the deteriorating links at major airports, passenger rail can elevated highway through downtown reduce the need for inefficient short-haul Boston—known as the Big Dig—cost flights while, at the same time, providing nearly $2 billion per mile.22 Expanding a better option for getting to the airport airports is also very expensive—a pro- for those residents of small cities that have gram to reconfigure runways and add one lost regularly scheduled air service. terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, for example, will cost $6.6 billion.23 There is growing agreement that America must make large investments in its transportation infrastructure if it is to Providing Comfortable, grow and thrive in the 21st century. Un- Efficient Travel like the infrastructure development strat- Americans’ growing frustration with egies of the last half-century, passenger driving and flying are so prevalent that rail needs to be a central focus of this new our culture has even coined names to wave of investment. describe them: “road rage” and “air

Why Intercity Passenger Rail? 13 rage.” Long-distance highway travel can many trains are equipped with electri- be exhausting, frustrating, and subject to cal outlets at every seat, and Amtrak and unanticipated delays due to weather, con- several commuter rail providers are be- struction or accidents. Air travel can be ginning to roll out on-board wireless In- just as frustrating, with delays, crowded ternet services for customers. As a result, planes and airports, and new fees on ev- rail passengers can stay in touch with the erything from blankets to luggage adding outside world. to travelers’ ire. Passenger rail service in the United States is certainly not per- Creature comforts – Trains generally fect—particularly given the nation’s an- have more leg room than airplanes and al- tiquated rail infrastructure and conflicts low passengers to walk around during the between passenger and freight rail. But entire trip. Rail travelers don’t worry about rail travel does have several inherent ad- dehydrating air, their ears “popping” from vantages over flying and driving. pressure, restricted access to bathrooms during take-off and landing, or seizure of Work while you ride – Unlike driving, shampoo bottles and nail clippers. Riders time spent on a train can safely be used can spend time in lounge cars or dining for productive work or for relaxing. Un- cars for a change of scenery during the like flying, the use of electronic devices ride and generally have access to a wider is not restricted for take-off and landing, range of food and beverage options.

Downtown rail stations, such as Boston’s South Station (above), allow for convenient downtown-to- downtown travel and connections with public transportation.

14 The Right Track Downtown-to-downtown travel – Trav- would have taken cars or planes, reducing eling to and from the airport can be an or- the country’s global warming emissions deal in and of itself for air travelers. Most and cleaning up our air. Modernizing our airports are located far from city centers, tracks would also benefit freight trains, requiring an extra drive or taxi ride, and taking large trucks off of highways and passengers must check in at least one hour adding to the environmental and health before takeoff. Trains, on the other hand, benefits of investment in rail. go from downtown to downtown and gen- Passenger rail already emits less global erally require passengers to arrive a half- warming pollution than cars or planes, and hour or less before departure. these savings will increase as the United States develops a high-speed rail network. All-weather, reliable transportation The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP)/ – Severe storms can disrupt the entire air Center for Neighborhood Technology passenger network for days—affecting (CNT) study showed that today, passenger even travelers in cities where the weather rail travel emits 60 percent less carbon di- has been perfect—while also making driv- oxide per passenger mile then cars and 66 ing time-consuming, dangerous or impos- percent less than planes. The faster diesel sible. Passenger rail service is not immune trains that would likely be used to upgrade to weather-related delays, but trains gen- current service would emit slightly more erally operate in a wider variety of weather emissions, but would still emit much less conditions than airplanes or cars. Weather than cars and planes and would draw more accounted for only 1.4 percent of the de- passengers than current passenger rail.30 lays reported by Amtrak during its 2007 (See Figure 3, next page.) fiscal year.28 Electric trains show the most potential for global warming emission reduc- Trains are often a preferred mode of tions, even using today’s carbon-intensive travel, especially for distances between 100 electricity grid. The CCAP/CNT study and 500 miles. A 2009 survey found that surveyed the technology used on three if fare and travel time were equal, 54 per- different popular electric train lines, in cent of Americans would prefer to travel France, Germany and Japan, and found to cities in their region by high-speed rail, that all would produce lower carbon di- with only 33 percent preferring car travel oxide emissions per passenger mile than a and 13 preferring air travel. Of Americans fast diesel train when powered by the U.S. who had actually ridden high-speed rail, electric grid. One train, used on the Ger- an overwhelming 82 percent preferred it man ICE line, would produce about half to air travel.29 the emissions of America’s current passenger rail system.31 Electric trains are not only more energy efficient, but they are faster, and could eventually be powered at least partially with emission-free renewable energy. Protecting the Environment By attracting travelers who otherwise Passenger rail is a cleaner form of transpor- would have taken cars or planes, building tation than car or air travel, emitting less a high-speed rail network would be much global warming pollution and less health- more effective at reducing global warming threatening air pollution. Building a high- emissions than our current passenger rail speed rail network in the United States system. The CCAP/CNT study estimated would attract passengers who otherwise that building the high-speed rail corridors

Why Intercity Passenger Rail? 15 Figure 3. Carbon Dioxide Emissions per Passenger Mile by Travel Mode32

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4 per Passenger Mile Passenger per

2 0.3

0.2

Pounds ofCO Pounds 0.1

0 Electric high- Intercity buses Conventional Cars and light Regional speed train passenger rail trucks airplanes

planned by the federal government using be much cleaner than diesel trains, cars or fast diesel trains, with top speeds of 99 planes. mph, would attract enough passengers to When tracks are upgraded for bet- reduce U.S. global warming emissions by ter passenger rail service, freight traffic 6.1 billion pounds, the equivalent of tak- needs are considered as well, allowing ing almost 500,000 cars off the road.33 more freight trains to travel faster and Passenger rail reduces harmful air pol- with fewer delays and adding to the envi- lution as well, especially when it is powered ronmental benefits. Rail transport is much by electricity. For example, a passenger more fuel efficient than truck transport for on an electric train in Germany produces freight—various studies estimate that train about 93 percent less air pollution than transport is three to nine times as efficient someone traveling by car, and 91 percent as truck transport for the same amount of less than someone making the same trip freight.35 The resulting fuel savings add to by plane.34 Although the electricity pro- the emissions reductions from improving duced in the United States would create passenger rail. more emissions, electric trains would still

16 The Right Track An Emerging Vision for American Passenger Rail

fter more than a half-century of un- pent-up demand for improvements in the derinvestment in America’s passen- nation’s passenger rail infrastructure. It Ager rail network, the inclusion of $8 also begins to paint a picture of what an billion of funding for high-speed rail proj- improved national passenger rail system ects in the American Recovery and Rein- would look like … if we invest the resourc- vestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provoked es to make it a reality. a flurry of requests from states eager to In the following sections, we describe improve their passenger rail infrastructure what such a system would look like for and lay the groundwork for high-speed various regions of the country, based rail. largely on the states’ requests for fund- When states filed pre-applications for ing under ARRA and the national high- high-speed rail funding under ARRA in speed rail vision articulated by the Obama the spring of 2009, the amount of fund- administration, as well as other ideas for ing requests totaled $102 billion for 278 rail expansion that have been proposed by projects in 40 different states and the Dis- various states. trict of Columbia. These applications out- The vision that is emerging is of a two- stripped the available funding by a ratio of step process toward the construction of an more than 12 to 1.36 (See Figure 4, next efficient and effective passenger rail sys- page.) For the final round of applications, tem for America in the 21st century. The states weeded out projects that were further from being ready to start or were of lower priority, narrowing their requests The outpouring of state interest to $57 billion.37 In some cases, states that in high-speed rail funding reflects filed pre-applications but not final applications did so with the expectation that they the tremendous pent-up demand would seek federal funds in future rounds for improvements in the nation’s of high-speed rail funding. The outpouring of state interest in high- passenger rail infrastructure. speed rail funding reflects the tremendous

An Emerging Vision 17 Figure 4. Pre-applications and Applications for ARRA High-Speed Rail Funds versus Available Funding

$120

$100

$80

$60 Billions

$40

$20

$0 Pre-applications Final applications Available funding

first step—expressed in many of the state between Chicago and St. Louis (page 45) proposals for “high-speed” rail funding illustrate. under ARRA—is to restore passenger rail The second step—articulated in the to the basic level of adequacy that it lacks national high-speed rail vision and several in most of the country through incremen- state requests for planning funding—is the tal investments in improving the current creation of what is sometimes called “true system. Simple steps such as rebuilding high-speed rail” or “express high-speed bridges, adding additional tracks, install- rail,” with trains traveling over 150 miles ing improved signaling equipment and in- per hour, in key regions of the country. creasing the frequency of rail service can Achieving this national vision of high- have dramatic effects on the viability of speed rail will take decades, but is neces- passenger rail service, as the examples of sary to ensure an effective transportation Amtrak’s Downeaster (page 20) and service system for the nation in the 21st century.

18 The Right Track The Northeast If there’s one region in the United States perfectly suited for a robust passenger rail network, it’s the Northeast. With several large, closely spaced metropolitan areas, along with many mid-sized cities—as well as horrendous traffic—passenger rail can play a major role in moving people around the region. The Northeast already boasts many of the nation’s best-traveled rail lines, including the Northeast Corridor between Bos- ton and Washington, D.C., (which carries approximately 10 million passengers per year) and the vast webs of commuter rail lines extending from Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore/Wash- ington.38 But in many places in the North- east, trains still trundle along bridges built a century or more ago, while in much of the region, trains simply don’t run any- more at all. Even the Acela Express—the technological crown jewel of the Ameri- can rail system—is hampered by aging infrastructure to the point where it barely qualifies as a “high-speed” rail line by international standards. Northeastern states are eager to expand and improve rail service—speeding up travel on existing lines, restoring service to areas that have been without it for are at the core of the region’s economic decades, and laying the groundwork for vitality: former mill towns such as Man- the establishment of a true high-speed rail chester, Lowell and New Bedford; edu- network that will knit the region together, cational centers such as New Haven and alleviating traffic, spurring new growth, Burlington; centers of government and and curbing transportation’s impact on oil finance such as Hartford and Providence; dependency and the environment. and many more. There are 11 cities in New England with population between 100,000 and 200,000, and many others Connecting New England’s that serve as important regional centers. Mid-Sized Cities An effective regional rail network for When non-residents think of New Eng- New England, therefore, can’t just be built land, rocky shorelines, quaint small towns, around the need to move people between bold fall colors, and perhaps the history Boston and New York City—or to connect and vitality of Boston are the first things those cities with their adjoining suburbs. that come to mind. Less often remem- Rather, it must be a web, providing conve- bered are the many mid-sized cities that nient travel options that link the region’s

An Emerging Vision 19 many small cities together, and with the new service added along the line, the train booming metropolises of the Northeast was able to help travelers deal with the Corridor. spike in gasoline prices in 2008. In the fis- Amtrak’s Downeaster provides an ex- cal year ending June 2008, the Downeas- ample of the promise of linking mid-sized ter had the largest ridership gain of any cities into the vibrant Northeast Cor- passenger rail line in the country.40 Many ridor network. Launched in 2001, the trains could barely meet the demand—the Downeaster revived passenger rail service first trains of the morning were 95 per- between Boston and Portland, Maine, cent full.41 that had been abandoned in 1965. The ar- Now an established part of the region’s rival of the Downeaster was greeted with transportation network, the Downeaster skepticism from some quarters, but the is spurring new development in cities and Downeaster quickly proved to be a conve- towns along the line. In Saco, Maine, for nient and reliable alternative for travelers example, a mill building adjacent to the who previously had to rely on buses and station is being renovated to house retail frustrating trips along I-95. shops, condominiums and conference The real breakthrough for the Downeas- space, and the new downtown station, ter came in 2005, when track improve- powered by its own wind turbine, has ments reduced travel time from 2 hours become a gathering place for town resi- and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 30 min- dents.42 The Center for Neighborhood utes. The next year, ridership increased 31 Technology estimates that by 2030 cur- percent.39 With the Downeaster now fast rent Downeaster service will bring $982 enough to compete with driving, and with million in construction investment, create

Amtrak’s Downeaster has seen dramatic increases in ridership since it began carrying passengers between Boston and Maine in 2001. Credit: Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority

20 The Right Track about 2,400 new jobs, save $21 million in and New York, and would be fully elec- transportation costs, and generate approx- trified, reaching speeds between 100 and imately $16 million a year in additional tax 130 miles per hour. It would bring com- revenue for Maine.43 muters between the largest cities on the The train line has also relieved pressure line and Boston, stopping only in New on crowded local highways. A study by the Bedford, Fall River, and Taunton before University of New Hampshire (UNH) reaching Boston’s Back Bay and South sta- found that the Downeaster has already re- tions in 50 minutes, over 30 percent faster duced global warming emissions and gas than the commuter rail service and gener- expenditures from reduced car travel be- ally faster than driving.45 Speeding travel tween UNH and Boston.44 along the new line would provide a con- The Downeaster’s success—as well as venient alternative to travel along several the pressing need for new transportation congested highways, and also provide for options in the region—has led New Eng- a rail connection with ferries to Martha’s land’s governors to propose a variety of Vineyard, allowing tourists visiting the is- rail projects designed to knit the region’s land to leave their cars at home. cities together and provide quicker access to the metropolitan hubs of Boston and Concord and Manchester, New Hampshire New York. In recent decades, the towns of southern Cities such as Fall River, New Bed- New Hampshire have increasingly be- ford and Springfield, Massachusetts, and come bedroom communities for greater Manchester, New Hampshire, were once Boston. A 2006 report found that 13 per- industrial powerhouses—their great brick cent of commuters in the entire state of mill buildings producing textiles and other New Hampshire work in Massachusetts, products to supply the nation. For the last with the vast majority of those commuters half century, however, many of these old traveling alone.46 That influx of commut- mill cities have fallen on hard times. While ers has created real problems—particu- some, such as Lowell and Providence, have larly growing congestion on the region’s rebounded, with the restoration of many highways. That has led state officials to former mill buildings, others have contin- take another look at expanded rail service. ued to struggle. Improving transportation Today, only a small corner of the state connections—including restoring passen- is served by rail, where the Downeaster ger rail service—is one of many ways local passes through New Hampshire on its officials are hoping to bring new vitality to way to Maine. But a 2007 poll found that New England’s mid-sized cities. 87 percent of New Hampshire residents support the extension of passenger rail in Fall River and New Bedford, Massachusetts the state.47 New Hampshire is exploring The cities of Fall River and New Bed- the extension of rail service north from ford, on Massachusetts’ “South Coast,” Lowell, Massachusetts, (the terminus are a little more than an hour away from of a Boston-area commuter rail line) to Boston, but have no direct rail connec- Nashua, Manchester and the state capital tion to the city. Massachusetts is working of Concord. New Hampshire opted not to to extend commuter rail service to the re- apply for ARRA funding for the project, as gion and has applied for ARRA funds for a result of a dispute with the freight rail- an express passenger rail service between road that owns the tracks. But restoration New Bedford and Boston. The South of rail service in the area could be part of Coast line would operate partly over the creating a longer, high-speed route that route that Acela takes between Boston connects Boston and Montreal.48

An Emerging Vision 21 The proposed New Hampshire service in the center of town is adjacent to new is projected to attract more than one mil- residential and commercial space, will lion riders in its first year, cutting down be walkable from Bowdoin College, and on traffic in the congested corridor and will connect to local bus service. There is reducing air pollution. The connection to also the potential to expand train service Manchester Airport would create new op- between Brunswick and Rockland, today tions for travelers from eastern Massachu- a seasonal tourist service, and to connect setts as well.49 with ferries that bring visitors and resi- Eventually, this service could be contin- dents to coastal islands.56 ued to White River Junction, Montpelier and Burlington, Vermont, on a high-speed route to Montreal.50 High-speed rail could Revitalizing the “Inland Route” connect Boston and Montreal in as little as The coastal rail corridor linking Boston four hours, making the two cities as close and New York City is among the busiest as Boston and New York are today and pro- in the country, carrying Amtrak’s Regional viding an important link to the economic, and Acela service, as well as frequent com- educational and recreational resources of muter rail trains serving eastern Massa- northern New England.51 Track repairs chusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. that Vermont is making to its current pas- Congestion along the line reduces the po- senger rail line will also help pave the way tential for future expansion of service. For for this high-speed rail line.52 example, Shore Line East, the commuter railroad serving eastern Connecticut, Portland and Brunswick, Maine ceased service to New London because in- The Downeaster line between Boston and creased Amtrak service in the area used up Portland, Maine, has been one of the most the remaining capacity on a series of anti- successful rail lines in the country. Now quated moveable bridges that must remain Maine is moving forward on plans to ex- open for parts of the day to accommodate pand and further improve the Downeaster. boat traffic. The full plan adds two daily round- But there is another way to get from trips, cuts travel time by an additional Boston to New York City—along the 10 minutes, extends the route north to “Inland Route” from Boston through Brunswick, and improves on-time perfor- Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, and mance. Maine has applied for ARRA funds New Haven. Currently, only portions of to achieve these goals, totaling just over the route are served by infrequent Amtrak $90 million.53 service, with new commuter rail service Extending and improving the Downeas- between New Haven and Springfield on ter would make it a convenient option for the horizon as well. Revitalized rail service even more travelers and commuters, with along the corridor would better connect the proposed improvements projected to cities such as Worcester, Springfield and increase ridership by 62 percent by the Hartford to Boston and New York, while time the project is completed in 2014.54 providing an alternative to travel along the The additional two round-trips would take congested coastal corridor. enough cars off the road to reduce traffic Connecticut and Massachusetts have on the highways between Portland and applied for funding to start improving Boston by 81,000 vehicle miles traveled a the tracks and stations on this route, the day, with a net reduction in air pollution first step in upgrading the route for high- and global warming emissions.55 speed trains. Ultimately, the states hope In Brunswick, the new station located to achieve rail service along the corridor

