“As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation – one of which is infrastructure…As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced. This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans.”
-Vice President Joe Biden
Archive for the ‘High Speed Rail’ Category
Biden Announces $53 Billion for High-Speed Rail; the Infra Community Responds
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011A $53 Billion High-Speed Rail Program to Nowhere
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011Vice President Joe Biden announced today a plan to spend $53 billion over the next six years on passenger high-speed rail projects that will help reach the goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years. According to the announcement, the proposal will place high-speed rail “on equal footing with other surface transportation programs.” The initiative includes $8 billion in the President’s FY 2012 budget proposal, of which $4 billion will be focused on building new infrastructure and $4 billion will be dedicated to system preservation and renewal. The announcement makes no mention how the plan will be paid for.
View this complete post...Guest on The Infra Blog: Andy Kunz, President & CEO, US High Speed Rail Association
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011A long time high speed rail promoter, Andy Kunz brings 30 years of successful business experience to the US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR)…Mr. Kunz is a national award-winning designer with a background in community design, urban planning, and sustainability. He has designed a wide variety of projects including a number of new towns and transit oriented developments…As an authority on high speed rail, Mr. Kunz is committed to further developing USHSR and the high speed rail network in America.
View this complete post...AASHTO Report: States Ramping Up Action on Passenger Rail
Thursday, January 27th, 2011AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS
From Moline, Illinois, to Brunswick, Maine, the revival of passenger rail is sparking significant economic development just when it is desperately needed. American manufacturing is stepping up to make sure rail infrastructure projects are built with American-made products, which, in turn, support an entire supply chain of American companies and their employees, maximizing the economic benefit of these infrastructure investments.
Guest on The Infra Blog: Joseph Szabo, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
Monday, January 24th, 2011Joseph C. Szabo is the twelfth Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Administrator, responsible for overseeing the operations for the eight hundred plus person organization; managing a comprehensive railroad safety assurance program and regulatory initiatives; enforcing railroad safety laws and regulations; developing and implementing national freight and passenger rail policy and financial assistance programs; and overseeing wide-ranging advanced research and development projects in support improved railroad safety.
View this complete post...What Lies Ahead for Transportation in the 112th Congress?
Monday, January 24th, 2011Congressional action on transportation this year, including the shape of the next surface transportation bill, will be inevitably influenced by the changed political geography of the 112th Congress. Not only will the level of funding for transportation be dictated by new, fiscally conservative House majority , but the program priorities will be influenced by a newly elected GOP representation that largely hails from small-town and suburban America.
View this complete post...Feb. 8-10: High Speed Rail Summit, Washington DC
Thursday, January 20th, 2011From the US High Speed Rail Association:
Be part of this important high speed rail summit! Hear from the new incoming Congress and the Obama Administration about plans to step up the national high speed rail program. Hear about the many challenges with launching a major new infrastructure project of this scale. Listen to senior elected officials discuss the importance of maintaining the ‘political sustainability’ needed to get it built. Hear from political and business leaders where this program is going, how money will be rolled out, and where the money will continue to come from to pay for these new systems.
Guest on The Infra Blog: Petra Todorovich, Director of America 2050 at Regional Plan Association, Discusses New High-Speed Rail Report
Monday, January 17th, 2011Petra Todorovich is Director of America 2050, a national urban planning initiative to develop an infrastructure and growth strategy for the United States. Since its launch in 2005, America 2050 has convened some of the brightest thinkers in the fields of transportation, land use planning, social equity, and urban development to create a compelling vision for America’s future growth.
View this complete post...The Tampa to Orlando High-Speed Rail Project: Florida Taxpayer Risk Assessment
Friday, January 14th, 2011REASON FOUNDATION
Governor Rick Scott is evaluating whether to proceed with construction of the proposed Tampa to Orlando high-speed rail project. The potential cost to Florida taxpayers is a principal factor in this evaluation. Capital cost escalation, revenue shortfalls and higher than projected operating costs are common in high-speed rail projects. Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Governor-elect John Kasich of Ohio have cancelled projects funded by the Obama administration’s high-speed rail program and foregone the federal funding because of cost concerns such as these.
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