DOCSLIB.ORG

GAO-09-317 High Speed Passenger Rail

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
GAO-09-317 High Speed Passenger Rail United States Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters GAO March 2009 HIGH SPEED PASSENGER RAIL Future Development Will Depend on Addressing Financial and Other Challenges and Establishing a Clear Federal Role GAO-09-317 March 2009 HIGH SPEED PASSENGER RAIL Accountability Integrity Reliability Future Development Will Depend on Addressing Highlights Financial and Other Challenges and Establishing a Highlights of GAO-09-317, a report to Clear Federal Role congressional requesters Why GAO Did This Study What GAO Found Federal and other decision makers Factors affecting the economic viability of high speed rail lines include the have had a renewed interest in how level of expected riders, costs, and public benefits (i.e., benefits to non-riders high speed rail might fit into the and the nation as a whole from such things as reduced congestion), which are national transportation system and influenced by a line’s corridor and service characteristics. High speed rail address increasing mobility tends to attract riders in dense, highly populated corridors, especially where constraints on highways and at there is congestion on existing transportation modes. Costs largely hinge on airports due to congestion. GAO was asked to review (1) the factors the availability of rail right-of-way and on a corridor’s terrain. To stay within affecting the economic viability— financial or other constraints, project sponsors typically make trade-offs meaning whether total social between cost and service characteristics. While some U.S. corridors have benefits offset or justify total social characteristics that suggest economic viability, uncertainty associated with costs—of high speed rail projects, rider and cost estimates and the valuation of public benefits makes it difficult including difficulties in determining to make such determinations on individual proposals. Research on rider and the economic viability of proposed cost forecasts has shown they are often optimistic, and the extent that U.S. projects; (2) the challenges in sponsors quantify and value public benefits varies. developing and financing high speed rail systems; and (3) the Once projects are deemed economically viable, project sponsors face the federal role in the potential challenging tasks of securing the up-front investment for construction costs development of U.S. high speed rail and sustaining public and political support and stakeholder consensus. In the systems. GAO reviewed federal legislation; interviewed federal, three countries GAO visited, the central government generally funded the state, local, and private sector majority of the up-front costs of high speed rail lines. By contrast, federal officials, as well as U.S. project funding for high speed rail has been derived from general revenues, not from sponsors; and reviewed high speed trust funds or other dedicated funding sources. Consequently, high speed rail rail development in France, Japan, projects must compete with other nontransportation demands on federal and Spain. funds (e.g., national defense or health care) as opposed to being compared with other alternative transportation investments in a corridor. Available What GAO Recommends federal loan programs can support only a fraction of potential high speed rail project costs. Without substantial public sector commitment, private sector GAO recommends that the Secretary of Transportation participation is difficult to secure. The challenge of sustaining public support develop a strategic vision of how and stakeholder consensus is compounded by long project lead times, by high speed passenger rail systems numerous stakeholders, and by the absence of an established institutional fit into the national transportation framework. system, and develop guidance and tools to improve the reliability and The recently enacted Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 accuracy of ridership, cost, and will likely increase the federal role in the development of high speed rail, as other forecasts for these systems. will the newly enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In The Department of Transportation the United States, federal involvement with high speed rail to date has been (DOT) said it generally agreed with limited. The national rail plan required by the Passenger Rail Investment and the information presented but did Improvement Act of 2008 is an opportunity to identify the vision and goals for not take a position on GAO’s recommendations. DOT said the U.S. high speed rail and how it fits into the national transportation system, an strategic plan required by the exercise that has largely remained incomplete. Accountability can be American Recovery and enhanced by tying the specific, measurable goals required by the act to Reinvestment Act of 2009 may performance and accountability measures. In developing analytical tools to include a vision for high speed rail. apply to the act’s project selection criteria, it will be important to address optimistic rider and cost forecasts and varied public benefits analyses. To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on GAO-09-317. For more information, contact Susan Fleming at (202) 512-2834 or [email protected]. United States Government Accountability Office Contents Letter 1 Results in Brief 4 Background 8 Economic Viability of High Speed Rail Is Affected by Many Corridor and Service Characteristics, but Uncertainties About Ridership and Other Estimates Make Viability Determinations Difficult 12 High Up-front Costs Are the Main Challenge