News & Events:
Press Releases: 06/20/02
For Immediate Release - June 20, 2002
Contact:
Rick Harnish, Executive Director, Midwest High Speed Rail Association
Office: 773-334-6758 Cell: 312-339-0116
Bush Amtrak plan flawed
On June 20, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta announced
the Administration's plan for the future of Amtrak. The plan contains
a serious flaw.
"The plan fails to recognize the important leadership role
that the federal government must play in intercity rail transport,"
said Richard Harnish executive director of the Midwest High Speed
Rail Association. "Nearly all intercity passenger rail routes
cross state boundaries. The federal government must coordinate and
fund the basic system."
Mineta's announcement coincided with the release of the Texas Transportation
Institute's annual study on traffic congestion. The study outlines
the nation's inability to keep pace with increasing travel demands.
High quality rail service can add transportation capacity quickly
and relatively inexpensively while providing a very comfortable
and productive travel option.
"There is a growing list of surveys conducted in Ohio, New
York and other states that clearly demonstrate that Americans want
and are willing to pay fo r high-quality train service," Harnish
said.
A recent poll conducted by the Wisconsin Association of Railroad
Passengers recently demonstrated that Wisconsin residents want a
way to avoid congestion on their intercity trips. The poll, which
was conducted this past Spring, showed that 77 per cent statewide
residents favored a nationwide train network with increased routes,
frequencies and shorter travel times, with only 15.8 percent opposed.
Harnish, who made his comments after arriving from Washington,
DC by train, added, "It is unfortunate that the administration
has failed to make better, faster, more frequent trains a priority.
Clearly they are behind the rest of the country on this issue."
Nine Midwestern states have proposed a network of high-quality
trains service linking over 200 cities and airports in the Midwest.
Planning and environmental review work for the core routes has already
been completed.
"The states have an excellent plan. Key projects are ready
to go. All we are waiting for is the same kind of federal leadership
provided to other essential transportation projects," Harnish
said.
The Association and fourteen other rail advocacy groups are looking
to the federal government to accomplish three things in order to
secure the future of intercity passenger rail:
1. Provide enough immediate funding to avoid train discontinuance.
2. Substantially increase federal rail funding.
3. Define one body or agency solely responsible for coordinating
and setting the policies and functions of a national passenger rail
system.
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is a member supported non-profit
educational organization promoting the development of faster, more
frequent train service connecting over 200 Midwestern cities and
airports. Our nearly 600 members include business leaders, mayors
and individuals, all of whom recognize the travel and economic development
benefits of an expanded rail network.
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