EAST BRUNSWICK HOME NEWS TRIBUNE

President Bush should put his pen to legislation that would shore up rail travel throughout the Northeast and the whole nation, not simply by dint of more government dollars, but by opening up corridors to more private competition.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., was accurate in describing the $15 billion, five-year program as a "transformation" in passenger train and rail safety.

While the measure focuses on safety improvements in the wake of last month's deadly train accident in California, it also for the first time eases the way for creation of more privately operated high-speed routes in the Northeast and 10 other regions. Companies could bid for the right to construct new high-speed rail lines alongside the existing ones in the Northeast Corridor and other routes.

The prospect of inviting private enterprise aboard has the potential to more quickly and cost-effectively expand rail capacity at a time when demand for train travel is at an all-time high, thanks mostly to spiking fuel prices.

Lautenberg, a longtime champion of expanded mass transit, went so far as to predict: "This legislation is going to open the gateway for a new era of passenger rail. It's going to offer new opportunities for motorists facing higher gas prices."

He's on to something.

Studies show mass transit eases roadway traffic, reduces pollution and increases real estate values. Trains also are safer than cars. Despite the few high-profile accidents, trains are by any measure the most secure, clean and efficient means of regional travel.

The House and Senate have done their job. Now it's the president's turn.