For immediate release
Contact: Anthony Flint 617-503-2116
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 6, 2010) – Armando Carbonell, senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, will moderate Forging a National Rail Plan for America May 11, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. at Union Station’s Capitol Club in Washington D.C., a panel discussion on how the U.S. might proceed with a long-range national plan for passenger and freight rail.
The panel will include Karen Rae, Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Stephen Gardner, Vice President of Policy and Development, Amtrak, Frank Busalacchi, Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Darrell Wilson, Assistant Vice President of Government Relations, Norfolk Southern, and Petra Todorovich, Director, America 2050. Also featured is Julie Mills, director of Greengauge 21 to talk about the U.K.'s HS2 plan.
Since President Obama has proposed investing up to $8 billion in inter-city, high-speed rail, America 2050, a partnership of the Regional Plan Association and the Lincoln Institute, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, has provided a framework for routes primarily through megaregions such as the Boston-Washington corridor or in Florida.
Rail is emerging as the mode of choice in these areas, similar to connections in Europe or Asia, that are too large to navigate by automobile and too small to navigate by air.
“Planning is critical for a truly integrated national passenger and freight rail system,” said Carbonell, chairman of the Department of Planning and Urban Form at the Lincoln Institute. Among the factors to be considered, he said, are the major cities that have transit and commuter rail for riders getting to and from high-speed inter-city rail.
The nation's rail authorizing legislation, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, directed the Federal Railroad Administration to develop a long-range national plan for passenger and freight rail that comports with state rail plans and "the needs of the Nation." A preliminary national rail plan released by FRA in 2009 provides a starting point for this effort.
Key questions include:
n Should the federal government establish criteria or incentivize investment in certain corridors for high-speed rail investment that have the adequate population and employment density, transit connections, and proven intercity air or rail markets to generate sufficient ridership demand for high-speed services?
n What are the best models for planning, financing, and operating multi-state and/or interagency rail corridors?
n How will a national rail plan balance passenger and freight needs?
America 2050’s report Where High-Speed Rail Works Best evaluated potential corridors across the country against criteria contributing to ridership demand and called on the FRA to invest first in corridors with the greatest demand for ridership and strongest chance of success.
Following the panel discussion, at a separate event, a coalition of transportation groups plan a press conference to address funding for high-speed rail and Amtrak’s proposed budget. Those represented will include Fourbillion.com, Transportation for America, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, U.S. High-Speed Rail Association, Midwest High-Speed Rail Association, Southeast High Speed Rail Association, Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility, American High Speed Rail Alliance, American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO), OneRail Coalition.
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