to High Speed Rail Development, and Challenges Also Exist in Sustaining Support and Building Consensus 29 Federal Leadership Has Been Limited, but Following Reexamination Principles Can Ensure That the Federal Role Is Focused on Yielding Maximum Benefits 42 Conclusions 54 Recommendations for Executive Action 55 Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 55 Appendix I Scope and Methodology 59 Appendix II Description of U.S. Rail Corridors Operating at Speeds Greater Than 79 Miles per Hour 64 Appendix III Description of Current U.S. High Speed Rail Proposals in the Environmental Review Phase 69 Appendix IV Description of Past Projects Florida Overland Express and Texas TGV Projects 80 Appendix V Description of High Speed Rail Systems in France, Japan, and Spain 84 Page i GAO-09-317 High Speed Passenger Rail Appendix VI Description of Travel Demand Forecasting 89 Appendix VII Description of the Proposed Los Angeles, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, High Speed Rail Corridor 94 Appendix VIII GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 102 Tables Table 1: High Speed Rail Projects in the United States 8 Table 2: Estimated Construction Costs for Selected High Speed Rail Projects in France, Japan, and Spain, by Construction Cost Per Mile 23 Table 3: Estimated Construction Costs for Dedicated Right-of-Way High Speed Rail Projects in the United States, by Construction Cost Per Mile 24 Table 4: State Funding for California High Speed Rail Authority 40 Table 5: Timeline of High Speed Rail Development in Florida 81 Table 6: Timeline of High Speed Rail Development in Texas 83 Table 7: Summary of Three High Speed Passenger Rail Proposals in the Los Angeles to Las Vegas Corridor 95 Figures Figure 1: Population of Cities Along Selected Foreign High Speed Rail Lines 13 Figure 2: Population of Cities Along Selected Current and Proposed High Speed Rail Lines in the United States 14 Figure 3: Transportation Mode Share in Japan, by Distance Traveled 16 Figure 4: Future Airport Capacity, by 2025, and Selected High Speed Rail Proposals in the United States 18 Figure 5: Public and Private Sector Roles in High Speed Rail Development and Operation in Japan 36 Figure 6: Proposed French Public-Private Partnership Contract Model 38 Page ii GAO-09-317 High Speed Passenger Rail Figure 7: High Speed Rail Project Proposals from Los Angeles to Las Vegas 99 Abbreviations Amtrak National Railroad Passenger Rail Corporation ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 DOT Department of Transportation FDOT Florida Department of Transportation FOX Florida Overland Express FRA Federal Railroad Administration FTA Federal Transit Administration I-15 Interstate 15 maglev magnetic levitation NEPA National Environmental Policy Act PRIIA Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 RFF Réseau Ferré de France SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users SNCF Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century TGV Train à Grande Vitesse THSRA Texas High Speed Rail Authority TIFIA Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately. Page iii GAO-09-317 High Speed Passenger Rail United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 March 19, 2009 Congressional Requesters Federal, state, and local decision makers have had a renewed interest in looking at how high speed rail might fit into our national transportation system and address increasing mobility constraints on the nation’s highways and at airports due to congestion. Although the current economic
Load more

Recommended publications
  • GAO-02-398 Intercity Passenger Rail: Amtrak Needs to Improve Its
    United States General Accounting Office Report to the Honorable Ron Wyden GAO U.S. Senate April 2002 INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL Amtrak Needs to Improve Its Decisionmaking Process for Its Route and Service Proposals GAO-02-398 Contents Letter 1 Results in Brief 2 Background 3 Status of the Growth Strategy 6 Amtrak Overestimated Expected Mail and Express Revenue 7 Amtrak Encountered Substantial Difficulties in Expanding Service Over Freight Railroad Tracks 9 Conclusions 13 Recommendation for Executive Action 13 Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 13 Scope and Methodology 16 Appendix I Financial Performance of Amtrak’s Routes, Fiscal Year 2001 18 Appendix II Amtrak Route Actions, January 1995 Through December 2001 20 Appendix III Planned Route and Service Actions Included in the Network Growth Strategy 22 Appendix IV Amtrak’s Process for Evaluating Route and Service Proposals 23 Amtrak’s Consideration of Operating Revenue and Direct Costs 23 Consideration of Capital Costs and Other Financial Issues 24 Appendix V Market-Based Network Analysis Models Used to Estimate Ridership, Revenues, and Costs 26 Models Used to Estimate Ridership and Revenue 26 Models Used to Estimate Costs 27 Page i GAO-02-398 Amtrak’s Route and Service Decisionmaking Appendix VI Comments from the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 28 GAO’s Evaluation 37 Tables Table 1: Status of Network Growth Strategy Route and Service Actions, as of December 31, 2001 7 Table 2: Operating Profit (Loss), Operating Ratio, and Profit (Loss) per Passenger of Each Amtrak Route, Fiscal Year 2001, Ranked by Profit (Loss) 18 Table 3: Planned Network Growth Strategy Route and Service Actions 22 Figure Figure 1: Amtrak’s Route System, as of December 2001 4 Page ii GAO-02-398 Amtrak’s Route and Service Decisionmaking United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 April 12, 2002 The Honorable Ron Wyden United States Senate Dear Senator Wyden: The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator.
