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AMERICA 2050

America 2050 is pleased to offer comments on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)’s preliminary National Rail Plan and recommendations for the long-range National Rail Plan due to Congress in October 2010. Such a plan is needed to establish U.S. policy for passenger and freight rail investment and provide clarity to states and regions about the federal government’s role in passenger and freight rail investment.

America 2050 is a national planning initiative to develop an infrastructure and growth strategy for the United States in anticipation of 40 percent population growth by the year 2050. It is housed at the nation’s oldest independent planning organization, Regional Plan Association in New York City. America 2050 launched a research program on highspeed rail in 2009 to provide input and help shape the federal government’s new highspeed intercity passenger rail (HSIPR) program. In September 2009, we released the report “Where High-Speed Rail Works Best,” which discussed factors contributing to ridership demand for high-speed rail. The paper argued that the federal government should focus preliminary ARRA grants in corridors with the greatest passenger demand for high-speed rail service.

Moving forward, our research will continue to focus on success factors in developing high-speed rail systems and strategies for developing a national intercity passenger network. To that end, we offer the following recommendations for the long-term National Rail Plan, focused primarily on the elements of success for passenger rail.

1. The Role of the Plan

The National Rail Plan provides an opportunity to clarify where and why high-speed/ intercity rail investment is needed or can provide benefits. The preliminary rail plan has already specified appropriate national goals for passenger rail investment, such as: to increase national system performance through improved rail performance; to improve safety; to improve fuel efficiency; to foster livable communities; and to increase economic competitiveness. In addition, the plan should aim to:

• Clarify the federal government’s interest in investing in high-speed/ intercity passenger rail.
• Set expectations about where in the United States high-speed/intercity passenger rail can work and what levels of population density and employment concentrations are needed to support the different categories of “HSR Express,” “HSR Regional” and “HSR Emerging.”
• Map priority corridors for the above categories, based on an analysis of ridership demand.
• Specify goals for high-speed rail at the national level and potential benefits/goals to be realized at the regional and local levels.
• Provide a clear path for regions wishing to invest in high-speed/intercity passenger rail and how they can position their regions for federal investment.

As the HSIPR program transitions from a stimulus program born with ARRA funding to a long term investment program, a central challenge will be distinguishing where it is a federal priority to invest in HSR Express and where it is more appropriate to invest in incremental upgrades to existing rail corridors (HSR Regional and HSR Emerging). The National Rail Plan must balance creating high-speed, high volume, service connecting the most populous and congested megaregions with upgrading rail service incrementally to serve smaller metropolitan regions and bring them into the national network. One way to approach this challenge is to evaluate on a corridor-by-corridor basis where passenger rail service can compete with air and auto modes, based on trip time, frequency, and reliability.

The geographic breadth of project selection of the first round of federal distribution under the HSIPR program in January 2010 clearly indicates the intent to make this a truly national program and balance the priorities between new and incremental rail service. For this approach to be successful over the long term, however, future investments must be guided by a plan that assesses the potential for each corridor across the country, how these corridors fit into a national network, and how the funding will be phased to achieve the optimal build out of the network. We think this plan should be accompanied by a map indicating corridors most suited for HSR Express, HSR Regional, and HSR Emerging, – now, and at intervals into the future – based on federal research, state rail plans, and input received from regions. We feel the most important criterion for determining these different levels of service and federal investment is projected ridership demand.

Download full version (PDF): Comments on Preliminary National Rail Plan

About America 2050
www.america2050.org
“America 2050 is a national initiative [in collaboration with Regional Plan Association] to meet the infrastructure, economic development and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add about 130 million additional Americans by the year 2050.  America 2050 is guided by the National Committee for America 2050, a coalition of regional planners, scholars, and policy-makers to develop a framework for the nation’s future growth.”

Tags: America 2050, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, Federal Railroad Administration, FRA, Highspeed intercity passenger rail, HSIPR, HSR, National Rail Plan, Regional Plan Association, RPA

This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 4:10 pm and is filed under High Speed Rail, Infra Views, National, Rail, Recovery, Transit . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.