22 The Right Track that is comparable in speed to that on the ridership by 23 percent, and could be Northeast Corridor—a step that would completed by 2012.58 These better con- add new flexibility to the northeast’s rail nections would bring more economic ac- network. Improvements along the line tivity to Vermont and Massachusetts. would also help other trains run faster, in- Meanwhile, a new line connecting Bur- cluding the passenger rail line from New lington with other towns in western Ver- York City to western Massachusetts and mont would connect with a line between Vermont, and the route from Boston to Albany and Montreal, and the better re- Albany.57 gional connectivity would help towns and cities both in Vermont and New York. That line will also cost less than other pro- Improving Service in Western posed transportation options in that cor- Massachusetts and Vermont ridor—one project to improve highway Western Massachusetts and Vermont are travel around Rutland, for example, was dotted with vibrant small cities and towns, estimated to cost $7.6 million per mile, major colleges and universities, and ski while the improvements necessary to con- areas and other popular weekend destina- tinue train service north and south of Rut- tions. Projects planned by Vermont, Mas- land will cost approximately $500,000 per sachusetts and Connecticut would speed mile, for a total of $75 million.59 up and expand passenger rail service in western New England, making passenger rail a viable travel option for more New New York Englanders and strengthening connec- New York City is the center of the larg- tions to the region’s towns and cities. est metropolitan area in the country, and Today, one train a day slowly makes its the epicenter of passenger rail on the East way up this corridor from New York City, Coast.60 New York’s Penn Station—one of stopping in Connecticut’s major cities, two massive train stations in Manhattan— the college-heavy Pioneer Valley of Mas- is not just the nation’s busiest rail station, sachusetts, and the small towns of eastern but the busiest transportation terminal of Vermont before reaching Vermont’s larg- any kind. est city, Burlington. Proposals from Ver- The Empire Corridor, traversing up- mont, Massachusetts and Connecticut state and western New York and con- would speed up the Vermonter line and tinuing on to New York City, is a key rail add another line serving the western part freight link and one of only two passenger of Vermont, providing more frequent and rail lines directly connecting the North- efficient rail connections to more people east with the Midwest. Projects proposed in western New England. for ARRA funding would bring long-over- A big part of speeding the trip between due improvements to rail service in the New York City and Vermont involves re- Empire Corridor and lay the groundwork aligning tracks in Massachusetts to cut for a national high-speed rail network. a straight line between Springfield and Upstate and western New York’s largest points north, taking 10 miles off the cur- cities—Buffalo, Rochester, Utica, Syracuse rent route. This would reduce the trip time and Albany—are aligned like beads on a on the Vermonter by 25 minutes, reduce string. The “string” was once the Erie Ca- delays, and improve on-time performance nal; today, it is the New York Thruway. But from 55 percent today to 90 percent when for more than a century, the rail line con- the realignment is complete. These im- necting these cities, which follows roughly provements are estimated to increase the same route, has been a key part of the

An Emerging Vision 23 region’s transportation network. eventual creation of a vibrant, high-speed A regular and fast train, with speeds up rail network with the potential to provide to 110 mph, already connects Albany with quick and efficient links among many of New York City. But passenger rail service the largest cities in the United States and west of Albany is infrequent and often Canada—including Chicago, Cleveland, slow. New York’s proposal to upgrade its Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal, Boston and passenger rail service would give cities New York City. north and west of Albany access to the same reliable and fast trains, and upgrade travel between Albany and New York. The Pennsylvania state’s goal is to upgrade its passenger rail Southeastern Pennsylvania has an exten- so that it is the preferred mode of travel sive rail network. From Philadelphia’s 30th between New York’s major cities.61 Street Station, travelers can take advan- New York’s proposal for ARRA fund- tage of frequent and fast service to Bos- ing focuses on track and signal improve- ton, New York, Atlantic City, Baltimore, ments that will allow trains to travel faster, Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, as more frequently, and more reliably. These well as commuter rail trains to many parts improvements include projects such as of the Philadelphia metro region. building a new track between Albany and Historically, rail travel was central to Buffalo exclusively for passenger rail, buy- the development and economy of other ing new trains and fixing older ones to in- regions of the Keystone State as well. The crease frequency of service, and building city of Altoona in southwestern Pennsyl- new maintenance facilities to keep trains vania, for example, owed its existence to and tracks in good repair.62 the Pennsylvania Railroad, which built These improvements will increase top the world’s largest rail shop in the city and train speeds west of Albany to 110 mph, once employed 15,000 workers there.65 taking nearly 70 minutes off the trip be- Passenger trains still travel along the tween Buffalo and Albany, and 90 min- historic train route from Philadelphia to utes off the trip between Buffalo and New Pittsburgh, which traverses the Allegh- York. Today, low track capacity delays eny Mountains. But current passenger many trains on the corridor. The track and rail service is infrequent and slow. And signal upgrades in New York’s plan would no passenger rail connection exists to the allow on-time performance to increase cities of Pennsylvania’s northeast, includ- from 64 percent to 90 percent. The state ing Scranton. People traveling between also plans to make track improvements to Pennsylvania’s largest cities must rely on increase speed and reliability between Al- the increasingly congested Pennsylvania bany and Montreal, better connecting the Turnpike or fly. towns of the Adirondacks with the rest of Pennsylvania now hopes to provide new the state. New York plans to increase train passenger rail service to more parts of the frequencies so that by 2018, 12 trains a day state and improving existing service. are making the roundtrip between Buffalo and New York and the cities in between.63 New York City to Scranton These improvements are projected to The Lackawanna Cutoff was a modern double ridership on New York’s inter- engineering marvel when it opened in the city passenger rail lines.64 In addition to early part of the 20th century. But for the spurring economic activity and taking last three decades the line—which con- cars off the road, improvements in the nects northern New Jersey with north- Empire Corridor would contribute to the eastern Pennsylvania—has been dormant.

24 The Right Track Now, however, Pennsylvania and New Jer- options, providing convenient links with sey are collaborating to restore passenger rail service in the Northeast and with a rail service along the line from Scranton, variety of airports.68 Passenger rail service Pennsylvania, to Hoboken, New Jersey, could even provide residents of metro- with connections to New York City. politan New York with greater access to The new line would have stops in To- the recreational opportunities provided by byhanna, Mt. Pocono, Analomink, and the Delaware Water Gap and the Pocono East Stroudsburg in Pennsylvania, and the Mountains. Delaware Water Gap, Andover, and Blair- Pennsylvania has applied for funds for stown in New Jersey. From Andover, pas- the first two phases of the project, which sengers could transfer to service into New would build the line as far as Analomink, York’s Penn Station. The line would be Pennsylvania. Frequent and reliable ser- operated by New Jersey Transit, and pro- vice on the newly-restored tracks would vide nine roundtrips a day to Hoboken, have top speeds of 90 mph, and 1.7 million with 10 a day from Andover, New Jersey, riders are projected for this section of the to New York’s Penn Station.66 line in its tenth year of service. Planned The Lackawanna Cutoff would serve stations will be designed to allow passen- several needs. First, it would provide a gers to access the trains and their destina- connection between the Scranton-Wilkes tions easily, from the downtown business Barre region and the jobs and economic district in East Stroudsburg to the Dela- opportunities of metropolitan New York. ware Water Gap Visitors Center.69 The restoration of rail service would provide a new transportation option for the The Keystone Corridor: Pittsburgh to stream of long-distance commuters who Philadelphia have increasingly been settling in Penn- The Keystone Corridor is a prime exam- sylvania’s Delaware River Valley. Pike ple of the benefits of investing in rail infra- and Monroe counties, which sit along the structure. In 2006, Pennsylvania upgraded Delaware River, were two of the three rail service between Harrisburg and Phila- fastest-growing counties in Pennsylvania delphia to reach top speeds of 110 mph, from 2000 to 2008, due largely to their with continuing service to New York. relative proximity to New York.67 Rail ser- Today, there are 14 weekday round trips vice could entice many of these commut- between the two cities, with trip times ers out of their cars and off of increasingly competitive with driving at 1 hour and 35 congested highways and on to the train minutes, and 1.2 million people ride this (although it is critical that station areas be route every year, three times as many as a developed, and local land-use plans be put decade ago.70 in place, to ensure that the extension of To build on that success, Pennsylvania rail service does not feed additional sub- has applied for ARRA funding to improve urban sprawl). service on this line even further, cutting Well-designed rail service in the cor- travel time by an additional 15 minutes ridor could also give workers traveling to by increasing top speeds to 125 mph and downtown Scranton a new alternative to adding one more roundtrip a day. These the area’s congested highways and, if ac- improvements are projected to increase companied by sound planning, could help ridership by 25 percent in the first year encourage Scranton’s revitalization. Ex- the project is complete, scheduled now for tended rail service could give residents 2018.71 of northeastern Pennsylvania and north- In addition, Pennsylvania is seeking western New Jersey new transportation funding to plan for improving service on

An Emerging Vision 25 the line as far west as Pittsburgh.72 Faster to Pittsburgh, reducing air pollution and and more frequent service on that route global warming emissions from transpor- could make travel along the Keystone tation in Pennsylvania. To make this pos- Corridor a better alternative to the con- sible, Pennsylvania is considering adding gested Pennsylvania Turnpike, while also a track solely for passenger train service, breathing new life into economically chal- improving the tracks and signals, and buy- lenged cities in central and western Penn- ing new trains.73 sylvania. Although ridership numbers have not The proposed service would boost train yet been estimated for the Pittsburgh ex- speeds from the current top speed of 79 tension, Pennsylvania expects that, like mph to 110 mph, and could cut trip times the current service to Harrisburg, making by as much as two hours, making it com- rail travel an attractive option in western petitive with car and plane travel times. Pennsylvania will attract many riders who It would increase train frequencies from otherwise would have driven or flown to one roundtrip to eight a day. It also will their destinations.74 likely extend the electric system that powers trains to Harrisburg all the way

The Southeast The Southeast is among the fastest-growing regions of the country. The Raleigh- Cary metropolitan area in North Carolina was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States between 2007 and 2008, and more than a quarter of the 100 fastest-growing metro areas in the nation are in the southeastern states (excluding Florida). Over the last few decades, Ra- leigh, Charlotte, Birmingham and other southeastern cities have emerged as nationally important centers of business, technology and education. By 2050, the population of the Southeast is expected to grow another 70 percent.75 The region’s transportation network is already straining to meet the increased demand. Traffic congestion throughout the Southeast has increased in recent years, despite the construction of new highways. Rail service in the region is minimal—only one train a day passes through Atlanta and the region’s other largest centers of population, with most connecting stops in other Southern cities scheduled for the middle of the night.76 In recent years, however, some southern leaders have come to recognize that

26 The Right Track passenger rail can alleviate congestion Ridership on the North Carolina- on highways and at airports and facilitate the region’s future growth. North Caro- only Piedmont line increased by lina provides state support for two Am- trak trains: the Piedmont (which connects 35 percent between fiscal year Charlotte and Raleigh) and the Carolinian 2007 and fiscal year 2009. (which connects Charlotte and Raleigh to the Northeast Corridor). Together, the two lines carry more than 330,000 riders per year, with ridership on the North Car- South Atlantic states and critical con- olina-only Piedmont line increasing by 35 nections to the Mid-Atlantic region and percent between fiscal year 2007 and fiscal Northeast. year 2009.77 Virginia, North Carolina, South Caro- Virginia lina and Georgia are now developing plans The first step in extending fast and- fre for a southeast high-speed rail network. quent rail into the Southeast is improving The first steps toward achieving that vi- rail service between Richmond, Virginia, sion are improving existing rail service and and Washington, D.C. Today, commuters extending passenger rail service to parts of and other travelers from Richmond add to the region that are currently without it. the congestion on the highways leading into D.C. Currently, six trains a day travel between Richmond and D.C., with most Extending the Northeast Corridor continuing on to other northeastern cit- South ies. However, most trains each day stop at In the 1990s, Amtrak and the northeastern a suburban station just outside Richmond, states moved to create high-speed rail ser- with only two reaching the downtown sta- vice in that region by improving existing tion, making train travel less convenient rail service. That investment has paid off. for many travelers. The trains are capable Since the introduction of Acela Express of traveling up to 110 mph, but in Virginia service in 2000, ridership has boomed, must slow down to average speeds of 45 with nearly 10 million riders now travel- mph due to rail congestion and limited ca- ing on trains in the Northeast Corridor.78 pacity.79 Like the Northeast in the 1990s, the Virginia’s goal is to extend current Southeast has existing intercity train ser- Northeast express service to downtown vice that fails to meet its full potential. Richmond, with 10 round-trips a day to Currently, Amtrak operates intercity ser- Washington, D.C., at top speeds of 90 vice on three corridors that serve Wash- mph by 2017, cutting travel time by 45 ington, D.C. However, the Acela Express minutes. This $1.8 billion project includes does not continue beyond Washington, adding third and fourth tracks to increase and frequent Northeast Regional service capacity on the line, as well as build- continues only as far south as Virginia ing bridges over roads and straightening Beach and Lynchburg, Virginia. curves to allow travel at high speeds all the Extending frequent and fast service fur- way to Petersburg, south of Richmond. By ther south would create near-high-speed 2030, the next phase of the project would rail service reaching as far south as Atlanta increase top speeds to 110 mph.80 and Jacksonville, providing new transpor- The increased frequencies, shorter trav- tation options to residents throughout the el times, and reduced delays are projected

An Emerging Vision 27 to increase ridership more than three-fold Richmond through Raleigh, Durham, the from today during the first decade of ser- Triad and Charlotte. The North Carolina vice, with more than 1.6 million riders in metropolitan areas it will serve are home the first year of 90 mph service and over to 60 percent of the state’s population to- 2.5 million riders by year 10. The traffic day, and the location of 60 percent of the this would divert from highways would state’s projected population growth.84 reduce congestion costs for travelers by By 2017, North Carolina plans to add at least $99.8 million and save 467 mil- eight daily roundtrips between the state’s lion gallons of fuel over the next 30 years major cities, with four continuing on to (enough to fuel 800,000 of today’s cars for Washington, D.C. These frequencies a year) while generating $2.9 billion in would be added incrementally, beginning public benefits.81 with the in-state round-trips.85 While in-state service is being improved, North Carolina North Carolina intends to buy a rail right- North Carolina is one of the fastest-grow- of-way between Raleigh and Petersburg, ing states in the country, and by 2030 is Virginia, previously a major passenger rail projected to have the seventh highest route, and refurbish it for high-speed use. population of any state.82 North Caro- Because the line does not have daily traf- lina does not have one dominant city, but fic, the state could rebuild it to high-speed rather several areas of commerce, educa- standards at low expense, and intends to tion and culture, including metropolitan build bridges and underpasses so that it Charlotte, the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham would not intersect with any roads, a pre- and Chapel Hill), and the Triad (Greens- requisite for true high-speed rail. North boro, Winston-Salem and High Point), as Carolina has applied for ARRA funding well as smaller cities such as Asheville and for engineering work on the line, which Wilmington. The state’s economy—and would cut 31 miles off the trip and would its reputation as a national center of tech- allow for faster connections to the North- nological innovation—depend on conve- east Corridor.86 When the full line is com- nient connections linking the state’s major plete, it would operate at speeds of up to centers of employment and population. 110 mph for most of the route, reducing As far back as the 1990s, when conges- travel time between Charlotte and Rich- tion first began to emerge as a significant mond to 4 hours and 25 minutes, faster regional problem, North Carolina got a than car travel.87 jump start on developing passenger rail On the other end of the line, a new with its popular Piedmont and Carolinian multi-modal station in downtown Char- lines, which provide two daily roundtrips lotte will pave the way for further passen- between Charlotte and Raleigh. Ridership ger rail expansion. The new station would on North Carolina’s rail lines has grown also bring passengers directly into the city by over 50 percent since this service start- center, replacing the current station which ed, and these lines had record ridership in is in an industrial zone far from popula- 2008.83 tion centers, allowing the city to take full North Carolina has extensive plans advantage of new development potential for new and expanded passenger rail from the rail lines.88 lines throughout the state, but develop- This improved service is expected to at- ing a high-speed rail line between the tract a steady increase in ridership, almost state’s major population centers is a cen- doubling by the time a fifth train is intro- tral piece. The planned line would ex- duced. When the near-high-speed service tend the Northeast Corridor south from to Washington, D.C., is introduced, it