    [Show full text]
  • Signalling on the High-Speed Railway Amsterdam–Antwerp
    Computers in Railways XI 243 Towards interoperability on Northwest European railway corridors: signalling on the high-speed railway Amsterdam–Antwerp J. H. Baggen, J. M. Vleugel & J. A. A. M. Stoop Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Abstract The high-speed railway Amsterdam (The Netherlands)–Antwerp (Belgium) is nearly completed. As part of a TEN-T priority project it will connect to major metropolitan areas in Northwest Europe. In many (European) countries, high-speed railways have been built. So, at first sight, the development of this particular high-speed railway should be relatively straightforward. But the situation seems to be more complicated. To run international services full interoperability is required. However, there turned out to be compatibility problems that are mainly caused by the way decision making has taken place, in particular with respect to the choice and implementation of ERTMS, the new European railway signalling system. In this paper major technical and institutional choices, as well as the choice of system borders that have all been made by decision makers involved in the development of the high-speed railway Amsterdam–Antwerp, will be analyzed. This will make it possible to draw some lessons that might be used for future railway projects in Europe and other parts of the world. Keywords: high-speed railway, interoperability, signalling, metropolitan areas. 1 Introduction Two major new railway projects were initiated in the past decade in The Netherlands, the Betuweroute dedicated freight railway between Rotterdam seaport and the Dutch-German border and the high-speed railway between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the Dutch-Belgian border to Antwerp (Belgium).
    [Show full text]
  • Robustness of Railway Rolling Stock Speed Calculation Using Ground Vibration Measurements
    Heriot-Watt University Research Gateway Robustness of railway rolling stock speed calculation using ground vibration measurements Citation for published version: Kouroussis, G, Connolly, D, Laghrouche, O, Forde, MC, Woodward, PK & Verlinden, O 2015, 'Robustness of railway rolling stock speed calculation using ground vibration measurements', MATEC Web of Conferences, vol. 20, 07002. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/20152007002 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1051/matecconf/20152007002 Link: Link to publication record in Heriot-Watt Research Portal Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: MATEC Web of Conferences Publisher Rights Statement: Open access General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via Heriot-Watt Research Portal is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy Heriot-Watt University has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the content in Heriot-Watt Research Portal complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 26. Sep. 2021 MATEC Web of Conferences 20, 07002 (2015) DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/20152007002 c Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2015 Robustness of railway rolling stock speed calculation using ground vibration measurements Georges Kouroussis1,a, David P. Connolly2,b, Omar Laghrouche2,c, Mike C. Forde3,d, Peter Woodward2,e and Olivier Verlinden1,f 1 University of Mons, Department of Theoretical Mechanics, Dynamics and Vibrations, 31 Boulevard Dolez, 7000 Mons, Belgium 2 Heriot-Watt University, Institute for Infrastructure & Environment, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK 3 University of Edinburgh, Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, Alexander Graham Bell Building, Edinburgh EH9 3JF, UK Abstract.
    [Show full text]
  • Railway Station Liège-Guillemins
    Reference report Railway station Liège-Guillemins A shining example of a European transport hub in the Wallonia region Designing clean entrances Liège-Guillemins: Liège‘s high-speed railway station The most important railway station in the Belgian city of Liège and in Fresh momentum for the city the Wallonia region as a whole, Liège-Guillemins was erected in Sep- This image of communication and transparency stands in sharp con- tember 2009 on the basis of designs by Santiago Calatrava. It is a stop- trast to the structure that preceded it. The old railway station, a 1958 ping point for Thalys and Intercity-Express trains, making the station a building that had fallen into disrepair, attempted to exert a sense of hub within the European high-speed network that runs between Lon- control over the growing numbers of railway services it saw – but the don, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne/Frankfurt: the distance glass and steel work of art that replaces it exudes light and radiance between Cologne and Liège can now be covered in just under an hour. and has given fresh momentum to Belgium‘s third-largest city. Oth- A good 500 trains per day are accommodated by this through station, er projects involving the station are being planned and the recently whose monumental canopy transforms it into a real landmark. opened Médiacité shopping and media centre, designed by Ron Arad, has created another new highlight. The futuristic station complex has Guiding principles: Communication and transparency a pivotal role to play in all these developments. The steel and glass roof – at once powerful and delicate – hangs above the platform like a colossal wave and flows into the oscillating roof Daylight on every level that reaches up to 50 metres over the 33,000-square metre main hall.
