There is one location in America where, since the creation of Amtrak in the early 1970′s, intercity passenger rail has enjoyed considerable success. This region sports the type of high population density, urbanization, and congestion necessary for successful intercity passenger rail service. This region has the one existing “high speed” (relative to other Amtrak intercity train services, not to European or Japanese service) rail line in the nation. This location is the Northeast Corridor- the megalopolis stretching up the eastern seaboard from Washington DC to New York, and on to Boston.
Inexplicably, the NEC has not been named a designated high-speed rail corridor by the Obama-Biden administration. Rep. Mike Castle has been tirelessly lobbying for this designation and fighting for equity for the NEC. Our Vice President, however, has been strangely silent on the matter. That’s also perplexing. Perhaps Joe’s been busy badgering President Obama for a Wilkes-Barre to Scranton high-speed rail corridor?
As both Rep. Castle and the News Journal have pointed out, Delaware has been practically excluded from receiving stimulus rail funds. In the words of the News Journal:
By comparison to most Eastern Seaboard states, Florida has one of the premier intrastate — and interstate — highway systems in the region. Despite being hundreds of miles away from many destinations, they’re usually only a couple of hours away because of the high-speed highways.
Instead, Delaware receives $450,000 to study a proposed intercity passenger rail service in southern Delaware and possibly to Berlin, Md.
Rep. Mike Castle, who voted against the original stimulus legislation, was correct to express outrage over Delaware’s exclusion. Even Republican Florida Rep. John Mica, one of the rail experts in Congress
, said the Northeast Corridor was “thrown overboard” by the Obama-Biden administration.
We agree and see no other reason shy of political expediency why, for instance, another area for new high-speed rail money is Sacramento-San Diego.
The viability of many of the ten designated high-speed rail corridors is amply documented by research- indeed, many of these projects have been on the drawing board, or under consideration, for years. Many of the routs parallel busy interstate highway corridors. Other’s however, are more spurious, and as the NJ correctly notes, politics is to blame. Indeed, not since Rep. Harley Staggers (he of the famous Staggers Act that deregulated freight rail service) forced the Hilltopper on the taxpaying public just so southwestern Virginia and West Virginia could have passenger rail service has there been a more blatant example of political meddling trumping common sense in the selection of rail routs and the distribution of funding.
As I’ve previously written here, I support the effort to develop new high-speed passenger rail corridors. It is a wise investment in developing our transportation infrastructure. While the allotted federal funds pale in comparison to the costs of finishing the proposed corridors, the emergence of high-speed rail service in the United States would spur new economic growth and efficiencies, ease congestion on our roads, and reduce pollution.
The value of this effort, however, is seriously undermined by the exclusion of our most successful intercity passenger rail line- the NEC. As Rep. John Mica (R- FL) has noted, “the Acela train averages 83 miles per hour from Washington, D.C., to New York City and is considered a joke compared to other systems around the world that operate between 150 mph to 180 mph… Shortchanging [the congested NEC] gives us no hope of relieving highway or air congestion.”
Hopefully Rep. Castle’s efforts to secure designated high-speed rail corridor status, and additional funding, for the NEC will bear fruit- that is the only sensible outcome.
Michael, you mention politics in all this -
what is your take on the stimulus bill as a method for advancing rail improvements? Do you think it was a mistake for Representative Castle to oppose it? Are you suggesting his opposition to the stimulus had something to do with us not getting funds?
Perhaps the NEC wouldn’t be a “joke”, as compared to high-speed rail systems in other parts of the world, if Congress and this President gave it proper funding. By that I mean, “shovel ready” funding to upgrade the tracks, crossings and stations so that trains could reach higher speeds and thus become the premier mode of transportation btw DC and Boston.
There are few if any other regions in the US where there is the necessary population density along an entire route where high speed rail could become mostly self-sufficient. Density and point to point demand (i.e. dense, highly compact urban centers with secondary public transportation) is key. Europe is oriented this way, so too is the eastern seaboard north of Richmond.
It is wrong to bypass this already appropriately organized and developed part of the country, for areas where wide open spaces abound between relatively scattered, loosely organized cities.
Hi Bill, no, I’m not suggesting Castle’s vote impacted that funding but rather, that certain more politically important areas got projects. Take Florida for example- in this instance, perhaps it paid to be a battle ground state contested in every Presidential election, rather than a taken-for-granted dependably blue state. Just my thought on it.
As to the stimulus bill, I’d have voted “no” to that monstrosity too- that said, however, within the bill were ideas/projects that were good ideas, and in some cases, necessary ones. The high-speed rail corridors project is one example.
Oh and I second everything Marco said- well put.
I’m baffled as usual. The VP claims to have ridden the damn train everyday.
Yet he can’t get us any money for the train?
Will the voters ever wake up?
I’m baffled too jj1234… the NEC is the one existing successful “higher speed” passenger rail corridor that we have. Granted Amtrak has some other successful trains- but this is a corridor on which *many* trains operate- we have nothing else like it.
The area through which the NEC passes has high population density, is urban, and has congested road routes… it is probably the best location for a true high-speed rail line in the entire country.
Also, a NEC high speed line, combined with the proposed route south of DC through Virginia and North Carolina and on to Jacksonville, FL, would give us a high speed rail route paralleling I-95 down the eastern seaboard. It makes little sense to run at speeds akin to those in Japan and Europe south of DC, switch trains there, and then run north to Philly, New York, and Boston at current Acela speeds. It’s akin to switching from a passenger jet into a turboprop aircraft for half the leg of a transcontinental flight.