ness. There are people out there urging pri- vatization of the highways. I’m sure if that were possible, it too would have been accom- plished by this time. First: I see; but then Amtrak should be scuttled. If it cannot be, then isn’t it throwing good money after bad? Highways promote commerce. Does Amtrak promote commerce? Second: Yes, Amtrak does promote com-


merce. Lots of suits, ties and attaché cases on the NEC Acela service, about 70 per cent of its ridership is of business (commerce) ori- entation, according to one survey. Similar figures apply to other urbanized corridors on the system. First: But as for highways making a prof-


it, highways are not quantifiable, or at least not easily quantifiable as a benefit. Second: Ah, but the Interstate Highway program was surely not born in poverty. Am- trak was. When you keep a company in poverty that was born in poverty in the first place, it should surprise no one if the compa- ny fails to reach its full potential. First: How much would it take? Second: That is about as quantifiable as the highways. Comment: Thus, a microcosm of the four decade old Amtrak debate.


On the Rubber Tire Side


The House Budget Committee met to ponder the future of the Highway Trust Fund which, according to analysts, is projected to go broke by 2015. The committee, whose chairman is Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc. and former vice-presidential candidate) dis- cussed possible solutions, especially long- term ones. At the center of the hearing was a statement from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of the trajectory on which the fund is to meet its “moment of truth” (our words, not his) in a couple of years. All agreed there was a need for a long-term fix that would replace the shortfalls that have accumulated over the past five years. Start- ing in 2008, Congress has simply trans- ferred $41 billion from the Treasury’s gener- al fund to the Highway Trust Fund. If Congress chooses to continue to authorize such transfers, that would mean an addi- tional $14 billion would have to be added to avoid a shortfall in 2015. One witness, Cornell University Infra- structure Professor R. Richard Geddes, sug- gested a mileage user fee. “Although it may be unpopular at first with some motorists, “ he added, “it would be important to stress the ‘citizen-ownership’ of infrastructure as- sets and to use a permanent fund — one type of public trust fund — to preserve eco- nomic value released by pricing.” Others pondering the highway problem at the com- mittee session included Janet Kavinosky, Transportation Executive director of the U.S. Chamber of commerce, and Robert Poole, Searle Freedom Trust Transportation. Bottom Line: Whether on the rails or on the roads, government is in search of a solu- tion to a seemingly unsolvable problem.


The Connecticut Crash and Crashworthiness In the final moments of the Q&A at the Den- ham Committee’s hearing on Amtrak (report- ed above) the conversation turned to the crash of two Metro-North commuter trains in Connecticut during the evening rush of May 17. Amtrak’s Boardman estimated that the accident would cost the passenger railroad at least $5 million. The calamity forced a sever-


al-days suspension of Amtrak service on the busy NEC between New York and Boston. Extensive repairs were required on that por- tion of the electrified line. In the early days after the crash, it was reported that 76 out of about 700 passengers suffered injuries, but that there were no immediate fatalities. Speaking of which . . . We have reported in this space on ideas about possibly adopting the far more lenient European standards of “crashworthiness” for high speed passenger trains. The Acela trainsets, for example, are widely believed to be too heavy and expen- sive, and an albatross around the neck of the movement in this country to advance high- speed rail well beyond 150 m.p.h., the Acela’s top speed. But now comes a dispatch in Bloomberg Business Week quoting a knowledgeable rail safety advocate who as- serts the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. rail cars on Metro North had crash-resistant frames that saved lives and could have had far worse consequences but for the actions in recent years by lawmakers and regulators to improve passenger rail cars. Joyce Rose, former high-ranking assis- tant to the leadership of the House T&I Committee, told reporter Angela Greiling Keene that passengers were “protected by strengthened rail car frames and designs in- tended to absorb and dissipate crash energy through the structures, rather than trans- ferring it to passengers.” Rose helped write the relevant safety regulations as a top aide to Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) before, and for awhile after, he became Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She is now CEO of Operation Lifesaver, a group backed by the industry.


Nothing To See Here, Just Move Along Meanwhile, there is a call from within the Connecticut state legislature for a thorough investigation of the crash. The legislators would undoubtedly be curious as to the de- tails of a report that the tracks involved in the rush-hour smashup had been inspected two days before the accident. FRA spokes- man Robert Kulat says as of May 15, Metro- North deemed the tracks to be “in good con- dition.” Furthermore, he added, a more thorough semi-annual inspection yielded the same results. Investigators from the Na- tional Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were also on the scene with their own probe of the collision.


Expect a monumental battle in Congress if a serious attempt is made to loosen the safety standards required for HSR equipment.


Boardman Stays at Amtrak As we go to press, the Amtrak Board of Di- rectors has renewed the contract of Joseph Boardman as CEO of the passenger railroad for another two years. Among other ideas, Boardman appears to be following a “shoot for the ultimate” strategy; i.e. map out plans for very large projects unlikely to be realized soon in their “on-paper” versions, and (given the lengthy push and pull of everyday Wash- ington politics) some of the plans will sur- vive in scaled-back form. Hopefully, accord- ing to that reasoning, the frame of the debate will focus on whether and by how much to move forward, thus relegating to second fiddle the question of whether Am- trak should merely continue the in tin-cup keep-your-fingers-crossed survival mode. It is anyone’s guess as to whether that ap- proach ultimately impacts the fate of such


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