    [Show full text]
  • Pioneering the Application of High Speed Rail Express Trainsets in the United States
    Parsons Brinckerhoff 2010 William Barclay Parsons Fellowship Monograph 26 Pioneering the Application of High Speed Rail Express Trainsets in the United States Fellow: Francis P. Banko Professional Associate Principal Project Manager Lead Investigator: Jackson H. Xue Rail Vehicle Engineer December 2012 136763_Cover.indd 1 3/22/13 7:38 AM 136763_Cover.indd 1 3/22/13 7:38 AM Parsons Brinckerhoff 2010 William Barclay Parsons Fellowship Monograph 26 Pioneering the Application of High Speed Rail Express Trainsets in the United States Fellow: Francis P. Banko Professional Associate Principal Project Manager Lead Investigator: Jackson H. Xue Rail Vehicle Engineer December 2012 First Printing 2013 Copyright © 2013, Parsons Brinckerhoff Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, mechanical (including photocopying), recording, taping, or information or retrieval systems—without permission of the pub- lisher. Published by: Parsons Brinckerhoff Group Inc. One Penn Plaza New York, New York 10119 Graphics Database: V212 CONTENTS FOREWORD XV PREFACE XVII PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH 3 1.1 Unprecedented Support for High Speed Rail in the U.S. ....................3 1.2 Pioneering the Application of High Speed Rail Express Trainsets in the U.S. .....4 1.3 Research Objectives . 6 1.4 William Barclay Parsons Fellowship Participants ...........................6 1.5 Host Manufacturers and Operators......................................7 1.6 A Snapshot in Time .................................................10 CHAPTER 2 HOST MANUFACTURERS AND OPERATORS, THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 11 2.1 Overview . 11 2.2 Introduction to Host HSR Manufacturers . 11 2.3 Introduction to Host HSR Operators and Regulatory Agencies .
    [Show full text]
  • High Speed Rail and Sustainability High Speed Rail & Sustainability
    High Speed Rail and Sustainability High Speed Rail & Sustainability Report Paris, November 2011 2 High Speed Rail and Sustainability Author Aurélie Jehanno Co-authors Derek Palmer Ceri James This report has been produced by Systra with TRL and with the support of the Deutsche Bahn Environment Centre, for UIC, High Speed and Sustainable Development Departments. Project team: Aurélie Jehanno Derek Palmer Cen James Michel Leboeuf Iñaki Barrón Jean-Pierre Pradayrol Henning Schwarz Margrethe Sagevik Naoto Yanase Begoña Cabo 3 Table of contnts FOREWORD 1 MANAGEMENT SUMMARY 6 2 INTRODUCTION 7 3 HIGH SPEED RAIL – AT A GLANCE 9 4 HIGH SPEED RAIL IS A SUSTAINABLE MODE OF TRANSPORT 13 4.1 HSR has a lower impact on climate and environment than all other compatible transport modes 13 4.1.1 Energy consumption and GHG emissions 13 4.1.2 Air pollution 21 4.1.3 Noise and Vibration 22 4.1.4 Resource efficiency (material use) 27 4.1.5 Biodiversity 28 4.1.6 Visual insertion 29 4.1.7 Land use 30 4.2 HSR is the safest transport mode 31 4.3 HSR relieves roads and reduces congestion 32 5 HIGH SPEED RAIL IS AN ATTRACTIVE TRANSPORT MODE 38 5.1 HSR increases quality and productive time 38 5.2 HSR provides reliable and comfort mobility 39 5.3 HSR improves access to mobility 43 6 HIGH SPEED RAIL CONTRIBUTES TO SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 47 6.1 HSR provides macro economic advantages despite its high investment costs 47 6.2 Rail and HSR has lower external costs than competitive modes 49 6.3 HSR contributes to local development 52 6.4 HSR provides green jobs 57
    [Show full text]
  • Eurostar Secures Financial Support Package
    Eurostar secures financial support package May 18, 2021 Eurostar has announced that it has reached a refinancing agreement with its shareholders and banks. The refinancing package of £250m1 mainly consists of additional equity and loans from a syndicate of banks2 guaranteed by the shareholders: SNCF, the French state railway group and Eurostar’s majority shareholder, Patina Rail LLP, a vehicle backed by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) and funds managed by the Infrastructure team of Federated Hermes, and SNCB, the Belgian state train operator. Jacques Damas, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said: “Everyone at Eurostar is encouraged by this strong show of support from our shareholders and banks which will allow us to continue to provide this important service for passengers. The refinancing agreement is the key factor enabling us to increase our services as the situation with the pandemic starts to improve. Eurostar will continue to work closely with governments to move towards a safe easing of travel restrictions and streamlining of border processes to allow passengers to travel safely and seamlessly. Their co-ordinated actions and decisions are crucial to the restoring of demand and the financial recovery of our business.” Over the last year, this international business dedicated to routes connecting the UK with the continent, says it has experienced a more severe decline in demand resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic than any other European train operator or competitor airline. With this package of support, Eurostar will be able to continue to operate this vital link and meet its financial obligations in the short to mid-term.
