The House Committee on Transportation approved, by a voice vote, a surface transportation bill extending highway and transit funding at current levels for six years. Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) told reporters he believes a bill could come to floor of the full House “possibly next week or after.”

While the bill did receive some bipartisan support, many pro-infrastructure Members of Congress were clearly disappointed by the numbers, which freeze in place current funding levels (with a small boost to offset inflation). It was a case of damning with faint praise, as committee members pointed to the fact that this was the first surface transportation bill in over a decade that provided six years of predictability. This is certainly an improvement from the perspective of states, which have been struggling to plan infrastructure investments around 34 short-term transportation extensions passed by Congress. Members from both sides of the aisle blamed the failing Highway Trust Fund—the victim of Americans choosing to drive less combined with more fuel-efficient cars—saying it couldn’t even support existing levels of investment; the trust fund will need an additional infusion of general fund subsidies in the summer.

Passengers Rally for Growth

Hundreds of NARP Members reached out to their representatives and asked for additional investment in transit, part of NARP’s campaign for A Connected America. Against difficult odds, that effort paid dividends when Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) offered an amendment to increase funding by $118 billion, matching levels seen in the Obama Administration’s transportation fund (Rep. Garamendi also submitted an amendment to pay for the increased investment through corporate tax reform, which was rejected by Chairman Shuster for violating parliamentary rules).

Unfortunately, that amendment was voted down by a vote of 42 – 11. Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR) did applaud Rep. Garamendi’s intentions, and informed his colleague that he had successfully included a provision that would respond to new revenue sources by increasing transportation investment within the bill’s existing structure. He then pledged to keep working to secure additional funds—pointing to proposals such as corporate tax reform, an export tax for domestically produced oil shipped to foreign markets, and a per-barrel tax on oil producers.

In a silver lining for passengers, Chairman Shuster did indicate that a three-year extension of the Positive Train Control deadline will come to the House floor next week as a standalone bill. That should provide some measure of comfort to both freight and passenger rail customers, who are starting to receive notices from railroads that unless Congress acts to extend the deadline, rail service will be discontinued on January 1 (or even sooner for chemical shippers).

Timeline Complicated by Republican Leadership Struggles

The current surface transportation law expires October 31. Given the tight timeline, Congress will need to pass a short term extension to allow the House to pass it’s proposal and reconcile it with the—much better for passengers—Senate DRIVE Act.

The scramble to find a replacement for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has complicated the timeline. The Republican caucus has solidified behind Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who currently chairs Ways & Means, the committee that would be tasked with finding the funding to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. If Ryan becomes Speaker, a leadership vacuum would slow down development of a transportation funding bill.

If that happens, House leadership will try and move the PTC extension as a standalone bill sooner rather than later.

“I believe we need to move that next week because the railroads have already said by the end of the month, if we don’t do something, they’re going to … stop shipments of product and also passenger rail,” said Rep. Shuster.

Impatient with a lack of progress, 19 Democratic governors came together to urge House and Senate leaders to pass a long-term transportation funding bill, reports The Hill.

"Investments in transportation infrastructure are critical to supporting our communities and fostering long-term economic growth," the governors wrote in a letter released by the Democratic Governors Association. "Conversely, failure to make these critical investments acts as a drag on the economy and threatens the safety and well-being of the citizens we all serve. States need long-term certainty in order to make these key investments in significant transportation projects. That kind of certainty requires a robust and long-term federal commitment. Short-run, patchwork solutions by Congress will not do."

Norfolk Southern has told customers it will stop shipping key chemicals used in water treatment and agriculture on December 1 ahead of the December 31, 2015, deadline to install PTC technology, reports McClatchy D.C. It also notified Amtrak and two commuter rail systems -- Virginia Railway Express and Chicago’s Metra -- that it will not be able to support their operations on the company’s tracks after Dec. 31.

NARP has been pressing for a resolution to the PTC deadline, so it’s gratifying to see state governors, along with key leaders in Congress, continuing the fight to get a transportation bill passed. Recommendations include:

• A new PTC deadline of no later than 2018:

• Commitment to pass rail safety provisions;

• Support for dedicated, long-term funding for rail; and

• Senate confirmation of leadership positions at DOT.

We thank members who have already contacted their congressional delegations urging them to pass the DRIVE Act. But your support is still needed, so click here to send a message before the December 31, 2015, PTC deadline.

As negotiations continue on the proposed $20 billion Gateway Project to build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River, the federal government is deciding whether it will trust the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to handle the effort, reports Bloomberg Politics. The Port has been plagued by a 2013 traffic-jam scandal that led to top-level resignations and investigations, it’s two years behind on raising the Bayonne Bridge, and bills to overhaul its management structure have stalled.

“Before we spend $30 billion on major infrastructure -- that’s a bus terminal plus Gateway -- we damn well ought to make sure there’s transparency and accountability in this organization,” said New Jersey state Senator Bob Gordon (D), vice chairman of the Transportation Committee.

