AAR, APTA commend latest version of bipartisan infrastructure package

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is praising the bipartisan group of U.S. senators that worked with President Biden's administration to reach a comprehensive infrastructure package, the text of which was unveiled yesterday.

The deal includes a full surface transportation reauthorization and makes historic investments in modernizing the nation’s water infrastructure, transit, highway, bridges and roads, AAR officials said in a prepared statement.

"This forward-looking legislation will make long-overdue investments in modernizing the nation's public infrastructure, improving safety and supporting economic growth well into the future," said AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Jefferies.

The association and its members "encourage the Senate to maintain this consensus product, reject any efforts to include divisive policy measures, and expeditiously move the legislation forward for swift consideration in the House," he added.

Meanwhile, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) also commended the bipartisan efforts to advance the infrastructure package, which includes  $107 billion for public transit and $102 billion for commuter rail, Amtrak and other high-performance rail.

The package also offers opportunities for multimodal investments that include transit and passenger rail, APTA officials said in a prepared statement.

The infrastructure bill includes $66 billion in new funding for rail to address Amtrak’s maintenance backlog and upgrade the Northeast Corridor. It also proposes several changes to Amtrak's legal mission, The New York Times reported yesterday.

The bill would change Amtrak's goal to "meet the intercity passenger rail needs of the United States" rather than achieving "a performance level sufficient to justify expending public money." It would also add language that prioritizes service in rural areas in addition to urban ones, the paper reported.

"That is a really significant change because implicit in that is that we’re not trying to make Amtrak into a profit-making venture," said Jim Mathews, the chief executive of the Rail Passengers Association, in the NYTimes report. "We’re using it to create services that are needed by the taxpayers of the country."

According to the Southern Rail Commission (SRC), which has been working to restore Amtrak service along the Gulf Coast, the legislation would also:
• allocate $1.5 billion per year for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grants program with a 50% match required;
• provide $15 million for the U.S. Department of Transportation to analyze the restoration of long-distance trains that have been terminated by Amtrak;
• boost funding levels for rail grant programs such as Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program ($1 billion per year), and the Restoration and Enhancement Program ($50 million per year);
• make the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program more financially useful to eligible entities; and
• allocate $500 million per year for rail grade-crossing removals.