    [Show full text]
  • Colorail Newsletter
    ColoRail Newsletter September, 1996 Issue #20 r — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —> Don't forget! Best of times.... ColoRail meet in Boulder Saturday, September 21st and the worst of times L _ _____________ _. Inside these pages you'll find between Front Range cities and the members and members of allied news that shows that we are Southwest Chief to ease the impact of groups to study the issues, attend the indeed living in interesting loss of the Desert Wind; the Colorado meetings where decisions are Department of Transportation moves developed, and to speak up in an times: Amtrak service cuts turn back ahead with planning for regional rail informed manner. Now, turn the page the clock to the bad old days of the service and gets ski bus runs set up for a new era.... - rwr- 1970's for Denver; Amtrak shows off for this winter; and the most important the Danish-designed IC-3; ColoRail news in the long run - - the Photo of IC-3 in Denver by Jon Esty. pushes for a Thruway bus connection demonstrated willingness of ColoRail "A Voice for Colorado's Rail Passengers Page 2 Colorado loses SoCal links Wyoming - Northern Colo, cut! at destinations to improve equipment by Jon Esty utilization, and operating the South• Why these cuts now? west Chief/Capitol Limited and Em• Thomas Downs, President of Am• pire Builder/City of New Orleans This round of cuts is the result of trak, announced on August 8 that through Chicago. (A plan to run the complex interaction between rival some 3,000 miles of passenger CZ through to Boston was dropped Congressional budget cutters, Ad• routes serving the West will be elimi• because of Superliner clearance ministration budget officials, and nated on November 10.
    [Show full text]
  • Colorail Newsletter "A Voice for Colorado's Rail Passenger"
    ColoRail Newsletter "A Voice for Colorado's Rail Passenger" April, 1995 Issue #15 The Battle to Save Amtrak Continues: As the weather around the country turns warmer, the fight over preserving our national rail passenger system has also been heating up. The House of Representatives is now considering legislation that would eliminate the Amtrak "subsidy" along with a host of other government programs ranging from public broadcasting to solar energy research. Colorado's own Rep. Joel Hefley is leading the charge with his bill, (H.R. 259) which would end federal support for Amtrak. In prior years, similar proposals by Hefley have been overwhelmingly voted down. Neither the House proposals or Hefley's bill address the issue of federal, state, and local subsidies for highways and air transportation. There is to be no reductions for these programs. The narrow view of many of those in Congress is most unfortunate in view of worsening air pollution, costs of highway and airport construction, and growing dependence on Persian Gulf countries for petroleum to fuel autos which not only puts this country at a strategic disadvantage but is one of the main reasons why we have a balance of payments problem resulting in the falling value of the dollar against major foreign currencies. It should be noted that those countries with strong currencies such as Switzerland and Germany spend significantly more, per capita, than the United States on passenger rail development. According to the International Railway Journal, the United States ranked between Bolivia and Turkey in the per capita amount spent on passenger rail services in I994.
