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All Aboard Ohio�Cleveland Meeting

April 9, 2022

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Agenda

  • Amtrak service suspensions
  • Amtrak CEO Stephen J. Gardner
  • Gulf Coast service expansion
  • FY 2023 Budget Request
  • State Sponsored programs
    • Tennessee
    • Lackawanna Cut-off
    • Southeast Corridor
  • General discussion

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Amtrak Service Suspensions

  • Lake Shore Limited operates Thursday though Monday (no Tuesday or Wednesday service)
  • Capitol Limited operates Sunday through Thursday (no Friday or Saturday service)

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�Stephen J. Gardner�Amtrak CEO

  • Joined Amtrak in 2009
    • Manage State Supported service partnerships
    • Increase capacity on Acela
    • Improve Northeast Corridor infrastructure;
    • Formulate policies to execute the company’s strategic plan;
    • Guide general development and planning activities.
  • Former staffer for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and several Senate and House of Representative offices on transportation matters.
  • Guilford Rail System
    • Maine Central Railroad in Maine and Massachusetts
    • Buckingham Branch Railroad in Virginia.
  • Bachelor of Arts; Hampshire College in Amherst

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Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Service Restoration

  • Sunset Limited truncated at New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
  • Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission desire service to Mobile
  • CSX and NS fighting tooth and nail to prevent service restoration
  • USDOT demands STB grant Amtrak rights to operate
  • CSX writes shippers asking them to express concerns about freight
  • STB hearings were held on Feb. 15
  • CSX requested a continuance (postponement) of the evidentiary hearing originally scheduled to begin March 9 to April 5, 2022.

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President’s FY 2023 Budget Request

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Rail Passenger Association Poll

  • 78% of Americans support passenger rail investment, including 95% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans
  • 60% of those surveyed would have supported spending $100 billion for passenger rail in the infrastructure plan – one-third more than the $66 billion guaranteed in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. And nearly half – 42% -- would have gone even higher!
  • 67% of those surveyed think there should be a “National” railroad plan.
  • 66% of Americans also think there should be a National High Speed Rail plan.
  • 64% of Americans support the idea of using tax dollars to pay for upkeep on tracks and trainsets – roughly similar to the number of Americans who support using Federal dollars to fund the U.S. air traffic control system, and much higher than the 47% who think Federal dollars should be used to maintain airports.
  • 27% think Amtrak should be expected to make a profit for the government; 61% think it should not.

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Tennessee

A bill that calls for studying the creation of a passenger rail network across Tennessee passed the State Senate on March 17th. Senate Bill 2343 was sponsored by Ken Yager (R-Kingston) and the companion bill (HB2380) was sponsored by Representative Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis).

Image Credit: By Daniel Lobo - Flickr: Nashville, TN https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30050956

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Lackawanna Cutoff� Scranton - New York City

  • NJ Transit must fix a necessary railway culvert that Andover Township has offered to purchase the land to access.
  • NJ Transit must move forward without delay and award a bid for the historic Roseville Tunnel restoration
  • NJ Transit and Amtrak must complete Phase I of the project connecting Port Morris Junction to Andover, allowing trains to run through to New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.)

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All Aboard Ohio�

  • Advocacy: Voice support for Amtrak's expansion plans emphasizing the need for ORDC/ODOT to work with Amtrak and local communities in partnership.
  • Contact:
    • Governor Mike DeWine
    • State legislators
    • ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks, Ph.D.
    • Mayors of cities served by the trains
  • Federal/State Partnership program will require local matching funds of up to 50 percent.