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Congressional Testimony
December 6, 2000, Wednesday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 2920 words
COMMITTEE:
SENATE COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION
HEADLINE: TESTIMONY RAIL PASSENGER SERVICE (F. H.)
TESTIMONY-BY: GEORGE D. WARRINGTON , PRESIDENT AND
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
AFFILIATION: AMTRAK
BODY:
December 6, 2000 WRITTEN STATEMENT of GEORGE
D. WARRINGTON PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AMTRAK before the SENATE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION at the FIELD HEARING ON RAIL
PASSENGER SERVICE HEARING IN GEORGIA Mr. Chairman: It's an honor for me to
testify here today. I'd like to begin by thanking Senator Cleland, Governor
Barnes, Secretary Slater and others here today for their strong and effective
support of Amtrak and passenger rail. Their advocacy has been instrumental in
building support for the High Speed Rail Investment Act, and I deeply appreciate
their efforts. I also want to congratulate the Members of this Subcommittee for
stepping outside the beltway and holding this hearing in what I think of as the
"real" America. Georgia epitomizes the potential role that high-speed rail and
commuter rail can play in addressing regional transportation gridlock. Few
cities in America face the huge transportation challenges that confront Atlanta
every day: the busiest airport in the world; serious air quality concerns;
gridlock on the highways; and the need to enhance access to the city in order to
maintain economic growth. Atlanta lies at the heart of Amtrak's vision for
high-speed rail along the Atlantic Coast. As the region's leading business and
transportation center, Atlanta is bound to become as important a rail passenger
hub as Washington and New York are today. Atlanta is the key to the ability of
the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor to successfully connect the vibrant
Northeast Corridor to the Gulf Coast and Texas -- providing fast, reliable
service to Birmingham, Greenville, and Charlotte, as well as to Macon,
Jacksonville, and Florida's future high-speed rail network. Our vision is a
string of pearls - the major business centers of the southeast - tied together
with an integrated fleet of 110 mph tilting trains that provide business and
discretionary travelers with productive, comfortable, stress-free rides. The
challenge that Georgia, Amtrak, and our freight railroad partners all face is
twofold. We need to upgrade the region's rail lines to accommodate both the
significant increase in high- speed and commuter rail planned by Georgia, and
the projected growth in regional freight rail service. We must work together
toward our common goal of making the most of a remarkable resource - the old
rail line - to relieve regional congestion and enhance the regional economy.
High-speed rail has already proven to be an economic engine for development
throughout the Northeast Corridor. Indeed, for many of the cities Amtrak serves
in the Northeast, the focus for commercial development - new hotels, convention
centers, offices, retail centers --is around the train station. That's because
the road system is already at capacity and simply can't deliver more people to
the city center. Only trains can bring in the additional workers and customers.
Examples of commercial development in the Northeast Corridor include: -Boston -
where nearly $2 billion in commercial development is planned around South
Station due to high speed rail and MBTA commuter service; -Providence - where a
major shopping mall was built adjacent to the station and a convention center
was also built near the station; -New London - where Pfizer world headquarters
and major city redevelopment projects are adjacent to the station; -And
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore, all of which have major hotels,
conference centers and office buildings built adjacent to their train stations,
in order to benefit from the commercial opportunities. But, of course,
high-speed rail isn't just for the Northeast. Nowhere are the potential benefits
of high-speed rail greater than here in the Southeast. Amtrak can and will help
this entire region make the most of its rail resources. We are ready to
initiate, in association with the State Department of Transportation and the
Georgia Passenger Rail Authority, the planned study for a new
Atlanta-Macon-Jessup- Jacksonville service. We are also working with Georgia on
the Atlanta capacity study and planning for the new multi-modal passenger
station in Atlanta. As you know, thanks to Senator Cleland and other members of
the Georgia delegation, in the new FY 2001 transportation appropriations bill,
$200,000 was provided to the Federal Railroad Administration to extend the
Boston-Washington-Richmond- Charlotte transportation plan south to Atlanta and
Macon. This has led to a remarkable planning process, bringing together the
freight railroads, the federal and state governments, and Amtrak to jointly
develop a high-speed rail plan that can accommodate passenger and
freight rail growth. We look forward to working with South Carolina,
Georgia, CSX, Norfolk Southern and the FRA on this important study, and we thank
Senator Cleland for his efforts to secure this funding. Amtrak has considerable
experience in partnering with states to develop high-speed rail. We are working
closely with Virginia and North Carolina on the upgrade of the
Charlotte-Richmond- Washington segment of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor
and expect to jointly fund the acquisition of new trains that will be used on
the Southeast Corridor. In Pennsylvania and New York, we have partnered with the
states on funding the upgrades necessary to implement new high-speed service.
