Efforts to encourage increased private sector involvement and investment in intercity passenger rail service is a welcome development, but “private sector involvement is not the silver bullet that ensures success,” said Amtrak Vice President for Policy and Development Stephen Gardner in written testimony submitted to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials.
He explained that “increased private sector involvement is not a substitute for adequate, consistent and assured federal funding.” To the contrary, “federal funding for intercity passenger rail service is the only way to attract – and maintain – private sector participation and financing.”
“Amtrak is not afraid of competing to operate high speed and intercity passenger rail services,” he said. However, “other companies that wish to operate passenger rail service must be subject to all of the laws and regulations that apply to Amtrak” including labor, liability and insurance requirements.
Mr. Gardner noted that since the Northeast Corridor shifted from private sector to Amtrak ownership in 1976 America’s Railroadsm has electrified the entire route, significantly increased the number of Amtrak trains operated, accommodated even larger increases in commuter train operations, and increased maximum speeds from 90 mph to 150 mph between New Haven and Boston and from 110 mph to 135 mph between New York and Washington.
He added that the reason why the Northeast Corridor has not yet achieved the speeds or levels of service realized in other countries is because “the United States has lagged far behind all of those countries when it comes to investments in intercity and high-speed passenger rail.”