28 The Right Track is expected to add a million riders to the traffic moved a growing volume of people train line in its first year, bringing total and goods through the city center. Within ridership to more than 1.6 million. In this 50 years of the city’s founding, 10 major first year, this high ridership is projected railway lines passed through Atlanta.90 to divert 690,000 car trips on the high- Its status as a railroad hub enabled At- ways between Charlotte and Washington, lanta to quickly surpass older cities such as D.C., or 2 percent of all intercity car trips, Charleston and New Orleans. and 255,000 air trips, or 4 percent of total Atlanta’s rail lines withered as the intercity air trips in this corridor. country staked its future on the car as the In the future, high-speed rail could transportation mode of the 20th century. continue through North Carolina on two However, Georgians are eager for passen- corridors, with one extending to Atlanta, ger trains once again. A comprehensive and a separate route splitting at Raleigh study found that a passenger rail network to continue south to Jacksonville, Florida. in Georgia would attract 7 to 10 million This would allow continuous, fast rail riders a year if service were frequent, reli- travel all the way from Atlanta and Florida able and reasonably priced.91 Atlanta’s his- to Boston, linking the major cities of the tory also positions it as an ideal hub for the East Coast—both north and south. new interstate and inter-regional high- To make passenger rail service available speed rail networks that have the potential to even more riders, North Carolina has to become the transportation mode of the applied for funds to plan several new pas- 21st century. senger lines into other regions of the state. Atlanta has a central place in a future These would not be high-speed lines, but high-speed rail network for the Southeast. they would link residents of western and Georgia has sought funding to explore southeastern North Carolina to the high- high-speed rail service extending from speed system serving the rest of the state. Atlanta in several directions—south to The proposed Asheville line would have a Macon and Jacksonville, Florida; west to string of stops in smaller western North Birmingham, Alabama; and north to Lou- Carolina cities before reaching the Salis- isville, Kentucky, via Chattanooga and bury stop on the main line to D.C. The Nashville, Tennessee. Atlanta would also southeastern line would have two branch- be connected to Charlotte and linked to es extending from Raleigh, one reaching the high-speed rail network traveling up Pembroke by way of Selma and Fayette- the East Coast. In addition to linking At- ville along a corridor already in use for lanta with other southeastern cities, the long-distance Amtrak service, and the envisioned rail network would provide other breaking off at Selma to continue to high-speed connections serving most of Goldsboro and Wilmington on the coast. the state of Georgia. These lines would give outlying parts of The first spoke, reaching toward Flori- the state better connections with Raleigh, da by way of Savannah, is also in the path and also give visitors to North Carolina’s of a much-anticipated commuter rail line beautiful mountains and stunning coast- between Atlanta and Macon. There is cur- line new options for car-free travel.89 rently no rail service between these cities, although many commuters clog the highways between them during rush hour ev- Atlanta as a Passenger Rail Hub ery day. Travel along this corridor is pro- Atlanta first sprang up around a rail inter- jected to double by 2020.92 section, with businesses developing out- Georgia has applied for ARRA funds to ward from Union Depot as increased rail begin its high-speed rail network with this

An Emerging Vision 29 line. The first steps toward high-speed Kentucky have applied for funding to plan service between Atlanta and Macon in- a high-speed rail corridor between the cit- clude increasing rail speeds to 79 mph and ies, identifying a specific route as well as providing three daily roundtrips by 2015, the costs and benefits of different initial while helping to start commuter rail ser- speeds, with the eventual goal of 200 mph vice between the cities. Eventually, speeds service.98 would be increased to 110 mph, consistent with the rest of the Southeast, with six daily round-trips by 2020.93 Georgia has also applied for funding to study options for continuing the service to Savannah Florida and Jacksonville.94 Florida has gained an international repu- Continuing this line beyond Atlanta to tation as a showcase for the marvels of the north would create a second “spoke” modern innovation. Millions of tour- of the Atlanta-centered network reach- ists every year come from all over to visit ing Charlotte. A comprehensive study larger-than-life attractions at theme parks conducted by the Departments of Trans- like Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Ep- portation in Georgia, North Carolina and cot Center, and NASA’s launch center on South Carolina recommended six daily Cape Canaveral sent the first humans to round trips between Charlotte, Atlanta the moon. and Macon, with 11 additional stops and Florida is currently in the running to top speeds of 125 or 150 mph.95 boast the first truly high-speed rail- sys The third spoke, connecting Atlanta tem in the United States. This line would with Birmingham, Alabama, could even- provide easy travel options for tourists be- tually connect with high-speed rail ser- tween the state’s main destinations, while vice along the Gulf Coast in a network also helping to cut down on traffic and extending all the way to Texas. Although provide alternatives to travel on the state’s Birmingham and Atlanta are two of the congested highways and through increas- largest cities in the Southeast, today only ingly jammed airports. one train a day travels between them, with The need for new transportation op- speeds limited to 50 mph. A high-speed tions in Florida has been evident for de- link, however, would allow fast and conve- cades. As early as 1984, the state created nient travel from Atlanta to cities such as a commission to move high-speed rail New Orleans, Houston and Mobile.96 forward in the state. In 2000, Florida vot- Georgia and Alabama have applied for ers approved a constitutional amendment ARRA funding to plan a high-speed link requiring that the state build a high-speed between them, evaluating the options for rail system. Four years later, then-Gover- increasing speeds on this route with the nor Jeb Bush led a successful drive to re- eventual goal of 200 mph service. Im- peal the constitutional mandate, but legis- proved service could begin as early as 2019 lation enabling the creation of the system if studies are begun soon.97 remained on the books.99 The fourth spoke would travel north After a quarter-century of false starts, to Louisville, stopping in Chattanooga however, Florida hopes that the availabili- and Nashville on the way. While not a ty of funding under the ARRA will provide federal high-speed rail corridor, this line the jump start needed to get high-speed could eventually create a key connection rail off the ground. The first leg of the between the rail networks of the South- network will be shovel-ready in October east and Midwest. Georgia, Tennessee and 2010, and Florida hopes that ARRA fund-

30 The Right Track ing will enable it to start high-speed service on an Orlando-Tampa route by 2015 and an Orlando-Miami route by 2018.100 The Florida High-Speed Rail System would initially consist of lines linking Tam- pa, Orlando and Miami. The plan for the system envisions 16-20 daily roundtrips between the cities, with 8 additional trips between Orlando International Airport and the nearby Orange County Conven- tion Center and Walt Disney World. Trip times would be under an hour between Tampa and Orlando (a third less time than driving), and just over two hours between Orlando and Miami (half the time of driving). At those speeds, the rail system would be competitive with air travel between the cities. The system would have additional stops in Polk County, Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale, with potential stops in Melbourne/Palm Bay and Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach.101 The trains would be completely electric and would travel on dedicated corridors, some of which have already been pre- served for this purpose in highway median strips. Between Orlando and Tampa, the train would travel most of the way on the median of I-4 at top speeds of 168 mph journey by plane, commuter rail, light rail, and average speeds of 100 mph. As trains bus or rental car. The new Tampa Intermo- continued to Miami, the route would take dal Center would be built to connect the them along either the Florida Turnpike or rail terminal with commuter and light rail I-95, and top speeds would increase to 186 planned for the area, and would be bike- mph, with average speeds of 113 mph. Be- able and walkable from nearby residential cause the train would travel on new tracks developments planned for the downtown. with no other traffic for almost its entire The rail line would also connect with Or- length, on-time performance is expected lando’s planned “SunRail” commuter rail to be very high.102 at the airport, and with Tri-Rail in Fort The major stations on the line would be Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.103 well-connected with other modes of tran- The Florida High-Speed Rail System sit. The rail system would connect to nu- would be in demand from many differ- merous airports and cruise ship terminals ent types of riders. In addition to the mil- along the coast. Miami’s existing Metrorail lions of tourists seeking to travel between is being extended to connect with the Mi- Florida’s theme parks, beaches, and other ami Intermodal Center under construction attractions—many of whom are used to at the airport, which will give Miami resi- riding high-speed rail lines in their home dents direct access to the high-speed rail countries—Floridians need more travel service, and allow visitors to continue their options between the state’s most populous

An Emerging Vision 31 areas. While Florida’s population is grow- St. Augustine and Daytona Beach, where ing, highways between the state’s major it could provide convenient service for cities are nearly at capacity and are in- residents of the area as well as tourists.108 creasingly congested during rush hours. Florida has also applied for funding to help Tampa and Orlando, only 85 miles apart, build Orlando’s commuter rail service and are growing towards each other and are the Miami Intermodal Center.109 increasingly part of the same metropolitan area.104 High-speed rail would also provide another travel option for the state’s many elderly residents. The Gulf Coast The many sources of demand for high- speed rail in Florida have led analysts to The Gulf Coast is still recovering in many conclude that ridership on the system ways from the devastating hurricanes of would be very high. Ridership on the Or- 2005. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused lando-Tampa line is projected at 2.7 mil- tremendous loss of life and property in lion passengers in the first year of service, the region, but they also gave the region rising to 3.6 million in the tenth year. On an opportunity to envision a new future. the Orlando-Miami segment, 6.7 million A modern passenger rail system that con- passengers are projected for the first year nects Gulf Coast communities with each and 11.8 million in the tenth.105 Those other and with the rest of the nation is nearly 12 million trips per year would be increasingly being seen as part of that similar to the number of trips taken on future. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor trains today. Restoring the minimal passenger ser- Most of these trips would replace car vice that existed before Hurricane Katrina travel along the state’s busiest highways— from New Orleans east to the Florida Pan- decreasing congestion and reducing air handle is a critical first step in the process. pollution. Florida estimates that the high- But Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama speed rail system would save the state are hoping to go beyond returning ser- more than 8.5 million gallons of fuel and vice to pre-Katrina levels. The Southern reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over High-Speed Rail Commission (SHSRC), 75,000 metric tons, the equivalent of tak- formed by the states to plan the network, ing almost 13,800 cars off the road.106 has developed a route that would connect The oil savings and emission reduc- the region’s cities with each other and with tions would be even greater if the state other large cities nearby. Three modern uses electric power over the entire rail train lines would branch out from New network. The state’s own studies showed Orleans, one traveling to Houston by way that electric rail would use less than half of Baton Rouge, one to Atlanta by way of the energy of high-speed diesel trains.107 Meridian, Mississippi, and Birmingham, In addition to the proposed high-speed Alabama, and the last to Mobile (and ul- rail line, Florida has applied for funds to timately the Florida Panhandle) by way of restore passenger rail service at top speeds Biloxi. of 90 mph along the state’s East Coast The states plan to establish high-speed route between Miami and Jacksonville, rail incrementally, beginning with more and to improve passenger rail service be- frequent and faster passenger rail between tween Orlando and Jacksonville. The East the cities. The SHSRC has already com- Coast route saw its last passenger service pleted studies of the routes between New in 1968 and runs along the densely popu- Orleans and Meridian, Mobile and Lake lated coast through such destinations as Charles (on the way to Houston), identifying

32 The Right Track projects that could increase capacity and speed between the cities. The first new passenger rail service to be implemented in the region would likely be the route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. This route is important not only for visitors, but also as an important commuter corridor between the state’s largest city and its capital. The two cities are only 80 miles apart, and after Hurri- cane Katrina many New Orleans residents were displaced to Baton Rouge or places between the two cities. Those who still have jobs in the city have been adding to congestion on the highway between the two cities.110 An efficient rail link between the two cities would provide four round-trips a day, with buses connecting at either end to business and residential districts. Trains would go at speeds up to 79 mph.111 Long- term plans raise commuter service to six roundtrips a day at top speeds of 90 mph.112 While Louisiana filed a pre-application for ARRA funds to build the New Orleans-Baton Rouge link, Gov. Bobby Jindal opted not to submit a final application for the project due to concerns about long-term operating costs.113 Ultimately, efficient trains could not only link the communities of the Gulf could also help residents of the Gulf Coast Coast with one another, but could also connect with other destinations across the connect the region to other centers of eco- nation and around the world. Linking the nomic activity. A Gulf Coast network with high-speed line to New Orleans’ Louis a New Orleans hub could provide conve- Armstrong International Airport would nient connections with Houston, Atlanta enable residents throughout the Gulf and other cities in Texas, Florida and the Coast to have easier access to the region’s Southeast as a whole. A 2007 study identi- most important airport. fied track improvements that would allow Increasing train speeds and service travel times of five hours between New frequency on these lines will require sig- Orleans and Houston, and under eight nificant work on tracks, signals and sta- hours between New Orleans and Atlanta, tions. These lines are used heavily by faster than driving. The study projected freight, and for the most part have only that six daily roundtrips at top speeds of 90 one track, so adding passenger trains mph on these routes would attract nearly will require building new tracks for long 1.7 million passengers in the first year of lengths to allow trains to pass each other. service.114 Initiating 90 mph service with six daily A well-planned high-speed rail system roundtrips on all of these lines would cost

An Emerging Vision 33 a total of about $3 billion.115 Such an in- residents added between 2007 and 2008. vestment would, however, provide new Those three areas plus San Antonio added transportation options for residents and more than 380,000 new residents in a single businesses in the region as well as provid- year—an amount equal to more than two- ing a resource for the many tourists who thirds the total population of Wyoming.116 visit New Orleans and the casinos and To accommodate these new arrivals, the beaches of the Gulf Coast. state has engaged in a Texas-sized transportation building spree. Between 1997 and 2007, Texas added more than 1,000 lane-miles of expressways—the equivalent of building a new four-lane highway from South Central Dallas to San Antonio.117 At the same time, Texas just keeps getting bigger. The Lone $2.6 billion was invested in a new termi- Star State, already the second-most pop- nal and other improvements at Dallas-Ft. ulous in the country, is also one of the Worth International Airport, a brand-new fastest-growing—particularly in its ma- airport was built in Austin, and a $1.2 jor metropolitan areas. The Dallas-Fort billion expansion drive was launched at Worth, Houston and Austin metropolitan Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental areas ranked first, second and eighth in Airport.118 the United States for the number of new Still, despite these massive investments, travel between Texas’ main cities remains difficult. The Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas suffer from some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation— and cities such as San Antonio and Austin aren’t too far behind. The state also needs effective transportation links with nearby destinations such as Oklahoma, Arkansas and the Gulf Coast. Texas has long talked about building high-speed rail between its largest cities, and a new proposal promises an alternative to crowded roads and airports for Texas’s intercity travelers. Oklahoma also has its sights set on faster and more regular rail service to Dallas, as well as a high- speed line between its own two largest cities. Another line may someday connect Dallas with Texarkana and Little Rock in Arkansas. This network would create an attractive travel alternative for residents of Texas’s large cities, helping to ease congestion and support the state’s growing economy. And it would help the economies of nearby states as well, by connecting their largest cities to each other and with the regional center of economic activity.

34 The Right Track Texas trains to reach the state’s major cities, uni- High-speed rail is not a new idea in the versities and military bases. An extension Lone Star State. In 1989, the Legislature to the area’s light rail system currently established the Texas High-Speed Rail under construction will also connect with Authority, which concluded that high- the airport by the time the high-speed rail speed rail was needed in Texas. The state system is built, allowing train passengers had even selected a consortium to finance arriving from other cities to easily reach and build the system. However, Southwest their final destinations in the Dallas-Fort Airlines, which dominates the in-state air Worth area.122 travel market, filed a series of lawsuits and The Texas T-Bone high-speed rail sys- campaigned hard against the proposal, ul- tem could start construction by 2013; in timately leading to the project’s demise.119 the meantime, the state has also applied Now, a new plan for high-speed rail in for funding to improve its current passen- Texas is moving once again. The “Texas ger rail between Austin and San Antonio, T-Bone” network would connect Dallas, which could be complete by 2011. The Austin and San Antonio in a straight line, project would raise top speeds between extending to the border with Oklahoma, the cities to at least 90 mph, and increase with another line connecting the main line today’s single roundtrip to three by reno- to Houston from Fort Hood, and a branch vating a parallel route so that a portion of between Dallas and Texarkana on the Ar- the freight traffic that currently clogs the kansas border. The line to Houston would line could be rerouted. In the future, Texas also stop in College Station, the location plans to add stations to this route and pos- of Texas A&M University, and could even- sibly extend it to better serve commuters tually connect with a Gulf Coast high- into the cities.123 speed rail line to New Orleans and other Finally, Texas has applied for funding Southern cities.120 to study improvements on the Texas Eagle With a combined population of more line linking Dallas-Fort Worth with Tex- than 15 million, the major metropolitan arkana, and for a study of whether to bring areas to be served by the T-Bone system new service to Shreveport, Louisiana. represent a massive potential market for rail service. Texas has applied for funding to begin planning the T-Bone system. The Oklahoma state envisions a network that could trans- Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma’s port Texans between the major cities in a two largest cities, are dual centers of eco- fraction of today’s driving time, with fully nomic activity in the state, and almost 60 electric trains traveling on elevated tracks percent of the state’s population lives in at speeds over 185 mph. Once planning is the two metropolitan areas.124 Today, the complete, Texas can apply for funding to cities are directly connected by a high- construct the network.121 way that follows the route of the historic The high-speed network would be in- U.S. Route 66 and a regular bus route, but tegrated with other modes of transit, be- have no passenger rail connection. Okla- ginning with the state’s large airports and homa plans to build a high-speed rail line increasingly with commuter rail and light between the two cities, to strengthen the rail as those modes are built out in Texas’s economic connections between the cit- cities. Dallas-Fort Worth International ies and to provide an alternative means of Airport would serve as a multi-modal trans- travel. portation hub, allowing travelers arriving Oklahoma has applied for ARRA fund- in Texas to switch directly to high-speed ing to begin building a high-speed rail line

