Posts Tagged "passenger rail"
10 things you need to know about the Senate’s DRIVE Act
Though the Senate finally moved beyond repeated short-term extensions to the nation’s transportation program with a multi-year bill, their DRIVE Act is also major missed opportunity to give cities, towns and local communities of all sizes more control over and access to federal transportation dollars. Here are nine other things that you need to know about the Senate’s bill.
What we’re watching: Senate Commerce Committee to mark up six-year transportation bill today
Later today (Wednesday) the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is scheduled to mark up the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015 (S. 1732), a proposed six-year transportation reauthorization. As we’ve mentioned here before, the federal transportation bill has huge implications for development across the country. Here’s what we’ll be looking for during today’s proceedings.
Statement in response to introduction of the Railroad Reform, Enhancement and Efficiency Act
Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today introduced a multi-year bill to authorize funding to Amtrak and support passenger rail, dubbed the Railroad Reform, Enhancement and Efficiency Act. It would be the successor to the existing rail authorization, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act. In response, T4America Chairman John Robert Smith, a former chair of the Amtrak board, released this statement:
Insightful, in-depth article details efforts to restore & expand passenger rail service in the deep South
A terrific in-depth article examines T4America’s partnership with a group of southern leaders pushing to restore and expand passenger rail service through the Gulf Coast states — something that mayors and other civic leaders in towns small and large across the region are clamoring for.
US House approves bill by a thin margin that makes cuts to TIGER, transit construction and passenger rail
Late Tuesday night, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass their yearly transportation spending bill with just 6 votes separating the bill from defeat. While the cuts to TIGER, Amtrak and New Starts transit capital programs were unfortunately approved by the House, it’s unlikely this bill will become law any time soon. That’s because of the Senate’s likely inability to pass any annual spending bills this summer due to the parties’ lack of agreement on overall funding for the government this year.
Yankee efficiency paired with southern hospitality is one recipe for successful passenger rail
Our country’s burgeoning passenger rail renaissance has not gone unnoticed in the deep South, and at least one coalition of southern leaders are working hard to grow and expand service in three states in the deep South. This week I had the privilege of traveling on the rails through the northeast with these gentlemen on a trip to inspire and see firsthand how other cities have invested in passenger rail and used it as an economic catalyst for their communities.
Former Amtrak chair (and our current chair) on the derailment and need for investment
As former Amtrak Board Chairman, my thoughts and prayers are with the crew, passengers and their families after last night’s derailment in Philadelphia.
Updated House passenger rail bill is identical to last year’s promising compromise bill
It’s back! After the encouraging release of a compromise bill to govern the nation’s passenger rail policy in the last Congress, a nearly identical bill was introduced and passed out of committee this month and could be debated on the House floor as early as next week.
Polemics give way to compromise on House rail bill
For the last few years, congressional debate over the nation’s passenger rail system has been a discordant tug-of-war between visions of high-speed rail and moves to privatize popular Amtrak corridors and kill operational support. The logjam appeared to break last week with a unanimous committee vote on reauthorizing passenger rail. The compromise bill recognizes the benefits of a truly national passenger rail system and seeks to improve it rather dwell on drawbacks.
T4America statement in response to passenger rail reauthorization bill
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today released a long-awaited update to the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, the law that funds passenger rail. James Corless, director of Transportation for America, issued this statement in response:
T4 brings mayors to Washington to tell Secretary Foxx about the importance of passenger rail
T4America brought together a group of mayors to visit with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx — a former mayor himself — and deliver a message about the importance of passenger rail to the economies of those communities they represent.
Key Senate committee recognizes the importance of passenger rail, TIGER, transit and repairing our nation’s bridges
Less than a week after the release of The Fix We’re In For — our report on the nation’s bridges showing that one in nine US bridges are structurally deficient — a key Senate committee passed a yearly funding bill that provides new money for repairing these deficient bridges across the country.
Could another new passenger rail line be facing the ax?
Potentially following in the footsteps of Wisconsin and Ohio, the Republicans in the state legislature are considering the possibility of killing Iowa’s portion of a planned higher speed passenger rail line from Chicago to Iowa City that would pass through the Quad Cities and the new Moline (Ill.) multimodal transportation hub funded by a TIGER grant.
Video: John Robert Smith on helping politicos see the importance of passenger rail
In this short video, Former Meridian, Mississippi Mayor and current T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith talks about the project to build a new multimodal train station in downtown Meridian when he was mayor, proposed cuts to Amtrak that happened shortly afterward, and how a few key Senators championed funding for Amtrak after seeing how ordinary people outside of D.C. depended on that service.
States clamor for high-speed rail stimulus funds as applications pour into DC
When the stimulus passed in February, $8 billion for high-speed rail was added at the 25th hour, at the behest of the Obama administration. In the days since, states have scrambled to prepare their proposals to receive a share of the money, which will be distributed via a process of competitive grants. With states competing for their share of the $8 billion to start developing and building high-speed corridors, competition was sure to be tough. But did anyone expect this many applications for the funds?
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