    [Show full text]
  • RCED-98-151 Intercity Passenger Rail B-279203
    United States General Accounting Office GAO Report to Congressional Committees May 1998 INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL Financial Performance of Amtrak’s Routes GAO/RCED-98-151 United States General Accounting Office GAO Washington, D.C. 20548 Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division B-279203 May 14, 1998 The Honorable Richard C. Shelby Chairman The Honorable Frank R. Lautenberg Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on Transportation Committee on Appropriations United States Senate The Honorable Frank R. Wolf Chairman The Honorable Martin Olav Sabo Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives Since it began operations in 1971, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) has never been profitable and has received about $21 billion in federal subsidies for operating and capital expenses. In December 1994, at the direction of the administration, Amtrak established the goal of eliminating its need for federal operating subsidies by 2002. However, despite efforts to control expenses and improve efficiency, Amtrak has only reduced its annual net loss from $834 million in fiscal year 1994 to $762 million in fiscal year 1997, and it projects that its net loss will grow to $845 million this fiscal year.1 Amtrak remains heavily dependent on substantial federal operating and capital subsidies. Given Amtrak’s continued dependence on federal operating subsidies, the Conference Report to the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1998 directed us to examine the financial (1) performance of Amtrak’s current routes, (2) implications for Amtrak of multiyear capital requirements and declining federal operating subsidies, and (3) effect on Amtrak of reforms contained in the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997.
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of Technological and Competitive Trends of Weight Reduction in High Speed Rolling Stock Industry
    ANALYSIS OF TECHNOLOGICAL AND COMPETITIVE TRENDS OF WEIGHT REDUCTION IN HIGH SPEED ROLLING STOCK INDUSTRY TRABAJO FIN DE GRADO PARA JULIO 2016 LA OBTENCIÓN DEL TÍTULO DE Álvaro Prieto Moneo GRADUADO EN INGENIERÍA EN TECNOLOGÍAS INDUSTRIALES DIRECTOR DEL TRABAJO FIN DE GRADO: José Antonio Blanco Serrano ETSII-UPM ÁLVARO PRIETO MONEO - 1 - ANALYSIS OF TECHNOLOGICAL AND COMPETITIVE TRENDS OF WEIGHT REDUCTION IN HIGH SPEED ROLLING STOCK INDUSTRY GRATITUDES I would like to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to all those who have collaborated and helped in carrying out the present project, especially D. Nicolas Sanz Ernest, director of this project, for the guidance and the continue supervision, but especially for the encouragement and support receive during this months. Special recognition deserves the interest shown on my work and the suggestions received from the project coordinator D. Jose Antonio Blanco. I would like to extend my gratitude to D. Alberto Garcia Alvarez, who has guide this project with his advice and the knowledge shared and reflected on this project. Special gratitude deserved by the understanding, patience and encouragement received from my parents Ana Maria and Jose Antonio, my brothers Jose and Gonzalo and my girlfriend Daiana. Finally I would like to express my gratitude to my uncle Eugenio for the trust and affection shown and the opportunity given to develop my knowledge. - 2 - ETSII-UPM ÁLVARO PRIETO MONEO ABSTRACT The incorporation to the transport of passengers sector of the high speed industry is preceded by a global society, which requires the possibility to travel quickly, comfortably and efficiently, imposing the current attitude of the concern with the environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Memorandum To
    MEMORANDUM TO: THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION FROM: JEFF SUDMEIER, CDOT CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER DATE: OCTOBER 15, 2020 SUBJECT: MONTHLY CASH BALANCE UPDATE Purpose To provide an update on cash management, including forecasts of monthly revenues, expenditures, and cash balances in Fund 400, the State Highway Fund. Action No action is requested or required at this time. Background Figure 1 below depicts the forecast of the closing Fund 400 cash balance in each month, as compared to the targeted minimum cash balance for that month (green shaded area). The targeted minimum cash balances reflect the Transportation Commission’s directive (Policy Directive #703) to limit the risk of a cash overdraft at the end of a month to, at most, a probability of 1/1,000 (1 month of 1,000 months ending with a cash overdraft). Figure 1 – Fund 400 Cash Forecast Page 1 of 3 2829 West Howard Place, Denver, CO 80204 P 303.757.9262 F 303.757.9656 Summary Due to recent events in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, including statewide safer-at-home orders, the Department is anticipating a significant immediate impact to revenue collections, followed by a longer downturn. Reduced motor fuel tax collections, due to decreased travel along with corresponding reductions in other sources, will negatively impact the short-term revenue and associated cash forecast. The current forecast, which includes actual data for March through June 2020, appears consistent with the preliminary forecast of revenue losses – approximately $50 million between March 2020 and February 2021. The forecast reflects the Department’s anticipated cash balance based on the current budget allocation plan and associated planned project expenditures.
    [Show full text]