An Emerging Vision 35 between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, which service and includes a federally designated would have six round-trips a day going high-speed rail corridor that would con- at top speeds of 150 mph. At either end, nect Dallas to Little Rock. This line could the train would connect with the exten- potentially be extended to Memphis. Ar- sive local bus routes in the city centers. kansas’s legislature approved $100,000 for Both cities are considering building new a feasibility study for this line in its most transit lines as well, so the line could po- recent legislative session through a mea- tentially link with streetcars or other fixed sure championed by the House Majority public transit in the downtown areas, and Leader, so that the state could apply for with commuter rail services to surround- federal high-speed rail funding in the fu- ing towns.125 The planned route uses a ture. freight track along the highway between The initial plan for this line would have the cities, which would require some re- top speeds between 80 and 100 mph, allow- alignment to allow travel at high speeds. If ing travel times competitive with driving, funded by 2010, the line could be running and is estimated to cost only $1.3 million by 2017.126 per mile, much less than Interstate high- The high-speed rail line would connect ways. The feasibility study will determine with rail service in North Texas, potential- the exact route of the line and establish a ly creating a seamless high-speed corridor more specific plan.128 running from Austin to Tulsa. A high- speed rail system between Dallas and Tulsa is projected to attract nearly 690,000 riders by its tenth year of service, when daily roundtrips would be increased to nine. By diverting car trips to the train, the train The Southwest Since 1991, when the federal government would save an estimated 1.8 million gal- began designating high-speed rail corri- lons of fuel in its tenth year, and reduce dors, the cities of the Southwest have un- carbon dioxide emissions by 17,000 tons. dergone a profound transformation. Popu- Building the system would create more lation in the region has skyrocketed. Cities than 2,000 jobs during construction, and such as Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt more than 680 permanent jobs.127 Lake City and Albuquerque are among the Oklahoma also stands to benefit from a fastest-growing in the country. And for- proposal by Kansas and Amtrak to extend merly distinct metropolitan areas—such the Heartland Flyer line, which currently as those along the Rocky Mountain Front serves Oklahoma City, northward to New- Range between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and ton, Kansas, where it would connect with Albuquerque—have begun to merge. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief line, running The rapid pace of growth has left the from Chicago to Los Angeles. The state southwestern states a few steps behind also hopes to eventually extend high-speed other regions in planning for high-speed service to Kansas City, Missouri, where it rail and there remains only one federally would connect with the Midwest Regional designated high-speed rail corridor in the Rail System to St. Louis and Chicago. region. But the Southwest is already prov- ing that passenger rail can be an effective Arkansas transportation alternative. Albuquerque While Arkansas is not aggressively pursu- and Salt Lake City have both initiated ing passenger rail funding through ARRA, commuter rail service, with Denver soon the state is considering expansion of rail to follow.

36 The Right Track The region still lacks effective intercity rail service, however. While a few passenger rail lines cross the Southwest, they are all long-distance lines aimed at connecting California and Chicago rather than connecting the major cities of the Southwest. None have more than one daily roundtrip, and a few major cities such as Phoe- nix and Las Vegas have no service at all. New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado all submitted pre-applications for ARRA rail funds. Plans for passenger rail lines are already underway in most of these states. Regional planning agencies in Las Vegas, Reno, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver have also formed the Western High-Speed Rail Alliance, which has proposed five routes for the Southwest: Los Angeles to Phoenix, Las Vegas to Phoenix, Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City to Denver, and Salt Lake City to Reno.129

Colorado and New Mexico Colorado is bisected by two major In- terstate highways: I-25, which runs from north to south along the Rocky Moun- tain “Front Range,” and I-70, which runs from east to west and links Denver’s airport with the recreational opportunities of the Rocky Mountains. Congestion on both highways can be severe. And with Colorado Springs and the numerous population growth projected to continue towns in between have grown and spread to skyrocket along the Front Range, new into one nearly continuous urban area. transportation options are sorely needed. The region’s transportation system has not Colorado is exploring two high-speed kept up with this growth, creating terrible rail lines that would serve these important congestion on I-25 and secondary roads, corridors. Eventually, these lines could be and offering travelers few alternatives. the core of a high-speed rail system that Tens of thousands of residents work in would stretch as far north as Cheyenne one city and live in another, creating huge and as far south as El Paso, Texas. daily commute flows.130 More than 2 million more residents Rail Service Along Colorado’s Front Range are projected to move to the Front Range The majority of Coloradans live in the region by 2030, a 61 percent increase.131 cities and towns stretching north and south Growth will be especially rapid in the along the Front Range. Over the past North Front Range region, with popu- 30 years, Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver, lation more than doubling. The influx

An Emerging Vision 37 of residents commuting to new jobs will step in building a regional Southwest create congestion along the entire length high-speed rail network. Colorado, New of I-25, from Fort Collins in the north to Mexico and Texas are proposing a north- Pueblo in the south.132 south high-speed rail corridor that would Fast, reliable train service along the extend from Denver to El Paso through I-25 corridor would provide travelers an Albuquerque.135 Denver and Albuquerque alternative to driving. Multiple surveys of are less than 500 miles apart, and El Paso northern Colorado residents reveal stron- is a little over 250 miles further, but to- ger support for improved transit, especial- day there is no passenger rail connection ly rail, than any other option for improv- between either pair of cities. Building this ing transportation.133 line would strengthen regional connec- The specific route of a north-south rail tions in the Southwest, and bolster busi- line is still in the early discussion stages. A ness and tourism in the three cities and the route that serves fewer stations would pro- areas between them. vide faster service, but could dampen rid- Although this route has not been recog- ership numbers. Trains could serve com- nized by the federal government as a high- munities from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to speed rail corridor, the states submitted a Trinidad, including Fort Collins, Denver, pre-application for funding to study and Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The trip design a high-speed line along this route. from Fort Collins to Denver could take as The feasibility study would look at speeds little as 40 minutes by train, compared to from 110 to 200 mph for the train.136 an hour or an hour and a half by car, de- pending on traffic.134 Denver to Pueblo by Rail Service to the Eastern Rockies train could take up to an hour and 40 min- Most weekends, Coloradans and visitors utes, half as long as driving during peak from around the world flock to the Rocky times. Mountains to enjoy the state’s natural This route may also serve as the first beauty and take advantage of its recreational

Table 1. Annual Intercity Trips to Major Colorado Destinations139

Destination Millions of Trips Corridor Denver Airport 44.0 I-25 and I-70 Denver 36.6 I-25 and I-70 Blackhawk/Central City 12.0 I-70 Breckenridge 8.2 I-70 Vail 7.9 I-70 Colorado Springs 7.3 I-25 Keystone 5.7 I-70 Copper Mountain 4.7 I-70 Avon 4.6 I-70 Fort Collins 3.6 I-25 Boulder 3.6 I-25 Pueblo 1.8 I-25 Georgetown 1.5 I-70

38 The Right Track resources. Often, however, the trip into further west to Salt Lake City, completing the Rockies is marred by heavy traffic one leg of the potential Western high- congestion, particularly at bottlenecks speed rail system. or when severe weather causes accidents. No matter how fast trains are able to Rail service along I-70, the most heavily run, speedy, reliable rail service along the traveled of those routes, could provide an I-25 and I-70 corridors is expected to draw alternative to driving and offer both resi- significant numbers of passengers. Trains dents and tourists an easier trip. operating at 125 miles per hour along Fast and frequent passenger rail service a mix of new and existing routes would into the mountains makes sense. Destina- carry an estimated 17 million riders, most tions along I-70 account for a surprisingly of whom would be new transit riders who large share of intercity travel in Colorado, switch from driving.142 as shown in Table 1. Scenic and recreational sites in the Rockies draw tourists from across the country, but I-70 is nearing Arizona capacity in some locations.137 This conges- Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona’s two larg- tion is a problem for Coloradans on week- est cities, grew up separately, but recent end excursions and for the state’s tourism population growth and economic devel- industry. Two-thirds of the 28 million opment have made the metro areas more overnight trips to Colorado in 2007 were interdependent, with connections devel- made by out-of-state visitors.138 oping between businesses, universities and There are multiple rail alignments pos- residents. sible along I-70 from Denver to Avon. As the cities grow towards each other, The most likely routing would use both transportation between them is increasing- existing rail right-of-way and new tracks. ly important. The two metropolitan areas For example, train service with a maxi- and the space between them, also known mum speed of 125 miles per hour could as the “Sun Corridor,” account for 85 per- make the trip from Denver International cent of all jobs in Arizona and 75 percent Airport to Avon (a likely western terminus of the state’s population.143 Each day, an of the line) in approximately two and a average of 11,400 vehicles make the two- half hours, the same time as a car if there is hour trip between Phoenix and Tucson; by no traffic but an hour faster than a vehicle 2050, that number is projected to grow to stuck in traffic congestion.140 37,000.144 The large projected population Steep gradients limit train speed, as do growth for the Sun Corridor will further curves in the track. These obstacles have magnify the economic strength of the area not prevented construction and operation and its demands on current transportation of freight lines along the Front Range or infrastructure. However, transportation through the Rockies because speed mat- options are limited—one highway, a few ters less when moving goods. However, buses and many daily flights connect the the speed limitations of existing rail lines, cities, but there is no passenger rail line combined with the fact that freight lines between them. are already operating at capacity, mean Arizona has been planning a passenger that high-speed rail cannot use existing rail line along the Sun Corridor for over a freight lines unless freight traffic is rerout- decade, intending to start by improving a ed (as is under consideration) and tracks freight line between the cities and eventu- are straightened.141 ally upgrade that to high-speed service.145 A high-speed rail line from Denver west In 2008, Arizona received $1 million from along I-70 could eventually be extended the Federal Railway Administration to

An Emerging Vision 39 begin designing the passenger rail line, A high-speed connection between Las which is expected to transport 1.2 million Vegas and Los Angeles has been much passengers each year, significantly reduc- talked about as the city has grown, and ing the strain on I-10.146 the corridor was recently the first in the More recently, new plans have emerged Southwest to get a federal high-speed rail to jump-start passenger rail in Arizona. designation. Two competing proposals ex- One proposal that gained media attention ist for providing high-speed rail along the in 2008 would create a 220 mph electric route: a conventional rail line proposed bullet train between Phoenix and Tucson by a private developer, and a super-high- using solar panels over the tracks for pow- speed magnetic levitation (Maglev) train er. An express service could travel from line. one city to the other in half an hour, while The Maglev proposal has been under a local train would take an hour.147 development since the late 1980s, and Phoenix and Tucson are roughly the would link Las Vegas and Anaheim, Cali- same distance as several other city pairs fornia. Such a line would easily be the fast- nationwide where rail service enjoys strong est in the United States, with trains travel- ridership, including Chicago-Milwaukee ing at speeds up to 300 mph, and would and Oakland-Sacramento, suggesting that take only 86 minutes to travel from Las establishing high-speed service could serve Vegas to Anaheim, usually a four-hour an important need while reducing conges- trip.150 The preliminary cost estimate for tion along the corridor. the project is roughly $12 billion to $15 Studies by two think tanks in 2009 lend billion.151 support to another possible Arizona rail More recently, a private company has line. America 2050’s report recommend- proposed a conventional high-speed rail ing the top priority locations for high- line, dubbed the “DesertXpress,” as an speed rail lines in the United States ranked alternative to the Maglev project.152 The Phoenix and Los Angeles as the 15th high- DesertXpress would use electric trains est city pair in the country. The Brookings going top speeds of 150 mph and could Institution’s report on airline traffic also be complete within two or three years.153 identified this corridor as the third-busiest This line, however, would only go as far as short-hop air route in the country.148 Victorville, California, stopping before the Cajon Pass where steep grades would slow trains down.154 From there, the line could Nevada eventually be extended to Los Angeles via Las Vegas is known for its casinos and a connection with California’s proposed nightlife, but there is much more to the high-speed rail system. city, which is home to one of Nevada’s The DesertXpress line would cost $4 largest public universities, a growing billion, but the private backers of the line arts district, parks, zoos, and other urban have said that they would not seek ARRA amenities. funding (although they may look for federal As the city has grown, travel on its loan money to help finance the project.)155 busiest corridors has become frustrat- The Maglev project planned to request ing. The drive between Las Vegas and $1.8 billion to build the first leg from Las Los Angeles can take hours longer than Vegas to the state line at Primm.156 Ulti- expected, and air travel to the city has in- mately, private funding requests in ARRA creased 50 percent over the past decade, pre-applications for Nevada totaled over with Los Angeles the most frequent air $12.5 billion.157 connection.149

40 The Right Track The Midwest Chicago grew to prominence as an Ameri- can city in the 19th century for one main reason: it was the hub through which much of America’s rail traffic flowed. To this day Chicago has more lines of track radiating from its center than any other city in North America.158 Many Midwest- ern towns and cities grew up because of rail lines that brought new immigrants to settle from the East. Although freight rail is still important in the Midwest, air travel and the Inter- state highway system have largely replaced passenger rail. Chicago remains at the forefront of these transportation systems, with O’Hare the second busiest airport in the country and many highways converg- ing on the city. Now, with severe congestion in major airports and on many highways and the region focused on ways to rebuild its economy, the Midwest is looking toward passenger rail as a solution, with Chicago again taking center stage.

Figure 5. Travel Time from Chicago to Midwestern Cities by Car, Current Amtrak Ser- vice, and the Proposed Midwest Regional Rail System (MWRRS)160

10:00 Auto Travel Time

8:00 Current Amtrak Travel Time MWRRS Travel Time

6:00 Hours 4:00

2:00

0:00

Detroit Omaha St. Louis St. Paul Cleveland Cincinnati Milwaukee Carbondale

Created with Print2PDF. To remove this line, buy a license at: http://www.software602.com/

An Emerging Vision 41 In 2004, the Midwestern states finalized jobs, both directly in the work required a plan for a Midwest Regional Rail System to build and operate the system, and indi- (MWRRS) that would serve the region’s rectly through development around train travel needs in the 21st century. By repair- stations and other economic growth fu- ing and upgrading service on current lines, eled by the system. One study estimated and restoring lines out of use for decades, that 152,000 person-years of work would the system would provide every major city be created during the construction pe- in the Midwest with fast, frequent and re- riod, and that building the system would liable passenger rail service on seven ma- leave the Midwest with over 57,000 per- jor branches joining in the Chicago hub. manent jobs.163 The Midwest’s manufac- State requests for funding under ARRA turing base, which has been battered by would take the first steps toward building international competition, is perfectly out this system. situated to serve the need for high-speed The Midwest system would give the re- rail equipment, both within the region gion’s residents a travel option competitive and nationally. with cars and planes. Travel times be- All the Midwestern states with rail lines tween major cities would be cut by 30 to in the MWRRS have applied for ARRA 50 percent from current rail service, and funding to move forward on their highest- would be faster than car travel (see Figure priority projects. If funded, these projects 5). Fares and travel times would also be would bring the Midwest the first major competitive with air travel. The rail sys- step of the way towards building the full tem would also reach all of the Midwest’s regional system. major population centers—90 percent of the population of the Midwest would be within a one-hour drive or bus ride from a Michigan train station.159 Improved passenger rail service could Because of this increased convenience, provide an important shot in the arm to ridership on the Midwest regional rail net- Michigan’s tattered economy by making work is projected to be 13.6 million pas- the state a more attractive place to live sengers a year by 2025—four times what it and do business and by tapping the state’s would be if Amtrak continued its current manufacturing base to supply equipment level of service.161 for high-speed rail. Besides convenience, the system would Michigan has already begun to see the bring many additional benefits to the Mid- benefits of investment in improved- pas west. According to a study conducted for senger rail service. Improved controls the Illinois Department of Transportation, installed along the Detroit-Chicago cor- the project would deliver 1.8 times greater ridor allowed Amtrak to increase speeds economic benefit than it would cost, gen- to 90 mph along parts of the line in 2002 erating $23 billion in benefits, including and to 95 mph in 2005.164 Between fiscal money saved from lowered highway and year 2004 and fiscal year 2009, ridership rail congestion, shorter travel time for on Amtrak’s Michigan trains increased riders, lower costs for airlines, and reduced by 24 percent, despite the economic emissions. By 2020, the system would di- downturn.165 vert about 1.3 million trips from air travel, The planned Midwest rail system would and 5.1 million trips that would have been give businesspeople in Detroit and other taken by car.162 cities, college students at school in Ann Ar- In addition to these benefits, building the bor and Lansing, and residents in many of MWRRS would create tens of thousands of the state’s largest towns and cities a direct

