WASHINGTON – Representative John Mica, chairman of the House transportation committee, said he’s dropping his effort to remove the Washington-to-Boston corridor from Amtrak’s control and wants the U.S. passenger-rail provider to be a “full partner” on high-speed service.
“We can put the Northeast Corridor on a high-speed track to approval,” Mica, a Florida Republican, said today at the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association conference in New York. Mica said he is willing to work on the issue with both Amtrak President Joseph Boardman and Democrats on his own committee.
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Mica had proposed placing the 457-mile route under U.S. government control and requiring competitive bidding to build tracks and run trains as fast as 220 miles per hour between Washington and Boston.
“Amtrak appreciates Chairman Mica’s recognition of Amtrak’s critical role in the Northeast Corridor and looks forward to working with him and other congressional leaders to advance the development of high speed rail in the Northeast,” Clifford Cole, an Amtrak spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement.
Mica said he still thinks Amtrak’s 30-year, $117 billion plan for developing the faster service is too expensive and would take too long to complete. Private investors and companies could bring faster trains to the corridor in 10 years for one- third the amount Amtrak has outlined, he has said.
Obama Rail Program
Mica has criticized President Barack Obama’s high-speed and intercity passenger rail program since its inception in 2009 for financing projects nationwide instead of focusing on the Washington-to-Boston corridor. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have received money from the initiative.
“The focus, as long as I’m chairman and breathing, will be to get high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor,” Mica said at a press conference following his remarks to conference attendees. He said will collaborate with Democrats to include high-speed rail provisions that focus on the corridor in the surface transportation bill his committee is writing.
The law, which funds road, bridge and mass-transit projects, has worked on extentions since its authorization expired September 30, 2009. The current continuation expires March 31.
U.S. Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, both New York Democrats, said at the news conference that they support Mica’s commitment to making the Northeast Corridor the government’s top high-speed rail priority.
‘We Can’t Wait’
New York state Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, endorsed Mica’s efforts to speed up Amtrak’s plan for implementing 220 mph service between Washington and Boston.
“We can’t wait 30 years. We can’t wait 15 years. This has to happen now,” Smith, who serves as co-chairman of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ high-speed rail committee, said at the news conference. The Washington-based organization advocates in Congress for the interests of state governments.
Mica also said he plans to hold a hearing on the high-speed and intercity rail program’s progress in the first week of December. Congress has appropriated $10.1 billion to the program since 2009.
The governors of Florida, Mica’s home state, as well as Ohio and Wiconsin, rejected their grant money, citing concern that their governments would have to cover the costs if the projects went over budget. Should that happen again, Mica said he would try to redirect the funds to the Northeast Corridor.
“If money comes back from California or any other project, it needs to go to here,” to the Northeast Corridor, Mica said.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority on Nov. 1 more than doubled its estimate for the cost of constructing an 800- mile high-speed rail line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles to $98.5 billion from $43 billion.
