Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined his Senate colleagues in urging Senate Appropriations leadership to support funding for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (IPR) grant program in the fiscal year 2024 spending legislation. The Joint Economic Committee passed the U.S. Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill which included $100 million for the account. However, the funding is at risk of being eliminated by House Republicans, which would devastate efforts to improve rail infrastructure throughout the Northeast, including projects such as the Vermonter route expansion to Montreal.
“While the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) provided five years of guaranteed funding for the Federal-State Partnership grant program, this funding was always intended to be supplemental to annually appropriated dollars. The IIJA also authorized up to $1.5 billion for IPR grants in fiscal year 2024. The IIJA investment alone is not sufficient to fully address the nation’s rail state-of-good-repair (SOGR) backlog nor to fully improve and expand intercity passenger rail in a way that America deserves,” the senators wrote in the letter.
Vermont passenger rail: Two more Amtrak routes possible
The senators highlighted the importance of funding projects in the Northeast Corridor: “The NEC’s SOGR backlog stands at well over $40 billion, representing a serious threat to the nation’s economy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak and commuter railroads on the NEC transported more than 800,000 people per weekday, and the workforce that travels on the NEC contributes roughly $50 billion annually to the economy. However, the specter of the SOGR backlog causing delays or track closures is a constant concern. According to the Northeast Corridor Commission, “[t]he loss of the NEC for a single day could cost the country $100 million in added congestion, productivity losses, and other transportation impacts.” If Congress does not make the necessary investments, disruptions will become more frequent and more severe over time.”
The senators concluded: “On behalf of our millions of constituents who depend on a safe and reliable passenger rail network and also those who deserve access to passenger rail but do not have it as a meaningful option today, we urge the Subcommittee to vigorously defend the $100 million appropriation for FY 2024 for the Federal-State Partnership for IPR program.”
The letter was led by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and signed by Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Angus King (I-Maine), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Chairs Murray and Schatz and Ranking Members Collins and Hyde-Smith,
As you work to finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending legislation, we urge you to support no less than $100 million for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (IPR) grant program—the amount included in the committee-passed Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill. The House of Representatives has proposed zeroing out this account. Eliminating funding for the IPR grant would hinder ongoing work to improve rail infrastructure in the Northeast and across the country.
The IPR was reauthorized in the IIJA “to fund capital projects that reduce the state of good repair backlog, improve performance, or expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service.” In general, not less than 45% of annual funding is reserved for projects along the Northeast Corridor (NEC), which are to be consistent with the most current NEC Service Development Plan. In addition, not less than 45% of annual funding is reserved for projects not located along the NEC, with preference given to projects included in a corridor development (i.e., service improvement and expansion) plan previously selected by the FRA. In addition, a share of the funding provided to non-NEC projects must also benefit, in whole or in part, one of Amtrak’s fifteen Long-Distance routes.
While the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) provided five years of guaranteed funding for the Federal-State Partnership grant program, this funding was always intended to be supplemental to annually appropriated dollars. The IIJA also authorized up to $1.5 billion for IPR grants in fiscal year 2024. The IIJA investment alone is not sufficient to fully address the nation’s rail state-of-good-repair (SOGR) backlog nor to fully improve and expand intercity passenger rail in a way that America deserves.
Why the Northeast Corridor needs robust funding
The NEC’s SOGR backlog stands at well over $40 billion, representing a serious threat to the nation’s economy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak and commuter railroads on the NEC transported more than 800,000 people per weekday, and the workforce that travels on the NEC contributes roughly $50 billion annually to the economy. However, the specter of the SOGR backlog causing delays or track closures is a constant concern. According to the Northeast Corridor Commission, “[t]he loss of the NEC for a single day could cost the country $100 million in added congestion, productivity losses, and other transportation impacts.” If Congress does not make the necessary investments, disruptions will become more frequent and more severe over time.
While the IIJA made a significant down payment to help address this SOGR backlog, it is simply not enough given the years of underinvestment and the age of the assets. Without sufficient annual appropriations to supplement the IIJA, many of the NEC’s most critical projects will not advance. Below are just a few examples of NEC projects that FRA Project Inventory has identified to begin construction by 2025:
- Connecticut River Bridge Replacement Project in Connecticut;
- Stamford Station Improvements in Connecticut;
- Norwalk River (Walk) Bridge Replacement Project in Connecticut;
- East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project in New York;
- Elements of the Gateway Program in New York and New Jersey;
- Harrisburg Line Interlocking, Catenary and Signal projects in Pennsylvania;
- Philadelphia Gray 30th Street Station Improvements in Pennsylvania;
- Susquehanna River Bridge Replacement Program Phase 1 in Maryland;
- Baltimore Penn Station Improvements in Maryland;
- B&P Tunnel Replacement Project (Frederick Douglass Tunnel) in Maryland; and
- Washington Union Station Improvements in the District of Columbia
Why non-NEC projects need robust funding
In 2021, Amtrak released a $75 billion, 15-year vision to bring more trains to more people across the nation. This vision was meant to start an important conversation about the need for robust federal investment in passenger rail, especially in underserved and unserved communities. Congress responded by authorizing the FRA Corridor Identification and Development Program and the IIJA provided $12 billion via the Federal-State Partnership grant program as in initial down payment on non-NEC rail expansion. While this IIJA funding is a critical first step, to fully realize the type of passenger rail network that the country deserves, the Federal-State Partnership grant program will require robust additional funding in FY24 and beyond. Below is an illustrative list of types of non-NEC corridor development and related projects that federal investment could advance, assuming support from relevant states and communities and approval by the FRA:
- Vermonter route expansion to Montreal;
- Chicago Access Program projects in Illinois to reduce trip times and improve capacity for existing and future Midwest routes and connections to the south and east;
- More frequencies and enhanced service on Cascades Corridor in Washington and Oregon;
- A new Front Range Corridor in Colorado and Wyoming connecting Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Cheyenne;
- A new Massachusetts Inland Route service;
- More frequencies on the Hiawatha Corridor in Wisconsin and Illinois and extension to Madison, Green Bay, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as well as St. Paul, Minnesota;
- A new Phoenix-to-Tucson corridor in Arizona;
- More frequencies on the Downeaster Corridor in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine;
- A new “3C+D Corridor” in Ohio connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati;
- Rebuilding of an abandoned higher-speed rail corridor between Richmond, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina;
- Heartland Flyer route extension to connect Kansas communities, including Wichita, with Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas;
- Upgrades to the rail corridor between Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, potentially including new service to Louisville;
- A new corridor in Texas, connecting Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, and San Antonio;
- Multiple new rail connections in California; and,
- A multi-corridor network from a new Atlanta Hub station, including new corridors to Nashville, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Savannah, Georgia; and elsewhere in the South.
- Reestablish passenger rail service between Scranton and New York via New Jersey.
On behalf of our millions of constituents who depend on a safe and reliable passenger rail network and also those who deserve access to passenger rail but do not have it as a meaningful option today, we urge the Subcommittee to vigorously defend the $100 million appropriation for FY 2024 for the Federal-State Partnership for IPR program.
Source: 1.17.2024. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
