Hotline #933

As pressure on Congress to pass a transportation bill continues, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) says his panel will mark up a long-term bill to renew highway and transit programs on Oct. 22, reports BNA. A short-term highway patch expires Oct. 29, and House transportation panel ranking member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has raised doubts about whether the House and Senate can reconcile reauthorization legislation before that deadline,

“Next week, the committee will move forward with the policy and authorization provisions of a bill to improve America's surface transportation infrastructure, reform programs, refocus those programs and national priorities, provide more flexibility and certainty for state and local partners and welcome innovation,” Shuster said.

Speaking of Congress, on Monday, a NARP blog post pointed out the formation of a bipartisan coalition to demand a reasonable deadline extension for rail companies to install Positive Train Control (PTC) technology as part of a comprehensive rail bill, with credit given to our members who have reached out to their congressional delegations.

As a result of a law passed in 2008, U.S. railroads face a December 31 deadline to have PTC technology up and running. Amtrak and other train operators—including New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Chicago’s Metra—have said they simply can’t meet the deadline, warning that they will be forced to halt passenger and freight service on January 1 in the face of federally imposed financial penalties. These shutdowns would affect millions of passengers across America, cause massive delays and gridlock, and cost the economy an estimated $30 billion. NARP continues to ask members to keep the pressure on by writing to your congressional delegations and urge them to pass the DRIVE Act.

The New York Building Congress (NYBC) continues to call for more action on the Gateway Program, Amtrak’s plan to double intercity and commuter rail service connecting New York City to New Jersey, reports Real Estate Weekly. In a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), United States Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Senator Charles Schumer, NYBC President Richard Anderson noted a flurry of recent activity that has provided the first realistic opportunity to develop a funding plan and advance efforts to build a new cross-Hudson passenger rail tunnel since Governor Chris Christie (D) cancelled plans for a similar project in 2010.

Bloomberg Politics reports despite having backing from Governors Chris Christie (R) and Andrew Cuomo (D), there’s still a lot that needs to be done to get the $20 billion Gateway Project moving. The story cited issues including the similar Long Island Rail Road project on Manhattan’s East Side, which is 13 years behind schedule and costs more than double the original $4.3 billion estimate. In Seattle, attorneys are assessing overruns while a tunnel-boring machine called Bertha, brought to a halt in December 2013 by a snoot full of grit, remains disabled under the city.

As California continues to build its $68 billion bullet train project, it has counted on an infusion of private capital to fill any gaps in state and federal funding, reports Governing magazine. A solicitation issued by the state to potential partners yielded 36 responses from global rail, construction and engineering companies, offering ideas and feedback that will help the California High-Speed Rail Authority with future planning. But one thing that was missing was money. "They are not bringing their checkbook yet, but they are bringing their ideas, their interest, their commitment to work with us," said rail authority Chief Executive Jeff Morales.

Mayors from Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, Pennsylvania, have announced their support for a new Road to Rail initiative, led by the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study, reports LehighValleyLive.com. The study will look at ways to bring connecting rail service to Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and Harrisburg, as well as service connecting the Lehigh Valley cities together.

The editors of North Carolina’s OrangePolitics.org blog are urging the state to build a light rail system in Durham, via an op-ed in the News & Observer. “In a move no one is claiming responsibility for, a late addition to the state budget capped state funds used for light rail transit projects at $500,000, significantly hindering the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit (DOLRT) project – despite the fact that the DOLRT was awarded $138 million in state funds through the nonpartisan, data-driven strategic transportation initiative,” they wrote.

Modern, efficient and comfortable 21st-century passenger trains can add measurably to a person’s positive attitudes and make him or her a happier and more productive person, writes W. Dennis Hodges, founder of the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance and NARP member in a guest column in the Northwest Times. And Dan Peacock, another NARP member and a member of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons, writes that Fairfax County should promote Burke Centre as its Amtrak Green Rail Gateway in a letter to the editor of the Connection newspaper.

Finally, we want to hear from you. Please feel free to send along industry-related news stories, op-eds, editorials or letters to the editor to NARP’s communications director here so that we can share it with the membership. And please feel free to pitch stories and member profiles for the NARP newsletter here. And please follow NARP on Facebook and Twitter and join the conversation.