THE
WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
_______________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2009
Vice President Biden, Railroad
Administrator, Members of Congress
Announce Funding for Amtrak in Recovery
Act
Washington,
DC –
Standing at Washington, DC’s Union Station, one of the
most traveled railway stations in the nation, Vice
President Joe Biden announced that Amtrak will receive
$1.3 billion in grant funding from the recently enacted
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to expand
passenger rail capacity. He was joined by Jo Strang,
Acting Federal Railroad Administrator, along with
several members of Congress, including: Senator
Arlen Specter (R-PA); Senator John Kerry (D-MA); Senator
John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-W.Va); Senator Bill
Nelson (D-FL); Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ); Senator
Ted Kaufman (D-DE); Congressman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.);
Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL); Congressman Elijah
Cummings (D-MD); Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA);
Congressman Christopher Carney (D-PA); and Congressman
Andre Carson (D-IN).
“Over 28 million passengers ride Amtrak each year.
That’s about 500,000 passengers a week – or 80,000 a
day,” said Vice President Biden. “For too long, we
haven’t made the investments we needed to make Amtrak as
safe, as reliable, as secure as it can be. That ends
now. The funds in the Recovery Act for Amtrak will help
create jobs and at the same time, repair and update
critical needs of our nation’s infrastructure.”
“This is the Obama Administration keeping
its promise to America,” said Secretary LaHood. “We are
investing in jobs that will allow Amtrak to add and
modernize cars and engines and upgrade its tracks. We
are getting transportation money to Americans quickly in
order to get the American economy going again.”
ARRA funding will
roughly double the size of Amtrak’s capital investment
program over a two-year period. It will be used to
upgrade railroad assets and infrastructure and for
capital projects that expand passenger rail capacity.
Among the improvement projects that will
be undertaken are replacement of a major drawbridge on
the Northeast Corridor (NEC), repairs to Amtrak
facilities nationwide, the repair and return to service
of nearly 70 stored and damaged passenger cars, and the
rehabilitation of major elements of the NEC
electrification system.
Repairs to passenger cars will be
performed at Amtrak’s facilities in Beech Grove,
Indiana, and Bear, Delaware, where Amtrak plans to hire
skilled workers laid off from jobs at recently shuttered
manufacturing facilities located nearby.
In addition to helping Amtrak achieve a
state of good repair for its critical infrastructure and
assets, the projects to be funded through the ARRA will
result in tangible benefits to Amtrak’s passengers,
including increased capacity (with fewer sold-out
trains), improved operational reliability, and increased
passenger comfort and accessibility at stations.
Refurbished rolling stock that is returned to service
may also be available for use on new State-supported
routes.
The Vice President also noted that
Amtrak’s hiring for ARRA projects represents a major
investment not just in infrastructure, but also in the
railroad’s employees. As a large portion of Amtrak’s
skilled workforce nears retirement age, workers hired
for ARRA projects will be trained and ready to step in
to a long-term role on the railroad.
The economic recovery funds will be
managed through a formal grant agreement between the
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak,
consistent with ARRA transparency and accountability
requirements, including those related to job creation,
assisting those areas most impacted by the recession,
making investments that increase economic efficiency and
provide long-term economic benefits. The grant
agreement will also ensure timely expenditure of the
funding within two years and ensure that Amtrak complies
with newly established financial, operational, and
customer service standards.
Click
here
for more information on the impact the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will have on passenger
railroads.
Examples of Amtrak Projects to be Funded
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA)
Replacement of the movable bridge over
the Niantic River on the Northeast Corridor in
Connecticut - $105 million.
In the largest single Amtrak project to be funded
through the Recovery Act, Amtrak will replace the
102-year-old drawbridge which carries the Northeast
Corridor over the Niantic River near East Lyme,
Connecticut. The replacement of this aging bridge has
been planned for over 20 years, but has been repeatedly
deferred due to a lack of capital funding for Amtrak.
Any further delay in replacing the bridge would result
in the imposition of significant speed restrictions over
the bridge (with resulting increases to passenger’s
travel times), and potentially a major disruption to
passenger rail service between New York and Boston were
the bridge’s moving machinery to fail in the open
position. Amtrak estimates that the bridge replacement
will result in 860 person-years of work for those
directly employed in the bridge construction.
Rehabilitating and returning to service
68 stored or damaged passenger cars - $82 million.
With $82 million in Recovery Act funding, Amtrak with
rehabilitate and return to service 68 passenger cars
that are have long been in storage due to damage and
lack of funding for necessary repairs. Once returned to
service, many of the cars (which include among them both
corridor and long-distance equipment types) will be used
to alleviate capacity constraints on heavily-traveled
trains, while others may be made available for new
State-supported Amtrak services. The cars will be
repaired at Amtrak’s maintenance of equipment facilities
in Beech Grove, Indiana and Bear, Delaware, both located
near recently closed manufacturing facilities in areas
that have been hard hit by the economic downturn.