And in Washington State, Amtrak, the freight railroad and the State have
partnered to upgrade the rail line and procure new trains to significantly
reduce travel time and increase ridership. Amtrak is also experienced in
partnering with communities to help address local needs and concerns. For
example, we established TEMPO - the Texas Eagle Marketing Performance
Organization - as a partnership between Amtrak and local communities served by
our Texas Eagle train. It involves local businesses, chambers of commerce,
sports and entertainment franchises and venues, travel agencies, mayors and
every other segment of the business community. TEMPO is responsible for many
successful marketing efforts to support the Texas Eagle, and also plays a role
in promoting station improvements along the route. The Crescent Coalition is
another example of a successful partnership between Amtrak and local communities
- this one focused around Amtrak's Crescent service. These efforts are being
duplicated around the country and we would promote such a partnership down here.
I should also mention to the distinguished members of this Committee that Amtrak
is in the process of procuring new 1 1 0 mph tilting non- electric high-speed
trains for use on corridors in the Midwest. These trains, the costs of which are
being shared with our Midwest state partners, would be ideal for use in Georgia
and the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. We very much look forward to working
with the state on an equipment strategy and plan. Mr. Chairman with all due
respect, this country has reached a crossroads with respect to transportation
policy. As the saying goes, it's time to "put up or shut up." We can either go
on pretending that the chaos that's engulfing our highways and airports will
somehow magically disappear, or we can resolve to do something about it. And
doing something means investing in passenger rail. There are two reasons why
solving America's transportation crisis requires a substantial investment in
passenger rail. First, there's the cost issue. As I'm sure everyone on your
Committee knows, the costs of building new highways and airports are climbing
way up; the costs of adding to our rail capacity are failing way down. As the
marginal cost of highway and airport construction rises, while the marginal cost
of increasing our passenger rail capacity falls, rail becomes cost-effective
relative to other transportation modes. In plain English, you get more "bang for
your buck" by investing your transportation dollar in passenger rail than by
investing that same dollar in new highway or airport construction. Second,
there's the balance issue. Our national transportation system might be compared
to a three-legged stool. For the stool to be balanced, all three legs -
highways, airports and rail - must be strong and sturdy. But if you remove the
rail leg and try to balance the transportation stool on highways and airports
alone, the whole structure will wobble and totter and - eventually - collapse
altogether. That's what we're facing today - a transportation system that's
wobbling and tottering and in danger of total collapse. We're investing more
than $40 billion a year in our highways annually - and I support that
investment. We're investing more than $14 billion in our aviation system
annually- and I support that investment as well. Yet, we only invested about
$500 million last year in our passenger rail system. This shockingly low level
of investment not only places the future of passenger rail in doubt; it
jeopardizes the viability of our entire transportation system. Because, to
repeat, ours needs to be a balanced system. If you remove passenger rail from
the balance, the other parts of the system just don't work right. But if you've
got a strong railroad system that takes some of the pressure off of our highways
and airports, then you enable them to fulfill their potential, as well. To
restore balance to our national transportation system, and to turn the corner
into the new century with a modern passenger rail system made up of high speed
corridors linked together by longer distance train service, this country must
stand up and make a commitment to invest in rail. None of the terrific projects
here in the Southeast Corridor that I have mentioned today will be realized
unless the federal government puts rail on the list with highways and airports
for capital investment funding. As you well know, Congress still has before it
this year an opportunity to enact the High Speed Rail Investment Act, which
would provide $1 0 billion in bond authority for Amtrak to partner with states
in developing high-speed corridors. I appreciate your leadership, Senator
Cleland, in pushing this critical legislation so hard, and I want to reiterate
to you, in the strongest possible terms, the need to see this legislation
enacted this year. In conclusion, I would just like to once again thank you,
Senator Cleland, as well as Governor Barnes, Secretary Slater, and the many
others here for their strong, unambiguous support for Amtrak and high-speed
rail. You have all been leaders in this effort and I am convinced that the
future of high-speed rail in the Southeast depends on its successful
implementation here in Georgia. That is why Amtrak is so very proud to be a
partner with Georgia in a common effort to improve the quality of life for the
people of Georgia and the entire Southeast.
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