High Speed Rail

Amtrak was awarded $450 million on Monday for major improvements that will make Philadelphia-to-New-York trains the fastest in the country. The money was part of $2 billion for high-speed rail projects awarded Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation, after the new governor of Florida rejected the money earlier this year. In addition to the Amtrak funding, $345 million was awarded to Northeastern states for projects designed to speed travel in the heavily traveled Boston-to-Washington corridor.

As part of a reorganization of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor planning efforts, the railroad's high-speed rail chief is leaving. Al Engel, a Philadelphia engineer who was named vice president of high-speed rail in September 2010, will leave Amtrak next month "to pursue other opportunities," Amtrak said in a statement Tuesday. Amtrak said it is combining its Northeast Corridor development offices and its high-speed rail efforts into a new Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Investment Development department.

By Bob Previdi Whether you are an environmentalist, a train enthusiast, or just someone who wants fast, efficient transportation between major cities, there seems to be agreement that the United States must find a better way to bring high-speed rail service to the Northeast. The University of Pennsylvania and Amtrak have some bold ideas on the subject. But the price tag just for Amtrak's proposals - $117 billion over 30 years - has raised concerns from Rep. John Mica (R., Fla.)

As part of a reorganization of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor planning efforts, the railroad's high-speed rail chief is leaving. Al Engel, a Philadelphia engineer who was named vice president of high-speed rail in September 2010, will leave Amtrak next month "to pursue other opportunities," Amtrak said in a statement Tuesday. Amtrak said it was combining its Northeast Corridor development offices and its high-speed rail efforts into a new Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Investment Development department.

After spending $4.2 million to study the idea, state officials decided a few years ago that building a $10 billion super-fast train across Pennsylvania was probably not in the fiscal cards. Now the deck may be reshuffled. Contained in some transportation-related legislation pending in the Senate is a provision calling for an additional $290,000 to be spent studying the high-speed rail concept. The bill originally called for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to conduct the study.

Advocates of a high-speed rail connection between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia contended yesterday that the trains would cut travel time between the cities to two hours, revitalize rail-related industries and turn Philadelphia into a national crossroads. "This project will unequivocally make Philadelphia the 'Big T' of transportation in the United States," state Rep. Richard A. Geist (R., Altoona) told Mayor Goode, members of the Philadelphia City Council and other city officials during a private briefing at City Hall yesterday.

Vice President Biden used an appearance Tuesday at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, an Amtrak hub on the Northeast Corridor, to promote an administration proposal to spend $53 billion to build and improve high-speed passenger-rail networks around the country. "In a global economy, we can't forget that infrastructure is the veins and the arteries of commerce," Biden said, as train boarding announcements echoed in the vast marble waiting room. "If we sit back, folks are going to eat our lunch.

The federal government, since 1991, has designated 10 corridors for high-speed rail development, including the Philadelphia-to-Pittsburgh "Keystone Corridor. " Those "designated corridors" don't include the most heavily traveled one, the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston. Most of the corridor plans involve incremental steps to speed up existing service, rather than installation of true high-speed service with trains traveling at more than 155 m.p.h. That's much cheaper, allowing passenger trains to share tracks with freight and commuter trains.

BEIJING - China's infatuation with high-speed rail soured at bullet train velocity. Six months ago, the rail network was a success symbol and the basis of a planned high-tech export industry. But after a July crash that killed 40 people, Beijing has suspended new construction and is recalling problem-plagued trains, raising questions about the future of such prestige projects. It was an extraordinary reversal for a project that once enjoyed political status on a level with China's manned space program.

Jon Miller is no stranger to train travel. A North Jersey native and NBC Universal employee, Miller takes Amtrak frequently because he has offices in New York and Philadelphia. Miller is satisfied with his train travel because he can get work done on the ride and save gas. Still, he supports the improvement in high-speed rail proposed yesterday by Vice President Joe Biden at 30th Street Station. "If it's there and you can get a lot accomplished, people will take advantage of it," Miller said.

Amtrak may lay off nonunion workers to cut costs and increase funding to such projects as an upgraded reservations system, a spokesman said. Amtrak last month offered voluntary buyouts to management employees and is still reviewing the results. If the railroad decides it needs additional savings, it will begin "involuntary separations" for some management employees, spokesman Steve Kulm said. The railroad has about 3,000 nonunion workers in its 20,500-person workforce. Although Amtrak ridership has set records for eight of the past nine years, federal funding for rail operations was cut by Congress for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. And all money for high-speed rail projects in the fiscal year was eliminated.

WASHINGTON - Congress voted yesterday to kill funds for President Obama's signature high-speed-rail program, but the initiative may have some life in it still. Republican lawmakers are claiming credit for killing the program. But billions of dollars still in the pipeline will ensure work will continue on some projects. And it's still possible that money from another transportation- grant program can be steered to high-speed trains. Obama had requested $8 billion in fiscal 2012 for the program and $53 billion over six years.

As part of a reorganization of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor planning efforts, the railroad's high-speed rail chief is leaving. Al Engel, a Philadelphia engineer who was named vice president of high-speed rail in September 2010, will leave Amtrak next month "to pursue other opportunities," Amtrak said in a statement Tuesday. Amtrak said it was combining its Northeast Corridor development offices and its high-speed rail efforts into a new Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Investment Development department.

As part of a reorganization of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor planning efforts, the railroad's high-speed rail chief is leaving. Al Engel, a Philadelphia engineer who was named vice president of high-speed rail in September 2010, will leave Amtrak next month "to pursue other opportunities," Amtrak said in a statement Tuesday. Amtrak said it is combining its Northeast Corridor development offices and its high-speed rail efforts into a new Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Investment Development department.

By Bob Previdi Whether you are an environmentalist, a train enthusiast, or just someone who wants fast, efficient transportation between major cities, there seems to be agreement that the United States must find a better way to bring high-speed rail service to the Northeast. The University of Pennsylvania and Amtrak have some bold ideas on the subject. But the price tag just for Amtrak's proposals - $117 billion over 30 years - has raised concerns from Rep. John Mica (R., Fla.)

BEIJING - China's infatuation with high-speed rail soured at bullet train velocity. Six months ago, the rail network was a success symbol and the basis of a planned high-tech export industry. But after a July crash that killed 40 people, Beijing has suspended new construction and is recalling problem-plagued trains, raising questions about the future of such prestige projects. It was an extraordinary reversal for a project that once enjoyed political status on a level with China's manned space program.

WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans this week are sidetracking $1.5 billion in high-speed rail funds already awarded to several states. GOP lawmakers propose shifting the high-speed rail dollars to pay for Midwest disaster relief. The move would help ease the federal deficit while it underscores Republican resistance toward the Obama administration's rail plans. "The flooding in the Midwest has been devastating," said Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R., N.J.), adding that "we must be serious about controlling the deficit.

In response to Tuesday's editorial "Amtrak idea is risky," the true risk with Northeast Corridor high-speed passenger rail is continuing the status quo with Amtrak's costly, subpar performance. The federal government simply can't afford Amtrak's 30-year, $117 billion plan to bring high-speed rail to the corridor. While some criticize Congress for not sufficiently funding Amtrak over the years, no one can reasonably expect Congress to provide this kind of money for this project, particularly in this budgetary environment.

The promise of high-speed rail was a big topic of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce's annual "State of the Region" meeting Tuesday. But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made another point early and often: If Congress passed a trans- portation funding bill, it would create jobs. It's a message he has been repeating at speeches and appearances across the nation since the Obama administration released a $550 billion, six-year plan to pay for various transportation-related infrastructure projects on Labor Day last year.