Statement of the Honorable Corrine Brown, ChairwomanSubcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous MaterialsFloor action on the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act and the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act

(Washington, DC) -  I want to thank Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member’s Mica and Shuster for their hard work on this legislation.   This is truly a monumental day for America and I’m so pleased to be a part of it. 

If you’re worried about energy prices and the economy, this bill is a one-two punch.  Passenger and freight rail are energy efficient, provide good jobs that can’t be shipped overseas, and transport thousands of people and tons of cargo each day in a safe and efficient manner.  All this without drilling off the coast.

Let me repeat that.  If your worried about $4 and $5 dollar gas prices, passenger and freight rail are energy efficient, provide good jobs that can’t be shipped overseas, and transport thousands of people and tons of cargo each day in a safe and efficient manner.

Rising gas prices along with increased highway and airport congestion have made intercity passenger rail more popular and necessary than ever.   In fiscal year 2007, Amtrak carried more than 25.8 million passengers, the fifth straight fiscal year of record ridership.  Like its ridership gains, Amtrak’s financial performance has improved as well, posting approximately 1.5 billion in ticket revenue.

More than just a convenient way to travel, Amtrak is a “greener” mode of transportation.  One full passenger train can take 250-350 cars off the roads.  Rail travel is more energy efficient, and uses less fuel, than cars or airplanes.   According to U.S. Department of Energy data, Amtrak is 17 percent more efficient than domestic airline travel and 21 percent more efficient than auto travel. 

Unfortunately, for many years, Amtrak has been given just enough money each year to limp along, never getting the necessary funding to make serious improvements to the system. The High Voltage Electrical System is over 70 years old, 65% of the bridges were built before 1920, and several tunnels that trains travel through every day were built in the 1800’s. 

In 2005, Amtrak conducted a comprehensive review of its capital needs. The review determined that Amtrak should invest $4.2 billion to bring their infrastructure to a state of good repair.  Today, with the backlog of major bridge and tunnel work, the necessary investment capital has approached an estimated $6 billion.

As other countries continue to invest tens of billions of dollars each year to improve their passenger rail systems, we are falling further behind by deferring these much needed improvements to our system.  We must find a way to speed up Amtrak’s backlog of repair work and bring its assets to a State of Good Repair.  Then Amtrak can concentrate on increasing capacity, increasing speed, developing new facilities, and planning for the future.

These major infrastructure improvements are also necessary to improve the safety and security of the system and its passengers and workers.  Amtrak has, and will continue, to play a critical role in evacuation and transporting citizens during national emergencies.  Amtrak was the only mode of transportation out of New York following 9-11 and transported citizens and delivered vital supplies following Hurricane Katrina.  Unfortunately, it is also a prime target for those who wish us harm, and we must provide resources to make the system less vulnerable.

This legislation also includes vital railroad safety legislation that will improve the efficiency of our freight rail system, and most importantly will help save the lives of rail employees and the people in the communities they serve.

Freight railroads are also energy efficient and have made major gains in fuel efficiency through training and improved locomotive technology.   A single intermodal train can take up to 280 trucks off our highways.  Today, one gallon of diesel fuel can move a ton of freight an average of 414 miles, a 76 percent improvement since 1980. 

Since the beginning of the 110th Congress, the Railroad Subcommittee has held five hearings on rail safety examining fatigue, human factors in rail accidents, and current federal safety programs.  In addition to the Subcommittee’s hearings, we met with all our stakeholders, including labor, the railroads, government agencies, and other interested parties in crafting this legislation.

The bill seeks to help prevent accidents caused by human factors, which account for about 40 percent of all rail accidents, by strengthening the hours-of-service laws, decreasing limbo time, increasing worker training and qualification, and implementing advanced safety technologies.

It requires the Secretary of Transportation to develop a long-term strategy for improving railroad safety, and improves safety at grade crossings by improving visibility and making it easier to report problems.

Further this legislation requires both passenger and freight railroads to implement the type a positive train control system which could have prevented the recent accident in Los Angeles and requires the type of onboard breathing apparatus that may have saved Engineer Chris Seeling (See-Ling) in the 2005 Graniteville accident. 

Fifty years ago, President Eisenhower created the National Highway System, which drastically changed the way we travel in this country.  Today we are doing the same thing with passenger rail, and making the level of investment necessary for it to become even more successful in the future.

The American people deserve the best rail system in the world, and I believe that these two bills will go a long way in raising the US to its rightful place as a world leader in both passenger and freight rail.  We used to be the number one. Now ere the caboose, and they don’t even have cabooses anymore.

I encourage all my colleagues to support this important legislation.   You don't want to go back to your district and tell your constituents that you voted against energy efficient  transportation and vital railroad safety. Vote Yes, and we’ll move our nation’s rail system into the 21st century.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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