Here is a passenger rail update, and thanks to Stacy Fallon of The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Committee (MIPRC) for some of the links.
People in Warren and Youngstown weigh in on passenger rail and sound pretty enthusiastic about being able to schlep into Cleveland for Cavs and Indians games, among other things. At 110 mph, the proposed final speed for The Ohio Hub, that would be a much more manageable trip indeed. This article from Youngstown’s Vindy.com discusses efforts of Warren and Youngstown to fit into the Ohio Hub Plan.
You can listen to this via on line mp3 or read the transcripts. Stu Nicholson of the Ohio Rail Development Commission and Andrew Bremer of All Aboard Ohio were two of the prominent guests on this Ohio State University broadcast. You can check it out at WOSU here. We may be lacking in quantity of light rail and passenger rail here in NE Ohio, but in Columbus, people are even more wedded to their cars, out of necessity. This is one of the points brought up in this broadcast.
And that brings me to this awesome article by Ron Selak, Jr. in Trib Today on line. The comments are fantastic. As Mayor Jackson mentioned the other day, no one wants to spend money to spend money, or be ‘green’ just to be green. It’s a necessity of life, economic and otherwise, that we continue to pursue passenger rail for Ohio. Political and rail association efforts are looking to a Pittsburgh to Cleveland leg of the Ohio Hub which would, and not just in my opinion, boost the chances of companies locating here because it would be a breeze to travel from Pittsburgh to Cleveland with stops in between. Imagine the economic growth. Imagine the jobs created just to build the infrastructure alone. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is something we need to do pronto. Here is an excerpt from the Trib article:
“….Five or six stops would be included in the rail service between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, including the Warren/Youngstown area. The trains would travel between 70 and 110 mph and be able to carry about 300 passengers in the estimated four passenger cars, said Don Damron, passenger rail planning manager with the rail development commission….”
Last I have legislative news, again courtesy of MIPRC, just to keep everyone abreast of what’s happening on the Federal level:
In late July, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced The Train CARS (Creating American Rolling Stock) Act of 2008. The MIPRC has signed on as a supporter of the bill.
During its June visits with Members of Congress, the MIPRC highlighted the urgent need for increased federal funding for passenger rail train overhauling and the purchase of new equipment (see MIPRC press release). As ridership has exploded across the country, Amtrak is having trouble keeping up with demand because of the lack of passenger rail train cars and equipment.
A press release outlining the legislation described the following steps that would be taken to help alleviate the shortage:
- Grants and Tax-Credit Bonds for Domestically-Manufactured Train Cars: Creates a new matching grant program at the Department of Transportation for Amtrak and states to rehabilitate existing equipment and purchase new, American-made equipment. Also authorizes Amtrak to issue up to $2.8 billion in qualified bonds over four years to finance train car projects. To encourage bond purchases, owners would receive a credit against current year taxes.
- Buy American Requirements and Labor Protections: Ensure that any funding or tax credits provided in the bill are used for domestically produced train cars and that workers in the manufacturing and rehabilitation of train cars are paid a prevailing wage and protected under federal railroad labor laws.
- Capacity Improvement Charge Matching Program: Allow states to receive a dollar-for-dollar match on any equipment fee they impose for the purchase of new domestically produced train cars.
- Next Generation Equipment Pool: Mandate that Amtrak establishes a committee, along with Federal Railroad Administration and interested states, to design and develop specifications for a procurement standard for the next generation of passenger rail equipment. The committee is instructed to examine the benefits of having a public or private corporation separate from Amtrak purchase new equipment and lease that equipment to the states and Amtrak for service.
- Intercity Passenger Rail Rolling Stock Trust Fund: Create a new trust fund to give Amtrak and the states a secure and reliable source of capital funding to replace the nation’s train cars. The legislation would transfer one-quarter cent of the per-gallon motor fuels tax into the new Rolling Stock Trust Fund for three years, generating approximately $400 million per year.
- National Passenger Rail Electrification System Study: Directs the GAO to conduct a study of the costs, benefits and economic impacts of providing intercity passenger rail along a national electrification system. Electrifying the passenger rail system would provide a non-oil transportation alternative that could transport passengers along high speed corridors without ever using a drop of oil.
- Job Transition Services for Workers: Requires the Department of Labor to identify existing programs and recommend changes to help transition workers leaving the aviation and automobile industries transition into rail car manufacturing, rehabilitation and maintenance.
Amtrak Reauthorization:
Before Members of Congress began their summer recess, the House appointed members to the conference committee on S. 294, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007. Conferees from the Midwest include Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN); Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL); Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA); and Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) – all members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. On the Senate side, conferees were not named before the break, following an objection by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to naming members to the committee.
Before Members of Congress began their summer recess, the House appointed members to the conference committee on S. 294, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007. Conferees from the Midwest include Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN); Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL); Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA); and Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) – all members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. On the Senate side, conferees were not named before the break, following an objection by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to naming members to the committee.
Peace Out – 3C
5 responses so far ↓
1 Ohio Hub/Passenger Rail Updates · // Aug 15, 2008 at 4:48 pm
[...] Grant News » News News Ohio Hub/Passenger Rail Updates2008-08-15 16:48:00For Creates a new matching grant program at the Department of Transportation for [...]
2 Ohio Hub/Passenger Rail Updates : finance lowerautoinsurance // Aug 16, 2008 at 7:49 am
[...] Original post by Carole Cohen [...]
3 Larry D. McGee // Aug 17, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Great in depth article. It is good to read about transit initiatives in places other than Denver. I did not read in your article any reference to NIMBY’s. Although the local transportation district (RTD) is plowing ahead with local rail, discussions regarding pusing rail lines to the east of Denver are meeting resistence.
Larry D. McGees last blog post..2008 Denver Parade Of Homes
4 Carole Cohen // Aug 17, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Hi Larry, nice to see you. Well, I’m sure there will be NIMBY’s. Right now there are some nay sayers; some because of costs and it’s always good to have perspective from folks who want to watch our collective pocketbooks. But some of the nay sayers I think, are just people who are used to various arms of govt. dropping the ball so projects can’t get completed.
In Cleve. we have neighborhoods dense with homes on small lots. And train tracks already in place. I imagine the NIMBY’s will appear when decisions are made as to where to lay the new tracks!
Lots of space to lay tracks between Cleveland and the eastern Ohio border. What is the population density in east Denver? Are there legit issues or do they just need to keep hearing how fuel prices are never going to be inexpensive again lol.
5 nicholas farmer // May 10, 2010 at 6:49 pm
ITS ABOUT TIME YOUNGSTOWN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT WILL BE A BONUS FROM THE RAIL SYSTEM PITTSBURG TO CLEVELAND.
Y-CRY
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