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Amtrak LogoThe Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Feb. 12 unanimously approved bipartisan legislation that improves the infrastructure, reduces costs, creates greater accountability and transparency, leverages private sector resources, and accelerates project delivery for Amtrak and the nation’s passenger rail transportation system.

The Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, or PRRIA (H.R. 749), was introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.); T&I Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.); Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (R-Calif.); and Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Capuano (D-Mass.).

“We thank the Chairman Shuster for his leadership on moving this legislation forward and support passage of the bill in the full House. We still have concerns that the bill does not provide Amtrak with the funding levels it needs to make needed repairs and upgrades to an aging system. That being said, the introduction and markup of this legislation is an important first step in bringing long-term stability and investment to Amtrak,” said SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director John Risch.

“This is a good reform bill that firmly moves passenger rail towards greater transparency and accountability, and forces Amtrak to operate like a true business,” Shuster said.

“In every region of the country, passenger rail investments boost local economies and create thousands of family-wage construction, engineering, and manufacturing jobs. This bill isn’t perfect – but it was a bipartisan effort that ultimately provides critical investments and system wide improvements to increase capacity and make our railways safer,” said DeFazio.

“Passage of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act is an investment in our infrastructure that will make Amtrak operate more like a business – better responding to the needs of its customers and focusing on efficiency, transparency, and cost-saving,” Denham said. “I’m proud of the bipartisan unanimous support we’ve garnered for this bill and look forward to seeing PRRIA move to the House floor.”

“Making investments in passenger rail service not only creates economic benefits and employment opportunities, it also enhances the overall experience for passengers and improves safety,” said Capuano. “This legislation may not represent the level of funding I think is necessary, but most rail supporters agree that in today’s political climate it is the most that advocates can expect.”

Passenger rail presents one of the best transportation alternatives for relieving congestion on some of the nation’s most crowded highways and in our busy airspace. However, the rail system and Amtrak – the country’s intercity passenger rail provider – must be reformed and improved. For years, Amtrak has operated under unrealistic fiscal expectations and without a sufficient level of transparency. Profits from Amtrak’s most profitable route – the Northeast Corridor (NEC) – currently are not invested back into the corridor. And although significant ridership increases are occurring on Amtrak’s state-supported routes, its inconsistent financial structure and “black box” accounting system hamper states’ ability to help manage the routes and understand what exactly it is they’re paying Amtrak for.

In addition, rail infrastructure projects are unnecessarily delayed by unwieldy review processes that cost time and money, and current law that limits the ability to partner with the private sector holds back the development of the system.

During the legislation markup, the Committee also approved 12 General Services Administration Capital Investment and Leasing Program resolutions that will result in $111 million in taxpayer savings, and the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Views and Estimates of the Committee.

DOT_Logo_150pxU.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx Feb. 2 announced President Obama’s $94.7 billion Fiscal Year 2016 Budget for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The proposal makes critical investments in infrastructure needed to promote long-term economic growth, enhance safety and efficiency, and support jobs for the 21st century.

Speaking at a town hall at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Foxx highlighted the president’s budget proposal, which notably includes funding to advance research and autonomous vehicles, while announcing his report “Beyond Traffic,” a look at future trends and choices that will impact America’s transportation system over the next three decades.

“Our budget proposal lays the foundation for a future where our transportation infrastructure meets the demands of a growing population and an economy that depends on the free flow of freight,” Foxx said. “This administration is looking towards the horizon – the future – but to do this we need Congress’ partnership to pass a long-term reauthorization to put Americans to work rebuilding America.”

According to the Department of Transportation, the last year has demonstrated the pitfalls of repeated short term funding extensions and is why the president’s FY 2016 budget creates additional certainty with a six-year $478 billion surface transportation reauthorization proposal that would improve America’s highways, ports, and transit networks. The proposal would better ensure these systems are safe, and support the development of a high-performance rail system. The proposed budget would be paid for in part with $238 billion from transition revenues generated from pro-growth business tax reform.

In the last six years, according to the DOT, Congress has passed 32 short-term measures that have failed to adequately address the needs of our aging infrastructure. To keep our roads and bridges in good condition, all levels of government – federal, state, and local – will need to spend at a minimum $124 billion annually; current spending is at $100 billion. For transit projects alone, there is an $86 billion backlog in maintenance needs that grows each year.

In order to tackle the country’s infrastructure deficit and support job creation, the six-year budget includes $317 billion to rebuild America’s roads and bridges, an increase of almost 29 percent over current investment in our highway system. To help meet growing demand, the budget provides more than $143 billion to create and improve transit and passenger rail service.

The budget provides $18 billion for multi-modal freight programs to strengthen America’s global competitiveness and support the president’s “Made In America” trade agenda. In 2013, exports of goods and services reached an all-time high of $2.3 trillion, supporting 11.3 million good paying American jobs across the country. Building on the success of the 2010 National Export Initiative (NEI), the Administration has launched NEI/NEXT to help more American businesses export to more overseas markets.

To encourage private sector investment, the budget includes $1 billion annually for credit assistance for nationally or regionally significant transportation projects through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program. The budget would also create a new Office of the Assistant Secretary for Innovative Finance to manage the Department’s credit programs and help projects develop plans to utilize innovative financing.

