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Obama-Biden vs. McCain on Amtrak
Grist Magazine last night pointed out that Biden made some references to Amtrak in his formal acceptance speech of the VP nomination as Obama's running mate. He criticized the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, as wrong on "everything from Amtrak to veterans." McCain, during his Senate tenure, failed to support any type of renewable energy. "That's not change, that's more of the same," he says. Meanwhile, Obama and Biden would make "alternative energy a national priority." Check out the link for a video of the speech.
As we know, Obama and Biden are both confirmed supporters of increased investment in passenger rail. Biden rode Amtrak for years during his time in the Senate, on the Northeast Corridor from his home in Wilmington, DE to Washington D.C. His son, Hunter, is also vice chairman of the Amtrak board. Longtime Amtrak supporter Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) says that "as someone who rides the train every day, Sen. Biden has always been a champion for passenger rail and has been a key supporter of our bipartisan Amtrak bill."
Unfortunately, McCain has not been so kind. Derrick Jackson at the Boston Globe has written a great editorial about McCain's rail agenda, pointed to a number of pro-Amtrak bills over the years that McCain has either voted down or actively worked to block. Halting $10 billion in investment in 2000, calling it an example of "government waste." Going on record to say that Amtrak should be abolished and the private sector would take over. (you know, similar to the way private sector airlines are doing so well right now.)
And, there's an entire section on his website devoted to "Taking Action Now To Break Our Dependency On Foreign Oil By Reforming Our Transportation Sector," which does not once mention public transit or any other means of efficient transportation. What does it talk about? The Clean Car Challenge - government incentives for fuel-efficient vehicles and development of battery-assisted hybrid cars. The enforcement of existing gas-mileage standards. Nothing on public transit, high-speed rail, or any form of more energy-efficient transportation. According to figures from the Department of Energy, passenger rail is 17.1% more fuel-efficient than cars, and commuter rail is 22.5%. Yet McCain does not even mention either form of transportation in his call for "reforming the transportation sector." How, exactly, is that reform?
Texas's Capital Metro making progress on new light rail line
The new, 32-mile light rail line from Leander to Austin, TX is progressing nicely, according to Progressive Railroading. Five of the nine planned stations have platforms completed, with only platform canopies, landscaping improvements and walkways to be finished. All work on these stations are expected to be completed by October. Meanwhile, construction on the Downtown station and the MLK station are underway, and are expected to be completed by the time service begins later this year.
Of course, one of the great benefits of rail is that, since stations are typically located downtown, it provides a great deal of foot traffic to and from the station and a huge incentive for economic development. PR reports that transit-oriented development has already commenced at many of the stations, including a large mixed-use office/retail/residential project at Crestview Station.
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Senators propose East Coast high-speed route
U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) proposed a new high-speed rail route linking the Northeast Corridor with Birmingham, AL via Atlanta, GA. Citing the rising price of oil, the senators acknowledged that a change is needed in the country's transportation policy. Of course, as any rail advocate knows, very few proposals (well, none, actually) have gotten anywhere close to being off the drawing board, so it's not like this one is any different. But, at least the word is out, and more and more people are looking to rail as a viable alternative to overcrowded high- and air-ways.
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Sacramento light rail looking at fare increases
Sacramento, just the latest city looking at transit fare increases, has said that fares may need to be raised as soon as October to cover budget shortfalls. Unfortunately, with fuel prices and transit ridership rising like crazy, transit agencies across the country are dealing with ever-increasing expenses. At the same time, with US drivers cutting back on fuel consumption, transit agencies are also being hit with decreasing revenues (many transit agencies are funded by gasoline taxes). This makes for a dangerous catch-22 if new funding sources are not found. Sacramento expects that single-fare tickets could rise from $2 to $2.25.
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Kansas examining expansion of passenger rail
Kansas isn't the first state looking at potential rail routes, even without much support from the federal government. Following in the footsteps of Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and California, Kansas has embarked on studies examining potential new rail routes. One of those is Kansas City to Fort Worth, TX, a 606-mile corridor that would connect intermediate towns to both Texas and Chicago via the Kansas City Mule.