42 The Right Track and convenient connection with Chicago and southwestern Ohio. However, there is and the rest of the Midwest. The full plan currently no passenger rail line that links for the Michigan line would lower travel Ohio’s three biggest cities—Cleveland, time between Detroit and Chicago to 3 Columbus and Cincinnati—and the level hours and 46 minutes—faster than driving of service on existing passenger rail lines or flying—and vastly increase the number fails to take advantage of Ohio’s potential of roundtrips and the reliability of all train as the gateway from the Midwest to the East. routes in Michigan.166 The first step to building the Ohio pas- Michigan has applied for funds to make senger rail hub is the reconnecting the track improvements that would allow state’s major cities by rail. Ohio’s three trains between Pontiac, Detroit and Chi- largest cities—Cincinnati, Columbus and cago to travel at speeds up to 110 mph, Cleveland—are arrayed diagonally in a with on-time performance eventually ris- line across the state, each under 150 miles ing to 90 percent from today’s 26 per- apart from the next. Ohio’s priority is to cent. This route also serves cities such as connect these cities with each other with a Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Battle Creek and new passenger rail service, the “3C” line, Kalamazoo.167 which could begin service as soon as 2012. New stations are planned for Dear- The line would then connect with the born, Troy/Birmingham, Ann Arbor and Midwest regional rail system in Cleveland New Buffalo, which will be located within and Cincinnati, and to other planned re- walking distance of downtowns or other gional passenger rail networks.170 important local destinations, and serve The full plan for Ohio’s 3C rail line tens of thousands of college students. would have eight daily roundtrips be- Many stations will connect to local bus tween Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleve- systems, and the track improvements on land, stopping in cities such as Dayton and this line will also assist proposed commut- Springfield in between. Traveling from er rail lines between Ann Arbor, Detroit one end of the line to the other would take and Howell.168 about three and a half hours, faster than The full Midwest regional rail plan for car travel, and would be cheaper than Michigan greatly increases the number of flying.171 daily roundtrips and speed of the service. Ohio has applied for ARRA funding to Eventually, 14 daily trains will stop in Kal- get the train running quickly, with three amazoo, with four continuing up to Grand roundtrips a day going top speeds of 79 Rapids and Holland, 10 continuing on to mph by 2012. This first stage is projected Ann Arbor and Detroit, and four more to attract 473,000 passengers a year, re- breaking off at Battle Creek to reach Port ducing car traffic on Ohio’s highways by Huron. Travel time between Detroit and nearly 320,000 vehicle miles of travel and Chicago will be 3 hours and 46 minutes, potentially saving up to 15,000 gallons of and about 3 hours between Holland and fuel a day.172 Indiana has also applied for Chicago.169 funds to begin 110 mph service between Chicago, Toledo and Cleveland, which would provide eight roundtrips a day be- Ohio tween Chicago and Toledo and nine to Ohio is currently served by two east- Cleveland.173 west passenger rail lines—one along the Ohio is also considering further passen- state’s northern tier, linking Cleveland ger rail links that would strengthen con- and Toledo to Chicago, Buffalo and Pitts- nections with other cities in the region. burgh—and a second through Cincinnati From Cleveland, high-speed passenger

An Emerging Vision 43 trains could reach Pittsburgh in about technology to keep trips comfortable at two hours, and connect from there with the high speeds. This line would also stop improved Keystone Corridor service to at Gary Airport, Michigan City, Plymouth, Philadelphia and New York. A branch of Warsaw, and Fort Wayne. Today, two daily the Cleveland-Chicago line could reach roundtrips serve this corridor, and only 45 Detroit in under two and a half hours. percent of trains arrive on time. Indiana’s The last line from Cleveland would bring proposal adds frequencies so that during passengers to Buffalo in 2 hours, with the rush hours, trains run along the line every possibility of continuing on to Toronto to hour, with four daily express trips and four connect with rail lines in Canada, or to the local trips. Travel from end to end of the Empire line across New York State.174 route would take 4 hours and 22 minutes This extensive 110 mph network would on express trains, and local service would give Ohioans a quick and convenient way be only half an hour longer. Track work to travel between the cities in the state to increase capacity and solve other issues and neighboring regions. The full system would make the train line much more reli- would attract 9.3 million riders by 2025, able, with 95 percent of trains arriving on including passengers traveling from other time.176 states and through Ohio. It would also The proposed link to Gary-Chicago generate an enormous amount of eco- International Airport would allow for di- nomic activity. Building the main lines of rect, high-speed connections with down- the system, from Cleveland to Cincinnati, town Chicago, creating another practi- Toronto, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo, cal alternative for travel to and from the would boost the region’s economy enough Windy City that avoids the congestion of to create 16,700 permanent jobs, generate O’Hare and expands transportation op- more than $3 billion of development near tions throughout the region. stations, and increase annual average house- Indiana has also applied for funding to hold income by $90. It would also save about make it possible for more trains to travel 9.4 million gallons of fuel a year.175 through the crowded tracks entering Chi- cago in the northwest corner of the state. This segment of track is the “single most Indiana delay-prone intercity passenger rail cor- Three major branches of the proposed ridor in the country,” according to the Midwest rail system pass through Indiana Indiana Department of Transportation, on their way to Chicago. The line to To- due to congestion, with 14 passenger ledo and Cleveland crosses the northern trains already coming through this area half of the state, the line to Cincinnati daily in addition to a commuter rail line crosses the state from northwest to south- and almost 90 freight trains.177 The Indi- east through Lafayette and Indianapolis, ana Gateway project would solve many of and the line to Michigan cuts through the today’s congestion problems by making northwest corner along the lake, with a changes that allow trains to pass each other stop in Porter. A designated federal high- more easily, such as adding tracks for pass- speed rail corridor also exists between ing and improving signals. This would re- Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, duce the total amount of time a week that which could then connect with proposed trains are delayed on this route from 2.3 rail service to Nashville and Atlanta. hours to 0.9 hours. The project would also Indiana has applied for ARRA funds to be a step towards upgrading the corridor build the full 110 mph line to Toledo and to meet the needs of the Midwest regional Cleveland, using modern “tilting train” rail system.178

44 The Right Track Illinois and Missouri The passenger rail line between Chicago The passenger rail line between Chi- cago and St. Louis has grown to be one and St. Louis has doubled the number of the most popular lines in the country, more than doubling the annual number of of annual riders as Illinois has sped up riders as Illinois has sped up service and service and added daily frequencies. added daily frequencies over the past five years.179 Currently, more than 500,000 riders per year take Amtrak’s Lincoln ser- mph, and allow 90 percent of trains to be vice between the two cities.180 Hundreds on time.182 of thousands more ride trains on other If funded, these projects would allow Amtrak routes within Illinois, connecting Illinois to run eight roundtrips a day be- Chicago with Galesburg, Quincy, Car- tween Chicago and St. Louis, with express bondale, Champaign and other cities and trip times under four hours. Illinois proj- towns. ects that this improved trip time would at- Illinois has applied for ARRA funding tract 1.2 million passengers in its first year to further improve service on the Chi- of service. Construction of express high- cago-St. Louis corridor and to explore speed service between Chicago and St. the option of high-speed service at speeds Louis would likely take longer, but would up to 220 mph on this corridor. Missouri represent a quantum leap forward in the has applied for funding to make track im- speed and efficiency of transportation in provements on the line continuing from the region. The proposed line, which Il- St. Louis to Kansas City. Illinois has also linois has applied for funding to study, applied for funding to restore a long-an- would enable trains to run at speeds up to ticipated line to Rockford and Dubuque. 220 mph, bringing passengers from Chi- Today, five trains a day make the cago to St. Louis in less than two hours.183 roundtrip between St. Louis and Chicago The express high-speed line, which would at top speeds of 79 mph. Track improve- be electrified, would run on a different ments have allowed the trains to become alignment than Amtrak’s current service, faster and more reliable over the past five traveling through Kankakee, Champaign, years, but still only 73 percent of trains are Decatur and Springfield.184 on time. 181 Missouri has applied for funding to Illinois’ applications would increase top pave the way for future 90 or 110 mph ser- speeds on the corridor to 110 mph and vice continuing from St. Louis to Kansas add three daily roundtrips by adding and City. The projects would reduce delays on fixing tracks that allow trains to pass each this corridor by 48 percent, increasing the other, and fixing other problems. For ex- number of trains arriving on time from 19 ample, in many places passing tracks are percent to over 80 percent.185 Missouri is so in need of repair that trains must go ex- also planning a new Multimodal Station tremely slowly, and at least one place on in downtown St. Louis to replace the cur- the route cannot be used at all, requiring rent aging train station.186 Under the full trains being passed to roll onto the side Midwest regional rail plan, trains would tracks, wait for the other train to pass, and run six daily roundtrips between the cities, then back out again before continuing on with a travel time of 4 hours 14 minutes the main tracks. By solving problems like end to end.187 This line could eventually this and making other upgrades, the proj- connect all the way down to Oklahoma ects Illinois has applied for would increase and Texas through Oklahoma’s planned average train speeds from 50 mph to 73 high-speed line.

An Emerging Vision 45 Illinois and Iowa have also applied and convenient passenger rail connections for funds to rebuild a former passenger with each other and to Chicago. train line from Chicago to Rockford and The full Midwest regional rail plan has Dubuque. Rockford is the largest city in five daily roundtrips to the Quad Cities Illinois that does not have passenger rail and Iowa City from Chicago, and four service.188 The train would also stop in continuing on to Omaha at top speeds of Freeport and Galena, a big tourist desti- 79 mph in Iowa and 90 mph for much of nation, and the train station in Dubuque the Illinois route. This would take passen- has been built into plans to redevelop the gers the full route from Omaha to Chi- downtown area along the Mississippi.189 cago in seven hours, faster than driving.191 Initial service would provide one daily Iowa and Illinois have applied for funds to round trip between the cities, with a total establish 79 mph service to Iowa City, on travel time of just over five hours.190 tracks currently used by freight trains, and Iowa has applied for funding to plan the route continuing on to Des Moines and Iowa Omaha.192 Today, Iowa’s largest cities have no ac- The line would help revitalize down- cess to passenger rail—only one train town areas in the cities it serves. In the passes through Iowa, bypassing all the Quad Cities, Rock Island County and major population centers on its way to the city of Moline are planning to build California from Chicago. Iowa’s Midwest a train station for the line near downtown regional rail line would restore passenger Moline’s local bus station, as part of a de- rail service between Chicago, the Quad velopment that includes new downtown Cities and Iowa City. Eventually, this line apartments, retail shops, and bike trails would be extended to Omaha through Des along the Mississippi River.193 Iowa City is Moines, giving Iowa’s largest cities regular considering remodeling its former passenger rail station for the line.194 The fully developed line is expected to attract more than 500,000 passengers a year. This will reduce car travel on highways between Iowa City and Chicago by approximately 345,000 trips, saving 1.5 million gallons of gas and reducing global warming emissions by over 6,000 tons.195 In the future, Iowa has plans for a much more extensive passenger rail network, with another east-west line continuing from Dubuque to Iowa Falls and Nebras- ka, and a north-south line from Kansas City to Minneapolis through Des Moines, Ames and Iowa Falls.196

Wisconsin and Minnesota Wisconsin’s 110 mph rail line would stop in the newly renovated Wisconsin has already experienced the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, where passengers arriving in benefit of modern passenger rail service, Milwaukee can transfer to local transit to reach their final desti- with its immensely popular Hiawatha line. nation. Photo credit: John December The Hiawatha brings commuters and

46 The Right Track other passengers from Milwaukee to Chi- transit and transit-oriented development. cago in an hour and a half, as fast as driv- In Milwaukee, the train would continue ing in good traffic conditions, with seven to stop in the newly renovated Milwaukee roundtrips a day—and no need to battle Intermodal Station, where passengers can traffic or look for parking in downtown transfer to local transit to reach their final Chicago.197 Partly in response to service destinations. A planned downtown street- improvements, this line saw a 63 percent car line would also stop in this station.202 increase in ridership from 2004 to 2008, Minnesota has applied for funds to plan when over 766,000 passengers rode the the next leg of the route to the Twin Cit- line.198 ies, and to construct its own multimodal Wisconsin’s Midwest regional rail line transit hub at St. Paul Union Depot, would speed this service up to 110 mph, which would connect to the planned Cen- reducing trip time to about an hour, and tral Corridor light rail line between Min- extend it to Madison, La Crosse and the neapolis and St. Paul. The state plans to Twin Cities, with another branch eventu- apply for funding to begin engineering ally continuing up to Oshkosh and Green and design for this route in the next round Bay. Daily roundtrips would be more than of ARRA high-speed rail funding in the doubled, with 17 trains a day reaching spring of 2010. At the same time, Minne- Milwaukee, 10 continuing on to Madison, sota plans to submit applications for a pas- and six to St. Paul.199 senger rail line to St. Cloud, and another Wisconsin’s legislature has already al- to Duluth, which would connect most of located funds to buy new trains for the the state’s largest cities.203 Hiawatha line, two new “tilting train” sets that can travel at high speeds and tilt to allow trains to take corners quickly.200 Now the state has applied for ARRA funding to extend the line to Madison. The Pacific Northwest This project includes track fixes and The Pacific Northwest is, in many ways, other improvements to allow fast and re- a perfect candidate for improved passen- liable passenger rail service between the ger rail service. The largest cities in the cities, and the purchase of two additional region—Vancouver, British Columbia; train sets as well as eight energy-efficient Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; and locomotives. Portland and Eugene, Oregon—are all This extension would connect the state’s situated along the I-5 corridor, with less two largest cities, and extend the benefits than 500 miles from end to end. The cities of the Hiawatha line to government work- all have vibrant and thriving downtowns, ers, businesses and tens of thousands of robust public transportation networks, college students in the state’s capital. The and residents who are eager for new solu- full 110 mph line between the cities would tions to the region’s major transportation boost Wisconsin’s economy enough to challenges—particularly if those solutions create nearly 13,000 jobs in the state by are eco-friendly. 2013, and would eliminate approximately Currently, Amtrak serves the Vancou- 7.8 million car trips on Wisconsin roads ver-Eugene corridor with its Cascades over 10 years, saving 27.6 million gallons service. Besides serving residents of these of gas.201 large cities, the train also stops in a num- The benefits of the new line to Madi- ber of towns along the route, providing son would be amplified by the commit- regular train service to the 70 percent of ment that city has made to local public Washington residents who live within

An Emerging Vision 47 Amtrak’s Cascades service has experienced an eight-fold increase in ridership over the past 15 years. Credit: Washington State Department of Transportation

15 miles of this corridor, and to the quickly growing towns of the Willamette Valley between Eugene and Portland.204 Improvements to the Cascades line over the past 15 years have increased ridership from less than 95,000 in 1993 to more than 770,000 in 2008.205 Today, the Cas- cades line goes at top speeds of 79 mph, with four daily roundtrips between Seattle and Portland, and two roundtrips to Eu- gene and Vancouver. Oregon and Washington’s long-term plan for the line is to raise top speeds on the corridor to 110 mph, reduce delays, and add more roundtrips. By 2030, the states aim to reduce travel time to 2 hours and 30 minutes between Seattle and Portland, 2 hours and 37 minutes between Seattle and Vancouver, and under 2 hours between Portland and Eugene. The states plan to gradually add frequencies un- til there are 13 daily roundtrips between

48 The Right Track Portland and Seattle, four between Seattle California and Vancouver, and six between Portland and Eugene.206 California is notorious for gridlocked By making the Cascades service more highways and smoggy skies. The time competitive against car and air travel, the and fuel wasted by drivers stuck in traffic states predict that these improvements in California’s five biggest cities cost the will attract nearly 3 million passengers a state $16.6 billion in 2007, and almost 600 year on the section between Portland and million gallons of gas.211 A recent study by Vancouver alone. This will relieve traffic researchers at California State University on the crowded Interstate 5, and help the in Fullerton found that air pollution above region meet its global warming emission the federal clean air standards costs the targets. Improvements to this section of most polluted areas of the state almost $28 the route are expected to cost about $6.5 billion, and causes nearly 4,000 premature billion.207 deaths each year, with much of the pollu- Washington has applied for ARRA tion coming from cars.212 funding for three different groups of proj- The main alternative for Californians ects to improve service between Portland seeking to travel between the state’s larg- and Seattle. If all are funded, trip times be- est cities has long been to fly. But conges- tween the cities will be reduced to 3 hours tion at the state’s airports is also on the 12 minutes, and four daily roundtrips could be added for a total of eight. The projects, which range from renovating stations to buying new trains to adding tracks, would also improve on-time performance by 23 percent.208 Oregon has applied for the $2.3 billion that will be necessary to increase train speeds between Portland and Eugene to 110 mph, improve on-time performance to 95 percent, and pave the way for additional daily roundtrips to be added in the future. All of these improvements could be achieved by 2017. Oregon is also planning to use some of the funds to look into the possibility of switching to electric power for the route, potentially using solar panels on the state-owned right-of-way to help provide the electricity.209 Ridership on the route between Port- land and Eugene is expected to triple as a result of these improvements. This would take enough traffic off of Oregon’s section of Interstate 5 to save an average of $1 billion a year by reducing fuel use, time wasted in congestion, car accidents, and highway maintenance. It would also reduce the state’s carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 70,000 pounds a year.210