The FY 2016 budget reinforces the department’s commitment to safety, creating a new Office of Safety Oversight housed in the office of the secretary to improve safety efforts across all modes of transportation. The six-year proposal increases funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) by an average of 20 percent over current investment levels, providing $6 billion to address safety defects on our highways. This includes $31 million in FY 2016 for NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) to enhance our ability to monitor data, find defects sooner, and strengthen NHTSA’s ability to conduct investigations of vehicles with suspected defects.

To improve safety on commuter systems, the budget provides $3 billion over six years to help with the implementation of Positive Train Control. In addition, $29 billion would be provided for targeted infrastructure investments for deficient roads and bridges through the Critical Immediate Safety Investments Program, including $7.35 billion for rural communities.

Building on the department’s commitment to safety on America’s roads, the budget invests $935 million over six years in the future of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), including $158 million in FY 2016 to accelerate research on vehicle automation and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology.

As cars exchange safety data on speed, direction, and relative position to surrounding vehicles and infrastructure, research estimates that V2V technology has the potential to reduce 70 to 80 percent of vehicle crashes. Such innovative technology will help American workers and goods travel faster and safer on our roads.

To modernize and improve NHTSA’s data collection tools, the budget includes $41.7 million in FY 2016 to establish data collections sites and expand the agencies analytical capacity.

In addition, the FY 2016 budget includes $956 million to continue efforts to modernize America’s air-traffic control system and help transition from a ground-based radar system to a more accurate, satellite-based system of the future, known as NextGen.

capitolHouse Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and other committee leaders yesterday introduced the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA), which would address infrastructure needs, transparency and other issues for Amtrak.

“By compelling Amtrak to operate more like a true business, cutting red tape, and opening the door to more private sector resources, we can make some long overdue improvements to passenger rail transportation in the United States,” Shuster said in a press release.

Raed the complete story at Progressive Railroading.

Amtrak LogoST. LOUIS – The expense of installing mandated train collision avoidance technology is putting passenger service in Missouri at risk, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The equipment, which is designed to override human error, is supposed to be in place by Dec. 31, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Read the complete story at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Amtrak LogoA New York college student with measles boarded an Amtrak station from Penn Station earlier this week and may have exposed other passengers to the contagious virus.

The student at Bard College in Dutchess County took Amtrak train #283 from Penn Station to Albany, according to state health officials. He got off in Rhinecliff, N.Y.

Read the complete story at ABC News.

According to The Washington Post, a $1.01 trillion spending bill that will keep most of the federal government funded through September retains Amtrak’s current funding of $1.39 billion, the same amount it currently receives.

It also provides $3 million to expand inspections along the roughly 14,000 miles of track used by trains hauling oil tankers.

To view the Post’s summary of the bill, click here.

 

 

Collection boxes have been set up at Chicago’s Union Station to accept donations to assist Amtrak conductor and SMART Transportation Division member Dontreal “Donnie” Bankhead and his family, according to Illinois State Legislative Director Robert Guy.
Bankhead, 40, a member of Local 168 at Chicago, was seriously injured while performing his duties aboard Amtrak Train #364 on the evening of Dec. 5 near Niles, Mich. He was stabbed in the head, neck and several times on his body. Three passengers were also injured in the attack.
“Any SMART members who are able are encouraged to visit one of the contribution locations to make a small cash donation or forward a greeting card. In the meantime, please keep Donnie and his family in your thoughts this holiday season. Thank you for your support,” Guy said.
Donations will be accepted in sealed receptacles until 4 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Human Capital-Talent Acquisition Office on the third floor at 500 W. Jackson Blvd., and at the Transportation Trainmasters’ Office on the third floor of the Maintenance Building at 1400 S. Lumber St.
“The SMART Transportation Division is deeply saddened after receiving the disturbing news that one of our members, while faithfully performing his duties, was seriously injured in a seemingly senseless and random act of violence,” Guy said.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to our fellow member and the other passengers that were injured during this inconceivable attack. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our other crew members, passengers and local law enforcement for any assistance that led to the apprehension of this subject.
“SMART Transportation Division will stand ready to assist Amtrak and local law enforcement as the investigation into this rare act of violence moves forward and we will do everything in our power to ensure that the person responsible for these acts is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Guy said Bankhead underwent surgery on Saturday Dec. 6 and is currently in stable condition.
During four years with Amtrak, Bankhead has worked in the finance, mechanical and transportation departments.
 

NILES, Mich. – The man accused of stabbing four people on an Amtrak train told police that it started after a man he was talking to on the train “turned into a demon and he had to fight them,” according to court documents obtained by 24 Hour News 8.

“Michael Williams said he did not remember exactly what he did but that he did have a knife in his hand,” according to an affidavit for his arrest.

Read the complete story at Television Station WOOD.

Amtrak LogoWASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided Monday as it considered whether Amtrak, the government-owned passenger rail company, wields too much clout in setting regulations that private freight carriers also must follow.

The nine justices heard arguments in a challenge by the Association of American Railroads to a federal law that gives Amtrak, a government-owned corporation, a key role in setting standards for railroads, including for on-time performance.

Read the complete story at the Bangor Daily News.

Amtrak LogoFour people were stabbed, including a conductor, on an Amtrak train tonight (Dec. 5) and a suspect was taken into custody, police said.

The stabbing occurred about 7 p.m. in Niles, Mich.

Read the complete story at ABC News.