Amtrak anticipates hiring 125 workers to work on this
project.
Rehabilitation of the Lamokin frequency
converters in Chester, Pennsylvania - $63 million.
Using $63 million in Recovery Act funding, Amtrak will
entirely rebuild three rotary frequency converters,
which form a key element of the power supply system for
the Northeast Corridor, located in Chester,
Pennsylvania. Known as the “Lamokin Converters,” they
were placed in service in the 1920's as part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad's electrification of its mainline
between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware (on what
has since become Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC)).
Since that time, the three 16 megawatt motor-generator
sets located at the site have been in continuous use to
convert commercial electric power, which operates at 60
Hertz alternating current, to the 25 Hertz alternating
current that powers Amtrak and commuter trains along the
NEC south of New York City.
After over 80 years of continuous use,
the Lamokin frequency converters are in dire need of
major rehabilitation to ensure their future
reliability. As demonstrated by the power outages that
crippled Amtrak and commuter rail service in the
Northeast on several occasions in 2006 (the causes of
which were traced to frequency converting equipment),
the reliable supply of electric power is essential to
the NEC remaining one of the county's most
energy-efficient examples of transportation
infrastructure. Through this project, the three rotary
converters will be entirely rebuilt with rewound motor
coils, new stator coils, and new collector rings,
allowing them to continue to serve passengers on the NEC
for generations to come. Amtrak estimates that the
project will result in 504 person-years of work for
those directly employed in the rehabilitation of the
frequency converters.
Repairs to Amtrak facilities nationwide -
$105 million.
In the most wide-reaching of Amtrak’s Recovery
Act-funded projects, dozens of aging Amtrak facilities
throughout the country will be the target of significant
repairs, such as roof replacements, plumbing repairs,
heating and air conditioning improvements. Throughout
the recent history of inadequate capital funding for
Amtrak, these projects, which include work on stations,
maintenance facilities, crew facilities, and warehouses,
have been repeatedly deferred due to more pressing
investment requirements. The additional capital funding
provided through the Recovery Act will allow these
projects (plans for many of which have been sitting on
the shelf for years) to move forward quickly. Amtrak
anticipates using local contractors throughout the
country to perform this work, resulting in an estimated
860 person-years of work.
Restoration of the Wilmington, Delaware
station - $21 million.
With $21 million in Recovery Act funding,
plus additional funding from the State of Delaware and
other sources, Amtrak will make restorations to
Wilmington, Delaware’s historic century-old Victorian
train station. The project will incorporate the
rebuilding and restoration of the interior of the
station buildings, improvements to make the buildings
entirely accessible for those with disabilities,
restoration of the building's terracotta façade, and the
replacement of the track and supporting infrastructure
which runs through the station. In addition to
increasing comfort and convenience for passengers using
Amtrak’s eleventh busiest station, the project includes
the construction of a third high-level platform, which
will significantly increase the capacity of the
station. Amtrak estimates that the project will result
in 168 person-years of work for those directly employed
in the restoration of the station.
Construction of a new station for the
Auto Train in Sanford, Florida - $10.5 million.
With $10.5 million in Recovery Act
funding, Amtrak will construct a new station at the
Auto-Train’s southern terminus in Sanford, Florida. The
Auto Train, one of Amtrak’s best performing
long-distance services, and one of the nation’s most
innovative forms of intermodal passenger transportation,
transports passenger together with their private
automobiles non-stop from Lorton, Virginia (15 miles
south of Washington, DC), to Central Florida. The new
station will replace temporary facilities that have been
in place since the destruction of much of the previous
station by the 2005 hurricanes, and will provide Auto
Train passengers with a more comfortable waiting area
and allow for faster, more efficient boarding
operations. Amtrak estimates that the project will
result in 84 person-years of work for those directly
employed in the construction of the new station.
Installation of Positive Train Control on
the Amtrak-owned Michigan Line (Porter, Indiana –
Kalamazoo, Michigan) and the south-end of the Northeast
Corridor (New York – Washington).
Amtrak will invest $60 million in Recovery Act funding
in installing Positive Train Control (PTC) on its
Porter, Indiana to Kalamazoo, Michigan line (used by
Chicago – Detroit trains) and on the south-end of the
Northeast Corridor (between New York and Washington).
PTC is an advanced signaling technology that can prevent
train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, train
incursions into roadway work zones, and movement over
switches improperly lined. The installation of PTC by
2015 on all routes used by intercity passenger trains is
mandated by the recently enacted Rail Safety Improvement
Act of 2008. The Recovery Act funding will allow for
the acceleration of the installation of PTC on lines
owned by Amtrak, and will result in an immediate safety
benefit, along with potential trip-time reductions where
the advanced signaling system will allow for increased
speeds.
John P. Tolman
Vice President and National Legislative
Representative
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Teamsters Rail Conference
25 Louisiana Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Office: (202) 624-8776
Cell: (216) 272-1246
Fax: (202) 624-3086
tolman@ble.org
www.bletdc.org
