WASHINGTON -- President Bush yesterday signed Amtrak legislation that could nearly double the national rail line's federal subsidy and lead to major track improvements along the busy Northeast Corridor.
After years of underfunding and continual financial struggle, the measure authored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) could be a turning point for the beleaguered rail line. In recent years, Amtrak has seen a steady increase in passenger traffic even as it lacked the resources to make needed improvements and faced calls for it to be dismantled and privatized.
"This is a victory for New Jersey travelers, businesses and communities. People are tired of sitting in traffic, paying high prices at the pump and waiting in long lines at airports," said Lautenberg. "New Jersey commuters depend on Am trak's Northeast Corridor every day, and this law will make sure our trains run more smoothly and reliably."
Overall, the bill authorizes $13 billion over five years for passenger rail -- more than $2.6 billion annu ally for Amtrak, intercity passenger rail and high-speed rail programs. The bill could nearly double Am trak's direct annual subsidy, which in recent years has been just over $1 billion.
The measure lays out the funding framework for five years, but will require separate yearly appro priation votes by Congress. The last time Congress had enough consensus to pass such an Amtrak authorization bill was in 1997, and it has gone the last six years with stopgap spending measures.
In addition to funding, the legislation requires a collaborative federal and state plan for bringing the Northeast Corridor to a "state of good repair" by 2018, and requires Amtrak stations to comply with disability accessibility standards.
The measure requires more rest for workers, and technology that can stop a train if it's headed for a collision. Such technology would have prevented the collision of a passenger train and a freight train in Los Angeles, the Federal Rail road Administration has said.
It also allows states to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines, and requires a federal study and regulation on use of cell phones and other devices that could be distractions in locomotive cabs.
The legislation has been a priority for the New Jersey Department of Transportation and NJ Transit. More than 100,000 weekday New Jersey commuters travel on trains that use Amtrak's Northeast Corri dor line.
Amtrak alone operates more than 100 trains on a daily basis in New Jersey, with more than 1.6 million people traveling on its trains in the state during the 2007 fiscal year.
Amtrak recently reported that it carried a record 28.7 million people nationally last year, with each of its routes seeing gains. The rail line has posted six years of ridership and revenue growth, benefiting from high gas and airline prices. The number of trips over the past year increased 11 percent over the 25.8 million taken in fiscal 2007.
In addition, total ticket revenue for the year that ended Sept. 30 reached $1.7 billion, a record for the 37-year-old government-owned corporation and a 14 percent increase over the $1.5 billion taken in the previous year.