An Emerging Vision 49 rise, with average delays at the state’s air- at top speeds, and will be the second-fast- ports increasing steadily over the past five est train line in the world when it is built, years.213 with average speeds of 170 mph.215 With the state’s population continu- The network will include five separate ing to grow, California has looked toward routes, connecting San Francisco, Los other solutions to its transportation woes. Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego, and Car-crazy Los Angeles now has the third- stopping in smaller cities in between, such highest light rail transit ridership in the as Santa Ana, Modesto and Fresno. In the nation.214 And commuter rail plays an in- San Francisco and Los Angeles metropoli- creasingly important role in linking resi- tan areas, trains will stop more frequently, dents of the Bay Area and Southern Cali- including at San Francisco International fornia with their jobs. Airport, assisting regional transit as well But providing convenient and fast al- as intercity transportation. ternatives for intercity trips within Cali- In contrast with today’s single daily fornia remains a challenge. That is why roundtrip train between Oakland and Los California is pursuing the construction of Angeles, the high-speed rail network will a comprehensive and modern high-speed have six trains an hour traveling between rail system for the nation’s most populous a new station in downtown San Francisco state. and Los Angeles’ Union Station during California’s full plan for high-speed rail peak hours, and two an hour during off- will connect most of the state’s major cities peak hours, with similar trip frequencies with electric trains traveling over 200 mph between other cities (see Figure 6). Travel

Figure 6. California High-speed Rail Network, Number of Trains on Each Line During the Six Peak Daily Hours217

50 The Right Track California’s proposed high-speed rail line is projected to carry more than 80 million passengers by 2030, serving stations such as San Francisco’s forthcoming Transbay Terminal (photo illustration above). Credit: California High-Speed Rail Authority

between the two cities will take 2 hours for the state. The California High-Speed and 38 minutes, or under four hours av- Rail Authority estimates that the network erage door-to-door travel time, compared will reduce global warming pollution by with about four hours by air and over nine up to 12 billion pounds of carbon diox- hours driving.216 ide a year by 2030, the equivalent of tak- Ridership on the California high-speed ing almost one million cars off the road, rail network is projected at between 88 and improve air quality in all regions.220 It million and 117 million passengers a year would reduce California’s oil use by 12.7 by 2030. The network would reduce pro- million barrels of oil a year. And as the line jected air travel in 2030 by over a third, is increasingly powered by clean electric- and intercity car traffic by about 6 percent, ity, such as wind turbines along the train eliminating 50 million intercity car trips lines, these benefits will increase.221 as well as 25 million local trips in regions The high-speed rail network is estimat- with multiple stations.218 ed to cost $45 billion to build. However, By 2030, the California High-Speed construction of high-speed rail would al- Rail Authority projects that 45 percent leviate the need to expand airports and of travel between the San Francisco and highways to serve the same demand—the Los Angeles metropolitan areas will be estimated cost of which is pegged at $82 by high-speed rail, with only 26 percent billion. Unlike highways, once the system by plane and 29 percent by car or light is built it will make money through fares, truck.219 The experience of the Acela line generating $1 billion a year in profits, in the Northeast suggests that such a split rather than costing the state more money is achievable. for repairs and maintenance.222 This reduced air and car travel mean In 2008, Californians passed a ballot large pollution reductions and oil savings measure to provide $9.95 billion in bond

An Emerging Vision 51 money to fund the first phase of the net- to the current rail service in the Altamont work, from Los Angeles to San Francis- Pass.224 co.223 The state has now applied for $4.7 Building the California high-speed rail billion in ARRA funding to finish plan- network will provide Californians with ning studies for all parts of the system, the efficient travel options they need in begin engineering for the first phase, and a global economy. The network will also to build the tracks for four sections: be- relieve the state of some of the burden of tween San Francisco and San Jose, Mer- its current reliance on cars, reducing pol- ced and Fresno, Fresno and Bakersfield, lution, traffic congestion, and the pressure and Los Angeles and Anaheim. The state to expand highways. also applied for funding for improvements

52 The Right Track High-Speed Passenger Rail: Going From Vision to Reality

uilding a passenger rail network 1. Invest Adequate Resources worthy of the 21st century will not Bbe easy, quick or cheap. But there America’s passenger rail system is in its are many reasons—from congestion on current sorry shape largely because of the highways and airports to the need to wean failure to adequately invest in maintain- America off of oil and curb global warming ing and upgrading the system over the last pollution—why bold investment is vital. half century. During a postwar period in At a time of economic challenges and which America built tens of thousands of budget shortfalls at all levels of govern- miles of gleaming new expressways and ment, it is critical not only that America hundreds of airports, our rail system was spend what is necessary on high-speed allowed to deteriorate such that today, at rail, but that it also gets the greatest pos- the beginning of the 21st century, we still sible value for the investment. The fol- rely, in some places, on infrastructure dat- lowing principles should guide America’s ing from before the Civil War. In some investment in passenger rail to ensure that cases, it takes far longer to complete a rail the nation gets the rail system we deserve journey today than it did in the 1920s.225 at a price we can afford. The worst, most costly mistake Amer-

If the federal government had invested the same amount of money over the last half-century in rail as it had in aviation, roughly $400 billion worth of upgrades would have been possible. That amount of money would have been more than enough to build a high-speed rail network worthy of the world’s most economically advanced nation.

Going from Vision to Reality 53 Figure 7. Estimated Government Capital and Operating Support for National Rail- ways (Passenger and Freight) as Share of Gross Domestic Product (2007 Unless Other- wise Noted)226

1.2%

1.0% China (2009) 0.8% Sweden Austria 0.6% Denmark 0.4% France 0.2% Britain

as Share of GDP of Share as Italy 0.0% US (2009, with ARRA) US Italy

Spain Spain Britain France Austria Canada Sweden

Denmark Canada Government Spending on National Railways on National Spending Government China(2009) US US (2009, withUS ARRA)

ica can make going into the 21st century To begin to dig out of that hole, the is to not invest adequate resources in up- federal government should invest steadily grading and expanding our passenger rail increasing levels of funding in passenger network. Failing to invest will necessitate rail. We probably cannot hope to match even greater spending on highways and the $300 billion China will be invest- airports, deepen our costly dependence ing in its high-speed rail system between on foreign oil, and forestall the econom- now and 2020, but we should endeavor to ic growth that can result from improved match the level of investment provided by connections among people, businesses and other industrialized nations, as a share of institutions. GDP, in their rail networks. The first step in determining an ad- Currently, America’s public investment equate level of investment is to recognize in inter-city rail is far lower than that of that America is digging out of a very deep other industrialized countries. Even with hole when it comes to our nation’s rail the unprecedented investments in pas- infrastructure. If the federal government senger rail included in the American Re- had invested the same amount of money covery and Reinvestment Act, the U.S. over the last half-century in rail as it had government investment in the national in aviation, roughly $400 billion worth of rail system is far below that of many Euro- upgrades would have been possible. That pean countries per capita and as a share of amount of money would have been more GDP. (See Figure 7.) These figures do not than enough to build a high-speed rail include investments made by private U.S. network worthy of the world’s most eco- freight railroads, but in any case, to create nomically advanced nation. a truly world-class passenger rail system,

54 The Right Track the United States will need to invest far than highway projects, and must meet more than it has historically. rigorous evaluation criteria that highway As imporant as the lack of funding has projects do not. State transportation de- been the instability of funding for pas- partments often effectively act as “high- senger rail in the United States, which way” departments, or operate as separate has made it difficult to undertake long- modal fiefdoms, with little ability to coor- term capital planning and to build the dinate, plan or fund effective multi-modal investor confidence necessary to estab- transportation strategies. Moreover, con- lish vibrant domestic industries to sup- gressional earmarking bumps politically ply rail equipment. motivated projects to the head of the line, To ensure stable, continuing funding regardless of their merits. for high-speed rail, the next federal trans- Fixing America’s transportation fund- portation bill should include a dedicated ing system to focus resources effectively is allocation of funds for passenger rail and a critical step toward solving the nation’s the federal government should match state transportation challenges in an era of investments in rail at no less than the same limited funding. Given the tremendous 80:20 ratio it does for highways. By fi- demand for high-speed rail funding, it is nancing transportation projects equitably, critical that the federal government estab- states will be able to make rational trans- lish clear criteria from the very beginning portation decisions based on the needs of for the evaluation of potential projects and their residents, rather than on the chances focus federal dollars on projects of true of securing a lucrative federal match. national interest. Funding could come from a variety of The states’ applications for funding sources, including a national infrastruc- under ARRA underscore the tension be- ture bank, “value capture” mechanisms to tween investing federal dollars in the in- share windfalls from increased land values cremental upgrades needed to bring ex- near rail stations, revenues from cap-and- isting passenger rail service up to a basic trade programs for carbon dioxide emis- level of adequacy and targeting resources sions, airport surcharges, or an enhanced toward “true” high-speed rail projects that highway trust fund augmented through compete with air travel. Ideally, we need to higher fuel taxes or vehicle mileage fees. do both: incremental improvements in existing service can build public confidence in passenger rail while helping to solve today’s transportation challenges. More- over, because incremental improvements 2. Maximize “Bang for the are generally less expensive, investments Buck” in those changes can ensure that Ameri- The current federal transportation fund- cans in more parts of the country see the ing system does a poor job of ensuring that benefits of the nation’s investment in pas- taxpayer money is focused on the most im- senger rail service. portant projects. Federal highway spend- However the federal government opts ing is distributed to states with no prioriti- to divide resources between “bullet trains” zation of projects and no accountability for and incremental improvements in existing results. Different transportation modes are service, projects should be funded based subject to different rules—transit proj- on clear criteria, the foremost of which ects seeking to qualify for funding under should be the project’s long-term rider- the New Starts program, for example, ship potential. In addition, projects should typically receive a smaller federal match be prioritized based on their potential to

Going from Vision to Reality 55 generate economic development, their in the United States, even those over which ability to reduce congestion on highways passenger service currently operates. The and at airports, and the degree to which private sector could also bring necessary cities along the line are able to maximize capital and experience to the project of the impact of rail service through compact building the rails, trains, stations and oth- development patterns near train stations er pieces of infrastructure that make up a and robust local public transportation net- high-speed rail network. works. However, it is critical that, as the nation Any incremental investments in exist- taps private sources of investment, it also ing rail infrastructure should also be con- retains strong protections for the public sistent with future plans for development interest. of higher-speed rail service along those Perhaps the most important source of corridors. tension between public and private sectors Investments in high-speed rail should regards the ownership and use of right- moreover be part of a broader, multi- of-way. Amtrak, for instance, owns only a modal approach to solving transportation small portion of the tracks over which its problems. For example, the nation should trains operate. Most Amtrak trains travel coordinate planning for its passenger rail over tracks owned by the freight railroads and air transportation networks to ensure and are dispatched by those railroads as connections between air and rail and to well. Federal law is supposed to guarantee target resources among the modes effec- Amtrak preference over freight traffic on tively. It may be more cost-effective, for these railways, but a Federal Railroad Ad- example, to meet the essential transporta- ministration study found that certain dis- tion needs of some smaller communities patching practices by freight railroads ap- through investments in rail rather than pear to violate Amtrak’s right of preference federally subsidized air service, as is the and that Amtrak’s preference rights are case today. virtually unenforceable.227 It is no accident that there are stark differences between the high on-time performance of service on Amtrak-owned rails and performance on those owned by freight railways. On- 3. Encourage Private time performance on the Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor in fiscal year 2007 was Investment, But With Strong 15 percentage points higher than other Public Protections corridor trains and almost 40 percentage The private sector will play a central role points better than routes on long-distance in building out the nation’s passenger rail tracks owned by freight companies.228 system. Privately owned freight railroads The nation should use its investments already control the vast majority of tracks in high-speed rail to ensure that the public interest is factored into the operation of the nation’s rail network. One way to achieve this goal is by locating There are stark differences between new high-speed rail lines along publicly the high on-time performance on owned right-of-way, in the same way we do highways and runways. In cases where Amtrak-owned rails and performance expanding or improving existing freight on those owned by freight railways. rail tracks will be more cost-effective than laying new tracks, the prospect of federal

56 The Right Track investment should be used as leverage to With regard to energy, one of the ensure that the promise of passenger rail greatest potential national benefits of priority on freight tracks is finally reflect- high-speed rail is its ability to help wean ed in reality. the United States from its dependence on Private-sector investment can play an oil. The use of diesel locomotives can help important role in getting high-speed rail achieve this objective, given the greater en- off the ground, particularly in areas such as ergy efficiency of passenger rail. But given developing vehicles, investing in stations, the urgent need to reduce global warming and providing amenities such as food, pollution from transportation and linger- wireless internet, and abutting parking. In ing questions about the long-term avail- some cases, state or federal governments ability of cheap oil, electric power is a far may consider public-private partnerships preferable choice. for the financing or construction of high- Railway electrification is expensive, but speed rail lines themselves. In those cases, it comes with great benefits. Electric trains it is critical that government evaluate such are more energy efficient, less noisy and agreements against the potential value of produce less local air pollution than diesel public-sector financing, construction and trains, and the electricity used to power operation. In other words, private sector the trains can be obtained from clean en- participation should be evaluated based on ergy sources, dramatically reducing the the concrete value that it adds, rather than “carbon footprint” of rail transportation the expediency it might afford by avoid- and virtually eliminating the use of oil. ing more politically difficult revenue rais- Federal investments should encourage ing. Moreover, governments should not electrification of rails wherever feasible, make promises to private sector entities and ensure that rail vehicles—whether that constrain the government’s ability to electric or diesel—achieve the maximum improve service on “competing” routes or possible energy efficiency and environ- to otherwise act in the public interest. All mental performance. Rail investments are documents related to private participation long-lasting—rail infrastructure invest- should be public record; important documents can last for a century or more, while ments should be promptly posted online the average age of a locomotive in the Am- for easy accessibility; and only minimal trak fleet is 20 years.229 It is important that information should be considered propri- the investments we make in passenger rail etary, such as bank account numbers. are not just the best investments for today, but also the best investments for the future. Similarly, investments in safety should be a top priority, particularly grade separations which, while expensive, have long- 4. Invest to Realize Full lasting benefits both for safety and for the Energy and Safety Benefits efficiency of both rail and vehicle traffic. With limited available funding, and a host Investments in safer rail infrastructure of high-priority projects to choose from, should also be paired with efforts to reex- it will be tempting for government to cut amine the Federal Railroad Administra- corners. There are two areas, however, in tion’s current crash-worthiness standards which cutting corners is likely to be pen- for trains, which rely on bulk to protect ny wise, but pound foolish. Those are on passengers—a strategy that increases fuel energy and sustainability issues, and on consumption and wear-and-tear on ve- safety. hicles and tracks. Shifting instead to an

Going from Vision to Reality 57 emphasis on crash energy management the information that should be collected (in which trains are designed with crush and made available to the public are statis- zones to absorb the impact of a collision) tics on on-time arrivals, ridership, safety, and crash avoidance could allow for faster and energy consumption. Various routes and more energy-efficient operation, as and route sections should be bench- long as such a shift is done in a way that marked and compared with one another adequately protects passengers.230 to identify best practices, underperform- Investing in electrification and grade ing routes, and areas requiring additional separations now can also help lay the investment. Data should be archived for groundwork for express high-speed rail comparison across time. Public agencies service, since both a fully separated right- and private contractors should be held ac- of-way and electric propulsion are needed countable for delivering projects on time to achieve speeds greater than 150 mph. and within budget. Private contracts should be subject to clawback provisions that recapture public funds in the event of underperformance. 5. Build Stations in the Right Places Passenger rail stations should be located in areas that are reachable by various 7. Assure Transparency forms of transportation (including public A federal program of investment in pas- transit) and that support transit-oriented senger rail should include unprecedented development in existing centers of com- levels of transparency regarding how merce and population. Development of projects are evaluated, how decisions are rail stations in existing downtowns or in made, and how funds are allocated and intermodal terminals (such as airports) spent. Transparency efforts should foster should be preferred over new “green close public scrutiny, including prompt field” development or “park-and-ride” disclosure of performance data, budgets, style station areas. bids, route choices and conflict-of-interest statements. Programs should be audited annually and overseen by an independent- ly governed and financed public body with subpoena power. All audits should be post- 6. Manage for Performance ed publicly and all board meetings should Today, details on the performance of Am- be public meetings. Potential conflicts of trak and other passenger rail lines can be interest, such as those involving contracts difficult to locate and hard to interpret. A and land ownership, should be identified renewed federal commitment to passen- and eliminated where possible. ger rail should bring with it a new commitment to collecting and disseminating data on the performance of passenger rail and to managing the implementation of projects. 8. Encourage Domestic The public should have access to comprehensive performance measures for the Manufacturing high-speed rail program, with outcome Construction of high-speed rail repre- measures tracked regularly using nation- sents a golden opportunity to rebuild the ally standardized methodology. Among nation’s manufacturing base.

