Amtrak and Northeast

CorridorOverview

Joe McHughGovernment Affairs and

Corporate Communications

2

The political context• The big challenge for all of us is still capital

adequacy• Stimulus helped, but…

– “One and done”– Became to some extent politicized

• Congress has not been able to deal with the two big issues that affect all transportation modes:– Funding levels– Allocation questions

• In the current environment, it’s hard to have a meaningful discussion

• We expect the political environment to be tougher next year – not easier

We need to make infrastructure issues a political imperative – without makingthem political

3

Potential Committee Changes

T&IFull Committee:• Ranking Member Nick Rahall

(D-WV) is in a tough race• Rep. Petri (R-WV) is retiring• Rep. Daines (R-MT) is running

for Senate

Railroad Subcommittee:• Rep. Capito (R-WV) is running

for Senate• Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) is

retiring• Rep. Coble (R-NC) is retiring

T-HUD Appropriations

• Chairman Latham (R-IA) is retiring

• Ranking Member Pastor (D-AZ) is retiring

• Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) is retiring

• We will be getting a new T-HUD Chairman and Ranking Member and losing an Amtrak-friendly Republican

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The Northeast Corridor

• 1 of out every 6 Americans

• 4 of the of the nation’s 10 largest metro areas

• $1 of every $5 in GDP• 2% of land area

80% of the region’s population lives within 25 miles of the NEC

New York

Philadelphia

Washington

Boston

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Update on the NEC

• Where we’re at today:– NEC OTP about 77.2%– Ridership and revenues up over

FY 13 levels– Work in progress on earliest stage

of Gateway Project• NEC Commission

– Ongoing 212 process– NEC Future project (EIS)– Cataloguing of NEC investment

needs

Annualized need of $2.6B/ year greatly exceeds available funding levels

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Weekday train density in New York and New

Jersey

Hudson River TunnelsPortal Bridge

Average of 450 trains per day on 2 tracks

Greatest train densities (train mile / track mile)in entire Amtrak system

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New York during the morning rush hour

More than a quarter of a million people enterNew York City from New Jersey during this period

George Washington

Bridge

7 lanes6.2%

LincolnTunnel

6 lanes42.5

%

Amtrak/NJT 2

tracks

17%PATH 4

tracks

22.2%

Holland Tunnel

4 lanes

,7.6%

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The Big Issue

• Two dominant issues:– OTP and capacity– Reliable funding

• Available funding alternatives help, but still fall short:– States– Private sector

The NEC is a classic Federal responsibility

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Amtrak Continuing Resolution History: 1988-

present

FY 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01

CR X   X X X X X   X   X X X X

No CR   X           X   X        

Days Late 83 0 52 36 28 6 27 0 46 0 27 21 9 23

FY 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13

Total/

Avg

CR X X X X X X X X X X X X 23

No CR                         3

Days Late 79 143 115 69 61 138 87 161 76 192 48 176 66

Amtrak has operated on a CR in 23 of the last 26 years,and was formally authorized in only 11 of the last 20 years

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The way ahead

• We need to look ahead about 2-3 year• The necessary changes and investments will only

happen if infrastructure is prioritized• There’s a bigger constituency for this than just

us:– “Patching” the trust fund has given other modes a taste

of the uncertainty Amtrak enjoys– We’ve earned a place at the table – and the concerns

we’ve always voiced are now general• We need integration of effort – a “commonwealth

of purpose” to make these changes

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Gridlock at a glance

Source: TransportationWeekly