Coscia said that when the new Congress convenes in January 2015, it should consider approving the creation of a Transportation Trust Fund that recognizes the importance of intercity passenger rail in the nation’s transportation landscape, along with other modes of transportation. He noted that the U.S. transportation system “is at a crossroads, as the investments that brought our nation into modernity in the past century reach the ends of their useful lives. A multi-year funding mechanism would enable Amtrak to build major capital projects that would enable faster, more reliable rail travel between city pairs, contributing significantly to the nation’s economic growth.”
“Amtrak’s growth over the past ten years, especially on intercity corridors between 100 and 500 miles, hints at the tremendous opportunity of developing a robust, nationwide passenger rail system focused on city pairs,” Coscia said. “In such corridors throughout the globe, high-speed and higher-speed trains are not only an essential mode of transportation, but also a significant driver of local development and economic growth. America should fully embrace investments in passenger rail as a tool to strengthen our economy and improve the quality of our lives.
“Despite the extraordinary growth in passenger rail demand in recent years, there is an unmet demand for high-quality rail service, and the Federal government has declined to establish a dedicated, long-term funding mechanism for rail comparable to the funding programs that have supported other modes of transportation. The key is capital investment—not just to sustain the legacy transportation systems that helped deliver our nation’s economic success during the 20th century, but those that will help us to sustain America’s transportation needs in the decades ahead,” he said.