NEC “Crisis,” Says Amtrak Boss Citing what could be a classic case of being a “victim of its own success,” Amtrak Presi- dent Joseph Boardman told a Senate Com- mittee that the passenger rail service is fac- ing a “crisis” and is unable to keep up with the growing public demand for more passen- ger trains. “We’ve used up the legacy capaci- ty of the railroad while depleting its infra- structure assets,” he testified. He told the lawmakers the Washington-New York- Boston Northeast Corridor (NEC) needs $2 billion in new annual funding to meet ex- pected ridership growth. Without “a new model for investment,” the Amtrak boss told the senators, “the outlook for the system’s capacity and condition is grim.”
Long Island Amtrak?
Only two weeks prior to Boardman’s Senate appearance, the FRA released alternative (and ambitious) plans to expand the NEC. One proposal would direct NEC trackage across Long Island, N.Y., by way of a bridge or tunnel across Long Island Sound to Connecticut. Wow! That is bold. Not since the old days (long prior to the 1910 construction of the original Penn Station in Manhattan) has there been any inter-city service to Long Is- land. The closest to that was and is Sunny- side Yard where inter-city trains were and still are stored. But no inter-city rail carries passengers on the island. That was (and still is) the assumed territorial prerogative of the commuter Long Island Rail Road. And since at least early in the 20th century (until the mid-’60s) the LIRR was owned by the old Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) which built, owned and operated what is now Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. This would be charting new territory, to say the least.
Speaking of Which The much-discussed proposal to extend New York City’s No. 7 subway line under the Hudson River to a terminal at Secaucus, N.J., has been revived, this time with posi- tive backing from a bi-state multiagency group. The Secaucus Junction idea has been discussed in this space. It is where most New Jersey Transit trains connect. Having now received the backing of New
York and New Jersey officials and transit agencies, the study contains thoroughly thought-out detail which, in itself, lends credibility. It would be built in addition to the tunnels beneath the Hudson bringing Amtrak and NJ Transit to Penn Station on the NEC. That project is to replace the ARC tunnel project that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie killed because he believed it was too expensive and not well thought-out at all. Unlike the Long Island NEC idea referenced above, the No. 7 extension now has emerged with serious study, support, and input from a group of high local officials. We will have more to say about it in future columns.
New Hill Rail Player The House T&I Committee has created a new subcommittee, the Special Subcommit- tee on 21st Century Freight Transportation. Chaired by Rep John J. Duncan Jr. (R- Tenn.), the lawmakers held their first hear- ing April 24, taking testimony from every mode of the freight industry. The freight rail view was represented by Wick Moorman, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk Southern Corporation. The Norfolk-based chieftain told the law-
makers that America needs fair and clear long-term policies that encourage invest- ment in railroad infrastructure. “Industries, jobs, and taxes want to go
where the railroad is,” he declared, adding, “In the last decade, 1021 new and expanded facilities located along Norfolk Southern rail lines, representing $28.7 in customer invest- ment and generating more than 48,000 jobs. That’s just one railroad. What an incredible incentive to support railroads everywhere,” Moorman declared. That
comment apparently is what
prompted Derek Leathers, president of Werner Brothers, to reply on behalf of truck- ing interests with the claim that some 70 per cent of the people ship or receive their freight business from trucks. Put railroad tracks or new waterways behind people’s houses, he said, and there would be protests. Sigh. Yes, there are NIMBYs who will at-
tempt to obstruct progress on the waterways and even more so with railroad transport, but is it out of order to mention that running a highway through one’s bedroom is not the homeowner’s favorite thing, next to poisoned apples? Oh well, never mind. On the plus side, it’s good to know that the age of inter- modalism has not dampened the competi- tive spirit in ground transportation, even while the modes manage to cooperate with each other when mutual benefit and the public interest require it.
Three Point Agenda Mr. Moorman told the lawmakers there are three things the government can do to assist in freight rail’s ability to achieve its goals in serving the public: 1) “Support freight rail’s continuing abili- ty to earn adequate returns and invest in our companies. For every revenue dollar, railroads return 40 cents to infrastructure and equipment.” 2) A more general approach to the econo-
my. To wit: “Put the economy on a sound foot- ing. Reduce the deficit. Create a stable envi- ronment for long-term growth.
Help
everyone — including railroads as we pay our taxes — see a clear path forward.” 3) Finally: “Find sensible ways to allow the private sector and partners to invest in projects that will serve the economy of to- morrow. The longer it takes to steer through regulatory hurdles, the longer we wait for economic growth. Fix regulations — as you did with the FRA locomotive inspection rule in 2012 — so that they enhance safety, pro- ductivity and investment.” On the last point, in referring to “projects that will serve the economy of tomorrow [as opposed to those that won’t],” Mr. Moorman may have had in mind a suggestion that Congress avoid the so-called “anti-trust” or “reform” legislation contained in a recently re-introduced bill by outgoing Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Frank Lauten- berg (D-N.J.). Much of the rail industry sees that as a pre-Staggers throwback to an old regime that nearly wrecked the railroads be- fore the 1980 deregulation rescue. Moorman testified, in answer to a ques- tion that “the rail freight network physically is in the best condition that it has been in certainly in the last 50 years,” (undoubtedly many thanks to the Staggers Act —W.V.) By the way, as he testified, Mr. Moorman had reason to be in a positive mood regard- ing the outlook for his company. Just within hours, he had reported at an earnings con-
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