58 The Right Track The United States already has a well- sensing the presence of a growing market, established railroad equipment manufac- an American firm, Oregon Iron Works, turing industry, but those manufacturers formed a streetcar subsidiary and has won are focused solely on the production of contracts to produce streetcars for Port- diesel locomotives and freight cars. More land and Tucson, with 70 percent of the than 29,000 workers are directly em- components to be made in the United ployed in the manufacturing of railroad States and components coming from 20 rolling stock in the United States, with U.S. states.236 thousands of others in the supply chain The United States should devise and that provides parts and services to those implement a long-term strategy for manufacturers.231 One reason that those building a vibrant, globally competitive manufacturers exist in the United States passenger rail industry. Inevitably, Amer- is that there is a sizeable local market for ica will need to rely on foreign firms for freight railroad equipment—as of 2002, some of the expertise needed to get its North and South America accounted for high-speed rail network off the ground, 31 percent of the world’s diesel locomo- but the United States should seek to learn tives and a third of the world’s freight from those companies to develop a do- wagons.232 By contrast, the Americas ac- mestic manufacturing base. For example, counted for only 1.5 percent of the world’s South Korea licensed the technology for rail passenger cars and less than 1 percent its high-speed rail system from a French of the world’s electric locomotives.233 It is company, with the first trains manufac- little wonder that much of the expertise tured in Europe and the rest domestical- and manufacturing capacity for the con- ly.237 Over time, Korean companies de- struction of passenger rail systems lies veloped their own high-speed rail tech- overseas. nology, which they now hope to export The single most important step the to other nations building high-speed rail federal government can take to build a do- networks.238 mestic passenger rail manufacturing base Federal policy should seek to expand is to commit adequate funding to high- the capacity of American companies to speed rail over the long term. In December produce high-speed rail systems and com- 2009, Transportation Secretary Ray La- ponents by negotiating technology trans- Hood announced that 30 firms had com- fer agreements and investing in research mitted to expanding their operations in and development. High-speed rail fund- the United States if they receive contracts ing should also be used to help support for high-speed rail projects funded under a strong domestic supply chain for high- the American Reinvestment and Recovery speed rail components. Act.234 Yet, many firms will be reluctant to Lastly, the government should explore build plants in the United States without ways to encourage conversion of idle do- evidence of a sustained commitment to mestic manufacturing capacity and retrain high-speed rail. idled manufacturing workers for jobs in A good example of the impact of domes- the passenger rail industry. tic markets is with streetcar manufacturing. In recent years, several American cities, including Seattle and Portland, Oregon, 9. Set Standards have implemented modern streetcar sys- The federal government should play a tems, using streetcars manufactured central role in developing standards for abroad. In fact, no streetcars had been high-speed rail technology and infra- made in America since 1952.235 However, structure in an effort to reduce the cost

Going from Vision to Reality 59 of high-speed rail, improve replicability 11. Articulate a Vision and of successful projects, and maximize the efficiency of manufacturers. Ideally, the Measure Progress federal government would set technologi- Finally, the nation needs to articulate a vi- cal standards for projects receiving federal sion for the future of America’s rail net- funding that are specific enough to allow work and measure progress toward the for the development of economies of scale, achievement of that vision. The Obama yet broad enough to allow for competition administration’s efforts begin fleshing out among various potential suppliers. a vision for high-speed rail in America, but a fully developed vision would include a clear and compelling national goal. Once such a goal has been articulated, the federal government should measure progress 10. Encourage Cooperation toward it, so that the public can gauge the Among States success of the effort. An ambitious but ful- Federal funding policies should reward ly achievable and desirable goal would be states that enter into and abide by compacts to link all major cities within 500 miles of with neighboring states to conduct joint one another with high-speed rail by mid- projects, synchronize route schedules, and century. coordinate response to operational problems. Interstate cooperation is critical, particularly in cases in which investments in rail infrastructure in one state primarily benefit residents of a neighboring state.

60 The Right Track Notes

1 Peter Fairley, “China’s High-Speed- Research and Innovative Technology Rail Revolution,” Technology Review, 11 Administration, Air Carrier Traffic Statis- January 2010. tics, downloaded from www.bts.gov/pro- 2 David A. Pfeiffer, “Ike’s Interstates at grams/airline_information/air_carrier_ 50: Anniversary of the Highway System traffic_statistics/airtraffic/annual/1981_ Recalls Eisenhower’s Role as Catalyst,” present.html, 13 October 2009. Prologue, Summer 2006. 9 Christopher Hinton, “Airlines Revved 3 U.S. Congressional Budget Office, Over Obama’s Infrastructure Plan,” Mar- Trends in Public Spending on Transportation ketWatch, 14 January 2009. and Water Infrastructure, 1956 to 2004, 10 Car trips and flights: Center for August 2007. Data obtained from supple- Clean Air Policy and Center for Neigh- mentary tables downloaded from www. borhood Technology, High Speed Rail and cbo.gov/ftpdocs/85xx/doc8517/Supple- Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U.S., Janu- mentalTables.xls, 17 December 2007. ary 2006. Atlanta: U.S. Department of 4 Ibid. Transportation, Atlanta, GA: Hartsfield- Jackson (ATL), downloaded from www. 5 Ibid. transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp, 12 January 6 Vehicle miles traveled in 1980 and 2010. 2007 (the latest year for which annual 11 1999: R. Clifford Black, “The Acela data is available): U.S. Department of Express,” Japan Railway & Transport Re- Transportation, Federal Highway Admin- view, March 2005; 2007: Dave Demer- istration, Annual Vehicle-Miles of Travel, jian, “On One Key Route, Amtrak is Up, 1980-2007, December 2008. Airlines Down,” Wired, 21 March 2008. 7 U.S. Department of Transportation, 12 Amtrak, Critical Link, Fall 2007. America on the Go…: Long Distance Trans- portation Patterns: Mode Choice, May 2006. 13 Stacy C. Davis and Susan W. Diegel, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and 8 Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Robert G. Boundy, Roltek, Inc., prepared

Notes 61 for the U.S. Department of Energy Of- 21 Todd Litman, Victoria Transporta- fice of Energy Efficiency and Renewable tion Policy Institute, Smart Congestion Energy, Transportation Energy Data Book: Relief: Reevaluating the Role of Highway Edition 28, 2009. Expansion for Improving Urban Transpor- 14 Amtrak: National Association of tation, 19 June 2009. Railroad Passengers, Oak Ridge Data 22 Seth Stern, “$14.6 Billion Later, on Fuel Efficiency, downloaded from Boston’s Big Dig Wraps Up,” Christian www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/re- Science Monitor, 19 December 2003. sources/more/oak_ridge_fuel/, 14 Oc- 23 City of Chicago, O’Hare Moderniza- tober 2009; European passenger rail: tion Program, Learn About OMB, down- ABB Ltd., Environmental Concerns Speed loaded from egov.cityofchicago.org/city/ Growth in Wind, Rail and Water Industries, webportal/home.do, 15 October 2009. downloaded from www05.abb.com/ global/scot/scot266.nsf/veritydisplay/ 24 Amtrak, Connecting America: Safer, 0a17f88d79f4d5cac125763300351cdb/ Greener, Healthier: 2008 Annual Report, $File/Verticals%20media%20folder.pdf, undated; Amtrak, Amtrak Posts Second- 11 January 2010. Best Ridership in History (press release), 12 October 2009. 15 Amtrak: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Trans- 25 Amtrak, State of America’s Passenger portation, Amtrak Capacity Utilization, Railroad Is Strong (press release), 12 Janu- June 2009; Europe: HSR:UK, Frequently ary 2010. Asked Questions, downloaded from www. 26 U.S. Government Accountability Of- highspeedrailuk.com/?page_id=14, 14 fice,Airline Deregulation: Reregulating the October 2009. Airline Industry Would Likely Reverse Con- 16 Tertius Chandler, Four Thousand sumer Benefits and Not Save Airline Pen- Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Cen- sions, June 2006; Reconnecting America, sus, 1987, as cited by About.com, Top 10 Missed Connections III, July 2005. Cities of the Year 1900, downloaded from 27 Joseph P. Schwieterman, Lauren geography.about.com/library/weekly/ Fischer, et al., DePaul University, The aa011201f.htm, 15 December 2009. Return of the Intercity Bus: The Decline and 17 Regional Plan Association, The Recovery of Scheduled Service to American Emerging Megaregions, downloaded from Cities, 1960-2007, 24 December 2007. www.rpa.org/america2050/sync/ele- 28 Federal Railroad Administration, ments/america2050map.png, 15 Decem- Root Causes of Amtrak Delays, 8 September ber 2009. 2008. 18 Edward Glaeser, “Do Regional 29 HNTB, America Thinks Survey: Many Economies Need Regional Coordina- Americans Ready to Ride the High-Speed tion?” in Keith Goldfeld, ed., The Eco- Rails, April 2009. nomic Geography of Megaregions, 2007. 30 Center for Clean Air Policy and 19 See note 17. Center for Neighborhood Technology, 20 Midwest High Speed Rail Associa- High Speed Rail and Greenhouse Gas Emis- tion, Fast Track America: Why Congress sions in the U.S., January 2006. Must Fund High Speed Rail, downloaded 31 Ibid. from www.fourbillion.com, 19 October 32 Ibid. 2009. 33 Ibid. Passenger vehicle emissions

62 The Right Track equivalent calculated using U.S. Envi- cation for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Program: ronmental Protection Agency, Greenhouse MA South Coast Rail, 2 October 2009. Gas Equivalencies Calculator, updated 17 46 NHPIRG Education Fund and February 2009, available at www.epa.gov/ Clean Water Fund, Driving Global Warm- RDEE/energy-resources/calculator.html. ing: Commuting in New Hampshire and its 34 International Union of Railways and Contribution to Global Warming, January Community of European Railway and 2006. Infrastructure Companies, Rail Transport 47 Nashua Regional Planning Com- and Environment: Facts and Figures, No- mission, Survey Shows Strong Support for vember 2008. Passenger Rail Service (press release), 13 35 Midwest High Speed Rail Associa- March 2007. tion, The Benefits: A Cleaner Environment, 48 State Departments of Transporta- downloaded from www.midwesthsr.org/ tion in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver- benefits/environment.html, 20 November mont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and 2009. Connecticut, Vision for the New England 36 U.S. Department of Transporta- High-Speed and Intercity Rail Network, tion, Federal Railroad Administration, downloaded from www.eot.state.ma.us/ FRA Receives 278 Pre-Applications for recovery/HSR.htm, 28 October 2009. High-Speed Passenger Rail Funding (press 49 Ibid. release), 16 July 2009. 50 Ibid. 37 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, State- 51 Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & ment From Federal Railroad Administration Douglas, Boston to Montreal High-Speed (FRA) Administrator Joseph C. Szabo (press Rail Planning and Feasibility Study Phase release), 6 October 2009. 1: Final Report, prepared for Vermont Agency of Transportation, New Hamp- 38 Amtrak, Amtrak Posts Second-Best shire Department of Transportation, and Ridership in History (press release), 12 Oc- Massachusetts Executive Office of Trans- tober 2009. portation and Construction, April 2003. 39 Northern New England Passenger 52 Christopher Parker, Vermont Rail Rail Authority, Application for ARRA Track Action Network, High-Speed Rail in Ver- 2 Corridor Program: ME Downeaster Pan mont?, 17 April 2009. Am Line, 2 October 2009. 53 See notes 39, 43. 40 David Sharp, “Amtrak’s Downeaster Ridership Goes Up 28 Percent,” Boston 54 See note 43. Globe, 21 July 2008. 55 See note 39. 41 Ibid. 56 See note 43. 42 See note 39. 57 Massachusetts Executive Office of 43 Northern New England Passenger Transportation and Public Works, Ap- Rail Authority, Application for ARRA Track plication for ARRA Track 1b PE/NEPA: 2 Corridor Program: ME Downeaster Port- MA Inland Route Double Track, 24 August land North Project, 2 October 2009. 2009. 44 Ibid. 58 Massachusetts, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Program: MA Knowledge 45 Massachusetts Executive Office of Corridor/Restore Vermonter, 2 October Transportation and Public Works, Appli- 2009.

Notes 63 59 Rutland Redevelopment Authority, 75 Last half century: Southeast High- NHS/Railway Corridors: A Proposal for Cost Speed Rail, A Time to Act, June 1999; by Effective Enhancements of the Rural Trans- 2050: Center for Quality Growth and portation Infrastructure, May 2002. Regional Development, Piedmont Atlantic 60 U.S. Census Bureau, Metropolitan and Megaregion Forum Primer, March 2009. Micropolitan Statistical Area Estimates: An- 76 Amtrak, Schedule: Crescent, effective nual Estimates of the Population, 19 March 26 October 2009. 2009. 77 See note 38. 61 New York State Department of 78 Ibid. Transportation, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Program: NY EmpireS- 79 Virginia Department of Rail and EmpireW Corridor, 2 October 2009. Public Transportation, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Program: VA 62 Ibid. SEHSR I-95 Segment, 2 October 2009. 63 Ibid. 80 Ibid. 64 Ibid. 81 Ibid; “800,000 of today’s cars for a 65 Altoona Railroaders Museum, year” based on on-road fuel economy Welcome to the Altoona Rail Roaders Me- estimates from U.S. Department of En- morial Museum, downloaded from www. ergy, Energy Information Administration, railroadcity.com/, 15 December 2009. Annual Energy Outlook 2010 Early Release 66 Pennsylvania Department of Trans- with Projections to 2050, 14 December portation, Application for ARRA Track 2 2009. Corridor Program: PA Lackawanna Cutoff 82 Rail Division, North Carolina De- Service Restoration, 2 October 2009. partment of Transportation, South East 67 U.S. Census Bureau, County Datasets: High Speed Rail, High Speed Intercity Pas- Population Change: Pennsylvania, down- senger Rail Program: Service Development loaded from www.census.gov/popest/ Plan, 2 October 2009. counties/files/CO-EST2008-POP- 83 Ibid. CHG2000_2008-42.csv, 15 December 84 Ibid. 2009. 85 Ibid. 68 See note 66. 86 Rail Division, North Carolina De- 69 Ibid. partment of Transportation, Application 70 The Transport Politic, Learning from for ARRA Track 1b Funding: SEHSR –Ra- the Keystone Corridor, 28 September 2009. leigh to Richmond and Enabling Fac., 24 71 Pennsylvania Department of Trans- August 2009. portation, Application for ARRA Track 2 87 See note 82. Corridor Program: PA Keystone Corridor— 88 Ibid. Keystone East, 2 October 2009. 89 Rail Division, North Carolina De- 72 Pennsylvania Department of Trans- partment of Transportation, Application portation, Application for ARRA Track 3 for ARRA Track 3 Planning: WNC/SENC Planning: PA Keystone Corridor—Keystone Intercity Passenger Service Exp., 24 August West, 24 August 2009. 2009. 73 Ibid. 90 Georgia Secretary of State Karen C. 74 Ibid. Handel, History of Atlanta, downloaded

64 The Right Track from sos.georgia.gov/tours/html/atlanta_ 107 Ibid.; see note 99. history.html, 1 September 2008. 108 Florida Department of Transporta- 91 Georgia Department of Transpor- tion, High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail tation, Intermodal Programs Division, Program: Track 2 Corridor Service Over- 2009 State Rail Plan (SRP) for Georgia, view: Florida East Coast Amtrak Service, 2 July 2009. October 2009. 92 Georgia Department of Transporta- 109 Florida Department of Transporta- tion, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corri- tion, Application for ARRA Track 1a and dor Program: Atlanta to Macon, 2 October Track 4: Central Florida Rail Passenger Cor- 2009. ridor, 24 August 2009; Florida Depart- 93 Ibid. ment of Transportation, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Program: Florida 94 Georgia Department of Transporta- East Coast Amtrak Service, 2 October tion, Application for ARRA Track 3 Plan- 2009. ning: Atlanta to Birmingham Feasibility, 24 August 2009. 110 Southern Rapid Rail Transit Com- mission, Gulf Coast High-Speed Rail Cor- 95 See note 91. ridor: Congressional Briefing Information, 96 See note 94. March 2007. 97 Ibid. 111 Ibid. 98 Georgia Department of Transporta- 112 Southern Rapid Rail Transit Com- tion, Application for ARRA Track 3 Plan- mission, prepared by Burk-Kleinpeter, ning: Atlanta to Louisville Feasibility, 24 Inc., in association with Parsons Trans- August 2009. portation Group, AECOM Consult and 99 Florida High Speed Rail Authority DMJM Harris, Gulf Coast High-Speed and the U.S. Department of Transporta- Rail Corridor Plan: Lake Charles to Merid- tion, Federal Rail Administration, Florida ian Corridor Development Plan: Volume 1. High Speed Rail, Tampa to Orlando: Final Summary Report, June 2007. Environmental Impact Statement, May 113 Jonathan Tilove, “High-speed Rail 2005, updated 2009. Link Gets Support from Rep. Anh ‘Jo- 100 Florida Department of Transporta- seph’ Cao,” Nola.com, 2 October 2009. tion, Application for ARRA Track 2 Cor- 114 See note 112. ridor Program: Florida High-Speed Rail Ex- 115 Ibid. press—Tampa to Orlando, 2 October 2009; Florida Department of Transportation, 116 U.S. Census Bureau, Table 1. Popu- Application for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Pro- lation Estimates for the 100 Fastest Growing gram: Florida High-Speed Rail Express— Metropolitan Statistical Areas: July 1, 2007 Orlando to Miami, 2 October 2009. to July 1, 2008, downloaded from www. census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/ 101 Ibid. archives/cb09-45table1.xls, 15 December 102 Ibid. 2009. 103 Ibid. 117 U.S. Department of Transportation, 104 Ibid. Federal Highway Administration, High- way Statistics series of reports, years 1997 105 Ibid. and 2009. 106 Ibid. 118 Dallas: Dallas-Fort Worth Interna-