NARP has been pushing for this project to move forward for years. In our document, “The United States of Underinvestment,” NARP highlight the $52 billion needed just to reach a state of good repair along the Northeast Corridor. We support the Gateway Project, which would create new capacity that will allow the doubling of passenger trains running under the Hudson River.

Could momentum be building to restore passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast? On December 4, the Southern Rail Commission will unveil findings of an Amtrak study focusing on reviving passenger rail that went away 10 years ago after Hurricane Katrina, reports AL.com. In another good sign, the commission named Greg White, a firm proponent of coastal passenger service, as its chairman for the next two years. Moreover, coastal rail supporters are pressing for Congress to take up the issue.

“Since 2005, NARP has consistently called for restoration of service between New Orleans and Orlando. Our members have made the case for its renewal to their state and local governments, and we have made the case here in Washington,” said NARP President and CEO Jim Mathews at a June rail event in Mississippi. Seven of the 12 communities between New Orleans and Jacksonville, Florida, whose service was suspended post-Katrina, have no air service, and four have no intercity bus service, leaving those four areas without any public transportation option. “Reconnecting these areas to the rest of the economy should produce a net benefit beyond direct investment in rail service by easing the Gulf Coast’s isolation from access to other markets for travel and tourism revenue,” said Mathews.

The fight has been long and hard to save the portion of the Southwest Chief route that crosses Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. A central piece of our argument has been that investing in is corridor will produce significant economic returns for the served communities -- an argument that was bolstered by this week's announcement that EVRAZ Steel will provide the rail for the first leg of Amtrak's track improvements, reports the Pueblo Chieftain. The company will be paid $8.25 million, which will cover 11,000 tons of rail between Las Animas and Pierceville, Kansas. In 2014, a $12.5 million TIGER was awarded to upgrade about 50 miles of track in western Kansas and Eastern Colorado, and the outcome for a similar grant should be known in the next few weeks. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad said it would not maintain the track at levels required for passenger service past January 2016.

NARP has worked closely with ColoRail to save the Southwest Chief’s present route through Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. The Chief serves many rural communities that have no other intercity passenger transportation options, and loss of the present route would greatly harm them.

A new study commissioned by Texas Central Partners (TCP) has found that the proposed bullet train between Dallas and Houston could pump more than $36 billion into the state economy over the next 25 years, including more than $2.5 billion in local and state taxes, reports the Texas Tribune. Dallas and Houston would likely see the most private development from the bullet train, with the study predicting a station in each city will draw millions of dollars in private development, including high-rise office buildings, retail development and thousands of new residential units.

The train -- which will cost $10 billion -- will take less than 90 minutes to travel the 240 miles between Dallas and Houston. TCP expects service to begin in 2021.

An effort to improve rail service in central Connecticut is under way as construction has begun on the new Hartford Line, reports WNPR. Commuters on the system’s rail lines have been plagued with delays as bickering occurred on funding the project. Amtrak and the state Department of Transportation hope to have passengers on trains by the end of 2016.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has responded to criticism a decision to kill the Red Line light rail project by issuing a $135 million proposal to develop 12 color-coded bus lines that will connect to existing rail hubs with high-frequency bus service. Baltimore leaders are not impressed with the plan, however.

"Simply window dressing, a bus system is not a mass transportation solution," said Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. "They should have been doing upgrades as part of their job anyway. The plan will do nothing to increase choice ridership on mass transit, and it does nothing to promote economic development."

"[Governor Hogan's BaltimoreLink bus proposal] fails to deliver the regional East-West economic development benefits that Baltimore's business leaders, elected officials and residents had been counting on through the Red Line," added Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "I am still left without an answer to what happened to the $736 million in state transportation funding that Governor Hogan took away from the region and redistributed to highway projects across the state."

It will be a good spring for passengers in the western U.S., with two transit rail agencies in Colorado and California announcing Spring 2016 start dates for two major rail expansion projects.

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) announced this week that the University of Colorado A Line will begin service on April 22, 2016 between Denver Union Station and Denver International Airport.

In the same week, Los Angeles' Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a March 5 target for the start of operations on an 11.5-mile extension to the city's Gold Line, which connects Pasadena and Azusa.

The Oregon Department of Transportation's Rail Division announced that schedule changes to the Oregon-segment of the Amtrak Cascades will go into effect this weekend, part of an effort to make the service more appealing to passengers.

"Effective October 24, 2015, the morning 500 train from Eugene will leave later on weekends; weekday schedules will remain the same," stated the Amtrak Cascades website. "In the meantime, watch AmtrakCascades.com for specific scheduling changes and money saving special fares this fall."

The later departure times are targed at weekend leisure travelers.

What’s going on with trains and public transportation in your community? Have you written an op-ed or a letter to the editor? Has your local newspaper or television station done a story on passenger rail service? NARP wants to know about it! Please send the link to our communications director, [email protected], so that it can be shared with the membership via the Hotline or as a story in the NARP newsletter.