The idea is to connect Kansas City to Oklahoma City, providing connections/an extension to the existing Heartland Flyer service, currently running between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, which advocates point to as an ideal role-model for this new route. The Flyer only started in 1999 with a great deal of grassroots support from communities along the route. Initial Amtrak studies forecast around 25,000 riders on that line per year; ridership now stands at 68,246 (in 2007) with forecasted ridership of up to 80,000 passengers this year. Kansas rail advocates are hoping to replicate that success with this new route. Potential stops include Wichita, Newton, Emporia, Topeka, and Lawrence. Kansas estimates the initial costs at about $12 million and annual operating costs of $8 million.
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So, there's an interesting thing that's been happening this weekend. On my Google News aggregator for Amtrak, I've been seeing a multitude of stories on Obama's VP nominee, Senator Joe Biden. "What on earth," I thought, "does Obama's VP nominee have to do with Amtrak? Clearly something, since a solid number of news outlets are using the word "Amtrak" in the breaking news about Obama's new right-hand man.
As it turns out, Biden is an Amtrak guy. He rides Amtrak's Northeast Corridor home everyday from Washington, D.C. to Wilmington, DE, some hour and a half away. Of course, I imagine that none of this is really news to anyone, but it's an interesting observation on how Amtrak has suddenly been thrust into the mainstream media, in a big way. The Obama camp has been portraying Biden as an "average guy" who takes the train to work everyday. What remains to be seen is what effect this would have on Amtrak and passenger rail policy under an Obama presidency - hopefully a positive one. I'm interested in hearing others' thoughts on the matter - leave a comment and let everyone know what you think!
Update, Aug. 24: The CA HSR Blog again has a good article up exploring the (mostly) pros and cons of a Obama-Biden ticket for HSR policy. The prospects looks pretty good, and the alternatives (McCain, who is a noted passenger rail hater) are far worse. Some related links:
- Obama supporting HSR
- Biden supporting high-speed rail: here and here
- McCain's policy
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UP track work to affect California Zephyr, Coast Starlight
Union Pacific trackwork will affect two of Amtrak's long-distance trains over the next few months. The California Zephyr, between Chicago and Emeryville, CA, will detour periodically due to UP track work over Donner Pass. The train detoured on August 12, is scheduled to do so again on August 24, 27, and 30, and may detour in the future as is required. Passengers utilizing stations between Sacramento and Winnemucca are being bussed between the train and their station; expect delays of up to two hours.
Meanwhile, the northbound Coast Starlight, Los Angeles - Seattle, will hold at Klamath Falls, OR for two hours as UP continues final cleanup work on the spring landslides. Passengers on northbound Starlights on Aug. 24-30 and Sep. 8-15 and 23-30 should allow an extra two hours for such delays. Plus, you know, an extra few hours for the "normal" delays.
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Sanford, FL Auto Train terminal to get renovation
Amtrak will be beginning a renovation of the Auto Train terminal in Sanford, FL, which was apparently damaged in the 2004 hurrican season. The goal is to bring the station up to standards with the northern station in Lorton, VA. The $7 million in improvements will bring additional seating and will be capable of connecting with trains on the proposed Orlando-Sanford commuter train.
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PennDOT launches new Keystone website
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation last week launched a new (and very spiffy) website with information on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor. You can very easily view station locations and amenities, with other links to "reasons to ride," schedules, and train amenities. Check it out, it's a very cool website. Maybe if more state DOTs put this much effort into their rail lines, then more people would be inclined to check them out.
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Honolulu light rail to be on November ballot
When we last checked in, Honolulu was in the midst of conflict over a proposed light rail route linking the city's outlying areas to downtown. A quick recap: a citizen group calling themselves "Stop Rail Now" has been collecting signatures on a petition in a push to get the transit issue on the general election ballot this November. They are apparently hoping that by getting the issue up for public vote sooner, fewer people will vote yes. Or something. I'm not exactly sure how that logic works, but whatever.
Anyway, a Circuit Court judge last week ordered the city to accept the petition and put the issue on the ballot, and the Honolulu City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to go ahead and do so, in spite of Stop Rail Now's petition. (Confused yet?) In other news, a recent poll found strong public support for the proposed $3.7 billion line. 60% of people polled said that they would continue development of the system, compared to just 24% who said they would not. Even residents who do not live directly on the proposed route are supportive, with 56% saying yes and 27% saying no.
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All content written and edited by David Breisch and gathered from sources as listed.
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