Notes 65 tional Airport, Capital Development Pro- 17 April 2009. gram: Public Art Master Plan, 6 November 129 Richard N. Velotta, “Rail Alliance 2001; Houston: Houston Airport System, Names First Routes, and LV-Reno Ig- $1.2 Billion in Improvements for Houston’s nored,” Las Vegas Sun, 6 November 2009. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (press release), 7 April 2008. 130 Rob MacDonald, Executive Direc- tor, PPACG, and Jeff May, Metro Vision 119 Dan McGraw, “High-Speed Solu- Resource Center, DRCOG, Front Range tions: The Idea of Passenger Rail Travel Transportation Forum (Power Point pre- to Major Texas Cities Picks Up Speed,” sentation), 21 September 2005. Fort Worth Weekly, 5 March 2008. 131 Ibid. 120 Texas Department of Transpor- tation, Application for ARRA Track 1b: 132 Denver Region Council of Govern- TX—HSR Express Texas T-Bone—PE, 24 ments, Front Range Transportation Forum, August 2009; Texas Department of Trans- Summary, 21 September 2005. portation, Application for ARRA Track 3 133 Colorado Department of Transpor- Planning: TX—HSR Express Texas T-Bone, tation, Federal Transit Administration, 24 August 2009. Federal Highway Administration, North 121 Ibid. I-25 Draft Environmental Impact State- ment, October 2008. 122 Ibid. 134 TEMS, Inc./Quandel Consultants, 123 Texas Department of Transporta- LLC, Presentation to RMRA Alternatives tion, Application for ARRA Track 1b: TX— Development Workshop, Feasibility Study Austin/San Antonio Emerging HSR—PE 1, Update, High Speed Rail Feasibility Study 24 August 2009. (Power Point presentation)¸ 23 January 124 U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Es- 2009. timates of the Population of Metropolitan 135 Office of Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, Governor Ritter Announces Plans to Seek 2000 to July 1, 2008, 19 March 2009; U.S. High-Speed Rail Linking Colorado, New Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Mexico and Texas (press release), 9 July Resident Population for the United States, 2009. Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008, 22 December 2008. 136 Heather Clark, “NM, Colo., Texas to Seek High-Speed Rail Link,” The 125 Oklahoma Department of Trans- Houston Chronicle, 10 July 2009. portation, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Program: OK South Central HSR, 137 TEMS, Inc./Quandel Consultants 2 October 2009; Bryan Dean, “Oklahoma LLC, for the Rocky Mountain Rail Au- City Council Backs High-Speed Rail,” thority, High Speed Rail Feasibility Study, The Okalahoman, 7 October 2009. Existing Conditions Report, October 2008. 126 Oklahoma Department of Trans- 138 Ibid. portation, Application for ARRA Track 2 139 Ibid. Corridor Program: OK South Central HSR, 140 See note 134. 2 October 2009. 141 TEMS, Inc./Quandel Consultants, 127 See note 124. LLC, Alternatives Analysis Workshop, Pre- 128 Arkansas State Representative Steve liminary Results, Feasibility Study Update Harrelson, High-Speed Rail in Arkansas, and Workshop Introduction, High Speed Rail

66 The Right Track Feasibility Study (Power Point presenta- Safe Technology, downloaded from www. tion)¸ 24 April 2009. desertxpress.com/technology.php, 19 No- 142 TEMS, Inc./Quandel Consultants, vember 2009; “High-Speed Train Option LLC, RMRA Alternatives Analysis Work- to Victorville Advances,” Las Vegas Sun, 2 shop, Preliminary Results (Power Point July 2009. presentation)¸ 24 April 2009. 154 Richard N. Velotta, “High-Speed 143 Arizona Department of Transporta- Rail Alliance Brings Western Cities tion, Arizona High Speed Rail Feasibility Aboard,” Las Vegas Sun, 11 September Study, April 1998. 2009. 144 MAG Management Committee, 155 “High-Speed Train Option to Vic- Maricopa Association of Governments, torville Advances,” Las Vegas Sun, 2 July Transportation Planning Update (powerpoint 2009. presentation), 9 April 2008. 156 Lisa Mascaro, “Maglev Train to 145 Federal Railroad Administration, Press on Without Reid,” Las Vegas Sun, US Department of Transportation, Capi- 10 June 2009. tal Assistance to States—Intercity Passenger 157 U.S. Department of Transportation, Rail Service Program, September 2008. Federal Railroad Administration, Preap- 146 Ibid. plication Raw Data Statistics, 20 July 2009. 147 Mariana Alvarado, “High-Speed 158 John C. Hudson, “Railroads,” in Solar Train Proposed as Tucson-Phoenix Janice L. Reiff, Ann Durkin Keating, and Connection,” Arizona Daily Star, 8 May James R. Grossman, Ed., Chicago His- 2009. tory Museum, the Newbury Library, and Northwestern University, The Encyclope- 148 Sean Holstege, “Phoenix, Not on dia of Chicago, 2005. Bullet Train Map, Wants Onboard,” The Arizona Republic, 8 October 2009. 159 Transportation Economics & Man- agement Services, prepared for Illinois 149 Car traffic: Desert Xpress,The Department of Transportation, Indiana Route, downloaded from www.desertx- Department of Transportation, Iowa press.com/route.php, 19 November 2009; Department of Transportation, Michigan air traffic: The Brookings Institute,Expect Department of Transportation, Min- Delays: An Analysis of Air Travel Trends in nesota Department of Transportation, the United States, 8 October 2009. Missouri Department of Transportation, 150 Tony Illia, “New Federal Funds Nebraska Department of Roads, Ohio Revive Maglev Project,” Las Vegas Business Rail Development Commission, Wiscon- Press, 22 August 2005. sin Department of Transportation, and 151 California-Nevada Super Speed Amtrak, Midwest Regional Rail System Ex- Train Commission, Frequently Asked ecutive Report, September 2004. Questions, downloaded from www.canv- 160 Auto travel time estimated from maglev.com/pid2faqs.html, 15 December Google Maps, downloaded from maps. 2009. google.com, 13 January 2009; Current 152 Study funded: see note 50; one- Amtrak travel time and MWRRS travel third the cost: Lisa Mascaro, “Maglev time: Ibid. Train to Press on Without Reid,” Las Ve- 161 See note 159. gas Sun, 10 June 2009. 162 Transportation Economics & Man- 153 DesertXpress, Proven, Reliable, agement Services, prepared for Illinois

Notes 67 Department of Transportation, Indiana New York Department of Transportation Department of Transportation, Iowa and Pennsylvania Department of Trans- Department of Transportation, Michigan portation, The Ohio & Lake Erie Regional Department of Transportation, Minne- Rail Ohio Hub Study, July 2007. sota Department of Transportation, Mis- 171 Ibid. souri Department of Transportation, Ne- braska Department of Roads, Ohio Rail 172 Ohio Rail Development Com- Development Commission, Wisconsin mission, Application for ARRA Track 2 Department of Transportation, and Am- Corridor Program: OH-3C-Quick Start, 2 trak, Midwest Regional Rail Initiative Proj- October 2009. ect Notebook Chapter 11, November 2006. 173 Indiana Department of Transporta- 163 Ibid. tion, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corri- dor Program: IN-Chicago Cleveland—HSR 164 Amtrak, Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Service, 1 October 2009. Year 2007: State of Michigan, downloaded from www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/ 174 Transportation Economics & Man- MICHIGAN07.pdf, 15 December 2009. agement Systems, Inc., prepared for The Ohio Rail Development Commission, 165 Data from Michigan Association of Indiana Department of Transportation, Railroad Passengers, Historical Amtrak Michigan Department of Transportation, Statistics Collected by John DeLora, down- New York Department of Transportation loaded from www.marp.org/Amtrak_stats. and Pennsylvania Department of Trans- xls, 15 December 2009. portation, The Ohio & Lake Erie Regional 166 See note 159. Rail Ohio Hub Study, July 2007. 167 Michigan Department of Transpor- 175 Ibid. tation, Application for ARRA Track 2 Cor- 176 See note 173. ridor Program: MI-CHI HUB-CHI-DET/ PNT, 2 October 2009. 177 Indiana Department of Transpor- tation, Application for ARRA Track 1a 168 Ibid. And/Or Track 4: IN-Indiana Gateway, 24 169 Transportation Economics & Man- August 2009. agement Services, prepared for Illinois 178 Ibid. Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Transportation, Iowa 179 Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Department of Transportation, Michigan Commission, Amtrak Ridership in the Department of Transportation, Min- Midwest FY 2004—FY 2008, 17 October nesota Department of Transportation, 2008. Missouri Department of Transportation, 180 Amtrak, Amtrak Illinois Ridership Up Nebraska Department of Roads, Ohio 20 Percent Since 2007 (press release), 24 Rail Development Commission, Wiscon- November 2009. sin Department of Transportation, and 181 Illinois Department of Trans- Amtrak, Midwest Regional Rail Initiative portation, Application for ARRA Track Project Notebook, June 2004. 2 Corridor Program: IL—Chicago—St. 170 Transportation Economics & Man- Louis—Double Track, 2 October 2009; agement Systems, Inc., prepared for The Illinois Department of Transportation, Ohio Rail Development Commission, Application for ARRA Track 2 Corridor Pro- Indiana Department of Transportation, gram: IL—Dwight—St. Louis—2004 ROD Michigan Department of Transportation, Improvement, 2 October 2009.

68 The Right Track 182 Ibid. Service (train schedule), 26 October 2009. 183 Rick Harnish, Midwest High Speed 198 See note 179. Rail Association, Midwest High Speed Rail 199 See note 169. Association Update, 7 July 2009. 200 Larry Sandler, “Hiawatha Ridership 184 Illinois Department of Transporta- Dip Is Blamed On Recession,” Milwaukee tion, Application for ARRA Track 3 Plan- Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, 7 August 2009. ning: Chicago—St. Louis 220 mph HSR, 24 August 2009. 201 Wisconsin Office of the Governor, Governor Doyle Submits Application for 185 Abhi Sivasailam and Audrey Spald- High-Speed Rail Line to Federal Railroad ing, Show-Me Institute, “High-Speed Administration (press release), 2 October Rail Predicted to Travel Much Slower 2009. Than Advertised,” Policy Pulse, 12 August 2009. 202 Siena Kaplan and Kari Wohlschle- gel, Frontier Group, and Bruce Speight, 186 Missouri Department of Transpor- WISPIRG Foundation, Connecting Wis- tation, Show Me Improved Rail Service, consin: Public Transportation Projects for the August 2009. 21st Century, June 2009. 187 See note 169. 203 Minnesota Department of Trans- 188 M.W. Franke and R.P. Hoffman, portation, Minnesota Submits Applications Amtrak, Feasibility Report on Proposed for High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Amtrak Service Chicago-Rockford-Galena- (HSIPR) Program (press release), 3 Sep- Dubuque, 22 June 2007. tember 2009. 189 Ibid. 204 Washington State Department 190 Illinois Department of Transporta- of Transportation, Long-Range Plan for tion, Application for ARRA Track 2 Cor- Amtrak Cascades, February 2006; Oregon ridor Program: IL—Chicago—Dubuque Department of Transportation, Rail Divi- Corridor—IPR, 2 October 2009. sion, High-Speed Rail/Intercity Passenger Rail Service Development Plan, 2 October 191 See note 169. 2009. 192 Iowa Department of Transporta- 205 1993 ridership: Washington State tion, Application for ARRA Track 2 Cor- Department of Transportation, Long- ridor Program: IA—Chicago to Iowa City— Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades, February New Service, 2 October 2009. 2006; 2008 ridership: Washington State 193 Ibid.; Moline Centre, Downtown Department of Transportation, Ridership Moline Centre, downloaded from www. on Amtrak Cascades Hits All-time Record in molinecentre.org, 13 November 2009. 2008 (press release), 18 February 2009. 194 See note 192. 206 See note 204. 195 Ibid. 207 Washington State Department of 196 Iowa Department of Transporta- Transportation, Long-Range Plan for Am- tion, 2009 Iowa Railroad System Plan trak Cascades, February 2006. (draft), included in Iowa Department 208 Washington State Department of of Transportation, Application for ARRA Transportation, High-Speed Intercity Pas- Track 2 Corridor Program: IA—Chicago to senger Rail Program Funding Application: Iowa City—New Service, 2 October 2009. WSDOT Summary of Track 2 Projects, Oc- 197 Hiawatha service: Amtrak, Hiawatha tober 2009.

Notes 69 209 Oregon Department of Transporta- 220 California High-Speed Rail Author- tion, Rail Division, High-Speed Rail/In- ity, Questions & Answers: Protecting Our tercity Passenger Rail Service Development Environment, downloaded from www. Plan, 2 October 2009. cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/faqs/environment. 210 Ibid. htm, 23 October 2009. Greenhouse gas car equivalent calculated using U.S. Envi- 211 David Schrank and Tim Lomax, ronmental Protection Agency, Greenhouse Texas Transportation Institute, The Texas Gas Equivalencies Calculator, updated 17 A&M University System, 2009 Urban February 2009, available at www.epa.gov/ Mobility Report, July 2009. RDEE/energy-resources/calculator.html. 212 Jane V. Hall and Victor Brajer, Cali- 221 California High-Speed Rail Author- fornia State University, and Frederick W. ity, Questions & Answers: Protecting Our Lurmann, Sonoma Technology, Inc., The Environment, downloaded from www. Benefits of Meeting Federal Clean Air Stan- cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/faqs/environment. dards in the South Coast and San Joaquin htm, 23 October 2009. Valley Air Basins, November 2008. 222 California High-Speed Rail Author- 213 U.S. Department of Transporta- ity, Questions & Answers: Financing/Costs, tion, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, downloaded from www.cahighspeedrail. Airport Snapshots, downloaded from www. ca.gov/faqs/financing.htm, 23 October transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1 on 3 2009. March 2008. 223 Ibid. 214 American Public Transportation Association, Heavy Rail Transit Ridership 224 Mehdi Morshed, memo to the Cali- Report: Second Quarter 2009, 21 August fornia High-Speed Rail Authority Board, 2009. ARRA Applications for Track 2 Funding, 18 September 2009. 215 California High-Speed Rail Author- ity, Questions & Answers: Relieving Traffic 225 For several specific examples, see & Improving Mobility, downloaded from Tom Vanderbilt, “Stop This Train!,” www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/faqs/traffic. Slate, 15 May 2009. htm, 23 October 2009. 226 Data based on estimates of rail 216 California High-Speed Rail Author- spending per capita from National As- ity, More Ridership Information, download- sociation of Railroad Passengers, Per ed from www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/im- Capita Spending on Rail in Other Countries, ages/chsr/20081021150533_Ridership2. downloaded by www.narprail.org/cms/in- pdf, 23 October 2009. dex.php/resources/more/pc/, 11 January 2010, multiplied by 2007-2008 popula- 217 Ibid. tion figures by country from United 218 California High-Speed Rail Author- Nations Statistics Division, Population ity, Questions & Answers: Ridership, down- and Vital Statistics Report: Series A, Table loaded from www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/ 2, updated 15 December 2009, and di- faqs/ridership.htm, 23 October 2009. vided by 2008 gross domestic product 219 California High-Speed Rail Author- from U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, ity, Questions & Answers: Other Systems, CIA World Factbook: Country Compari- downloaded from www.cahighspeedrail. son: GDP, downloaded from www.cia. ca.gov/faqs/other-systems.htm, 23 Octo- gov/library/publications/the-world-fact- ber 2009 book/rankorder/2001rank.html, 11 January 2010.

70 The Right Track 227 See note 28. Railway and Transport Review, 41:4-13, 228 Ibid. October 2005. 229 U.S. Department of Transportation, 233 Ibid. National Transportation Statistics 2009, 234 U.S. Department of Transportation, downloaded from www.bts.gov/publica- U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Leads tions/national_transportation_statistics/, Conference on Domestic High-Speed Rail 11 January 2010. Manufacturing (press release), 4 Decem- 230 For information on the benefits ber 2009. of crash energy management see U.S. 235 Jacob Wheeler, Apollo News Ser- Department of Transportation, Federal vice, “American-made Streetcars: Port- Railroad Administration, Research Results: land Company Rebuilds Lost Industry,” 8 Train-to-Train Impact Test of Crash Energy September 2009. Management Passenger Rail Equipment, 236 Ibid. February 2007. 237 “TGV South Korea, South Korea,” 231 Based on data for the railroad roll- Railway-Technology.com, downloaded ing stock manufacturing industry sector, from www.railway-technology.com/proj- NAICS code 336510 from U.S. Census ects/koreatgv/, 11 January 2010. Bureau, 2007 Economic Census, 30 Octo- ber 2009. 238 Breakthrough Institute and In- formation Technology and Innovation 232 Yoshihiko Sato, “Global Market of Foundation, Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giants, Rolling Stock Manufacturing: Present November 2009. Situation and Future Potential,” Japan

Notes 71