 Meeting in the Great Hall of Chicago's Union Station, they stressed
that the economic stimulus plan currently being considered by
Congress provides an incredible opportunity to build a modern
regional passenger rail network that makes America more
energy-efficient, sustainable and prosperous.
"This is an opportunity to create thousands of jobs, enhance both
intercity and rail freight operation, and bring higher speed trains
and better service to the Midwest," said Illinois Department of
Transportation Secretary Milton R. Sees.
But while there are encouraging developments in the Senate, led
by Dick Durbin, the first drafts of the federal stimulus plan miss
the mark.
Wednesday night the U.S. House passed its stimulus plan, the
American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The bill allocates only $1.1
billion to rail -- $800 million to Amtrak and $300 million to state
projects to improve intercity rail outside of Amtrak's capital
needs. Investing in state projects is the best way to build up the
Midwest's intercity passenger rail network.
Unfortunately, $300 million is not nearly enough to build up
intercity rail. A much better proposal came from the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which recommended a $5
billion total investment in rail: $3.4 billion for state passenger
rail projects, $1.5 billion for Amtrak and $100 million for
short-line railroads.
The Senate Appropriations Committee plan comes closer to the $5
billion mark, with $2 billion allocated to high-speed rail
corridors, $850 million for Amtrak and $250 million for state
investments in intercity rail. The Senate committee-passed plan also
creates a discretionary program for larger projects, for which
passenger rail projects are eligible.
"Last year, Congress overwhelmingly passed an Amtrak
reauthorization bill that, at long last, recognizes the importance
of state-supported corridor trains and establishes a federal
matching fund program for the state. This stimulus package is the
first opportunity for Congress to put some money behind that
legislation," said Illinois Rep. Elaine Nekritz.
There is pent-up demand for new and expanded service for
intercity passenger rail throughout the Midwest. Passenger rail
ridership -- especially on shorter, corridor service that would be
implemented by the build-out of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative
and Ohio Hub plans -- has increased dramatically, but federal
funding to help build these systems has not followed.
"Last year, 17 percent more riders took corridor service trains
in the Midwest than the previous year. Over the past five years,
ridership on corridor service in the Midwest has risen over 64
percent," said Laura Kliewer, director of the Midwest Interstate
Passenger Rail Commission.
Illinois has the second-largest Amtrak program in the country.
Illinois' three state-supported routes -- Chicago to Quincy, Chicago
to Carbondale and Chicago to St. Louis -- all posted double-digit
ridership gains during the 2008 fiscal year.
Passenger rail is the most energy-efficient means to move people
over medium distances of 100-600 miles. Increased funding for our
states to plan, design and construct these interconnected passenger
rail systems would bring tangible benefits to the Midwest, not only
creating short- and long-term jobs, but building a new, efficient
passenger rail system across the region.
[to top of second column] |
"The build-out of the Midwest Regional Rail and Ohio Hub systems
would bring more than $30 billion in economic benefits to the region
and create almost 75,000 long-term jobs," Kliewer said. "It would
also bring a modern, efficient intercity passenger rail system --
with frequent service -- to the entire region, as well as connect
the Midwest to the East."
Transportation officials say that the way to build a regional
network is by improving routes and lines in each state. State
projects that can be quickly obligated for improved intercity rail
total far more than $5 billion throughout the nation, not to mention
the medium-term planning that is necessary to develop new routes.
Midwestern states have been working together for more than 10
years on two plans to bring faster, more-frequent passenger rail
service to the region. On behalf of the Midwestern states, the
Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission has submitted to
congressional leaders a list of more than $815 million in projects
that could move forward within 120 days. The preliminary
environmental work on the entire Midwest Regional Rail Initiative
and Ohio Hub systems could be completed for about $150 million.
The Illinois Department of Transportation says that the best way
to make sure our transportation investments meet our energy policy
goals is to invest in intercity rail. The department believes we
cannot afford to miss this opportunity to create jobs that lead to
long-term prosperity through better intercity rail that connects the
Midwest.
"We are calling on Congress and President Obama to increase
funding to help us complete pending rail projects, enhance and
improve operations, and create jobs in this struggling economy,"
Sees said.
Participants included Sees; Rep. Nekritz, D-Des Plaines; Rep.
Dave Winters, R-Rockford; Rep. Al Riley, D-Hazel Crest; Rep. Naomi
Jakobsson, D-Urbana; Rep. Paul Froehlich, D-Schaumburg; county board
member Michael Richards, D-Champaign; Rick Harnish, executive
director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association; Laura Kliewer,
director of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission; and
John O'Brien, vice chair of the United Transportation Union's
Illinois Legislative Board.
___
The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission is a 10-state
interstate compact commission that promotes, coordinates and
supports regional improvements to passenger rail service. Member
states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is a membership-based,
nonprofit advocacy organization with more than 2,000 members.
[Text from
Illinois
Department of Transportation
file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
 |
