REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL
NEWS CONFERENCE
BOSTON, MA

MARCH 23, 2005
10:30 AM

Thank you, Governor.

Our meeting this morning was quite productive. Governor Romney and I agreed that Amtrak urgently needs reform. It is dying, and if we continue down this current track, there is no hope for recovery.

We talked about the Bush Administration’s plans to reform Amtrak, and I explained how this fresh approach could bring long-needed improvements to the Northeast Corridor.

It is important to recognize that a primary reason why Amtrak is dying is its neglect of the Northeast Corridor – its single most valuable asset and single most lucrative market.

The Department of Transportation’s Inspector General, Ken Mead, has warned about Amtrak’s neglect of the Northeast Corridor on many occasions. He has raised concerns about Amtrak’s failure to maintain vital pieces of the corridor – including the Thames River Bridge in Connecticut, switches in New Jersey, and the Hudson River tunnels.

This neglect has left Amtrak unable to take full advantage of the capacity that it has along the Northeast Corridor. And as a result, the burden falls on highways like I-95 and airports like Boston’s Logan.

We have a different vision – a vision where the Northeast Corridor is a world-class example of modern passenger rail travel; a vision where travel by train from Boston to Washington, D.C., is comfortable, efficient, and reliable; and a vision where competition and a new federal-state partnership are building a stronger rail network and attracting new riders in thriving markets across the country.

That vision is at the core of our Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act, which I will submit when the Congress reconvenes during the week of April 4th.

Our plan will breathe new life into passenger rail by leveling the playing field, providing healthy competition for better rail service, rebuilding the Northeast Corridor, and creating a federal-state partnership for investing in improved passenger rail service.

We accomplish this by transferring the tracks and stations owned by Amtrak today to state and local control. Commuter trains constitute the majority of traffic on Amtrak’s tracks, so it just makes sense to put state and local officials in charge of the tracks and stations that are so vital to their economies.

Massachusetts has shown us that this approach works. The Commonwealth owns the tracks and stations on the Northeast Corridor, and they have operated them successfully.

Massachusetts also provides us with an example of how competition can revitalize and reenergize rail service. Three years ago, the Commonwealth shopped around for its commuter train service. A private company won that competition, and despite predictions of doom and gloom, the T’s commuter trains have been a reliable and profitable system ever since.

Amtrak may in fact be America’s last monopoly. Today, if the Commonwealth of Massachusetts wanted a better deal on Boston-to-Springfield trains, it could only choose from Amtrak or… Amtrak.

Our plan will instead allow states to choose who runs their intercity trains. Amtrak will compete with private companies and public operators to run routes. And this healthy competition will give Amtrak a reason to run the trains on time, to keep them clean, and to provide better service.

I reassured Governor Romney that, under our plan, the Department of Transportation will continue to invest in intercity passenger rail. But instead of handing the taxpayers’ money to a company in Washington, D.C., we will partner with states so that investments are made in repairing, rebuilding, and improving the Nation’s networks of tracks, tunnels, bridges, and stations.

The Northeast Corridor is a unique case, because the network itself belongs to Amtrak. And as I noted, it has been sorely neglected. So our plan would have the Department of Transportation assume responsibility for the Northeast Corridor while we bring this once great network back into a state of good repair.

This is a big task, one that will take years to complete. But President Bush understands how vital the Northeast Corridor is, and we are committed to doing what it takes to get these tracks back into shape.

Once that process is completed, we will transfer the Northeast Corridor infrastructure to local control. Now, local control does not mean that the federal government will stop investing in our passenger rail system. On the contrary, under our plan, states around the country will be eligible for federal matching grants to improve rail systems.

Washington state, North Carolina, and my own home state of California already have been making substantial investments on their own to upgrade tracks and improve service. Under our plan, for the first time, they will be eligible for federal matching grants.

These capital grants are the key to revitalizing passenger rail travel in America. When the Nation’s tracks are maintained, when they can handle state-of-the-art passenger train service, when service is reliable, then ridership will increase, making trains more popular and more profitable.

And more profitable and more popular rail service means that states will have to pay less, or nothing at all, to run these railroads.

In turn, states will have more money to invest in new train service, or other vital transportation projects.

Ultimately, our plan is about saving Amtrak, rebuilding the Northeast Corridor, and creating, for the first time, a meaningful federal-state partnership for passenger rail travel.

Governor Romney understands that we must find a solution – this year – to a passenger rail system that has so clearly failed the Northeast Corridor and failed America. And I told him that I am prepared to work with him, and with the Congress, to put passenger rail service in America back on track.

Before I turn the floor back over to Governor Romney, I want to touch on one other area that we discussed, and that is the Central Artery Project.

It is clear to me that the Governor takes very seriously the issues of accountability and safety relating to this project. He expressed his frustration at not having any control over the operations at the Turnpike Authority.

What I told the Governor we would do – what it is our responsibility to do – is to work with all parties to ensure that the tunnels are safe for the citizens of Massachusetts.

Recently, I asked the Federal Highway Administration to conduct an independent engineering assessment of the water leaks in the I-93 tunnels. That study will be completed very soon, and I will make sure that both the Governor and the Turnpike Authority see that report and that the Governor is personally briefed on its findings.

With that, Governor Romney has a few more words, and then we would be happy to take your questions.