Mica, Shuster offer NEC HSR critique

Opening statements Thursday from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-Fla.) and Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) on high speed rail for the Northeast Corridor found both in support of HSR, though clearly questioning the approach outlined by President Obama (which the President reiterated during his State of the Union address Tuesday, surprising many and delighting HSR activists).

Mica (top), holding a “Hearing on Northeast Corridor High-Speed Rail” at New York’s Grand Central Terminal, also reiterated his general disdain for Amtrak’s performance on its NEC home turf. He allowed that the NEC is “[o]ne of the most valuable and potentially productive federal assets in the United States.” But he added, “Unfortunately, this valuable national transportation asset, and the development of true high speed passenger rail on the Northeast Corridor, has been largely ignored. Mica noted, “Amtrak’s current plan to bring high speed rail to the Northeast Corridor would require $117 billion, and would not be completed until the year 2040. This slow-speed schedule for bringing true high-speed rail service to the Northeast Corridor will never allow President Obama to meet his goal announced in Tuesday’s State of the Union address that, ‘Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail.’ Just do the math.”

As in past years, Mica suggested a public/private partnership to bolster the NEC’s fortunes, insisting, “Entering into public-private partnerships to assist in financing high-speed rail development on the corridor will get it built much faster and bring down costs.”

Mica made it a point to “thank Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg and Governor [Ed] Rendell for their long-term support on this project.” Both New York City Mayor Bloomberg and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell were present at the hearing.

For his part, Shuster (second from top) noted “upgrades to the Keystone Corridor to speeds of 110 mph have resulted in significantly higher ridership that only continues to grow” within his home state of Pennsylvania. “higher speeds would only make this service more attractive. Now when I travel to Philadelphia, I refuse to drive and the Keystone Corridor train is my preferred method of transportation. Unfortunately, the United States is far behind the international curve on high speed rail.”

While Mica repeated his attack on Amtrak, Shuster focused more directly on the Obama Administration. “Instead of focusing on key corridors, scarce federal dollars have been spread too thin among too many different projects, leading to incremental progress that could slow our already delayed entrance into high speed rail. Perhaps the biggest missed opportunity was the failure to invest in the Northeast Corridor, which, for the most part was kept out of the selection process. Failing to invest in the critical Northeast Corridor will ensure continued congestion in our nation’s most densely populated region and on the corridor that presents the best opportunity for true high-speed rail and profitable service,” he declared.

Echoing Mica, Shuster said, “Most importantly, we must focus on how we can bring private sector investment to this critical corridor by introducing competition and incentives for investment. In this constrained budget environment, it is more important than ever for us to leverage private sector funds so we can continue to move forward in the area of high-speed rail and intercity passenger rail.”

Shuster called for open access to Amtrak’s NEC so that operators could compete for market share.

Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman (bottom, at right, with former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who also testified) offered the following in response to Mica’s and Shuster’s statements on private-sector investment in the NEC:

“It is critical for the Northeast Corridor to remain a public asset for the generations of Americans that are depending on our collective leadership to secure their future. It is about connecting the major metropolitan communities of the Northeast, and also connecting the Northeast to the rest of the United States.

“As a result of Amtrak’s stewardship and improvement of the Northeast Corridor infrastructure, train speeds have increased from 90 mph to 150 mph, America’s only high-speed rail service was introduced, and additional capacity was created to support significantly expanded commuter rail operations.  We have collaborated with Northeastern states on a plan to make additional infrastructure improvements to the existing corridor and have unveiled a revolutionary vision to build a new corridor that supports 220 mph high-speed rail service.

“Amtrak was created by Congress precisely because the privately-owned railroads could no longer sustain the vital public service of intercity passenger rail. No other operator or company is prepared to mobilize to take over the operation of the Northeast Corridor, nor are they funded to cover the long-term capital and operating costs.”