Mc Cain on Amtrak and Transit and RAIL

[Ocklawaha]

MCCAIN OBJECTS TO $4 BILLION IN PORKBARREL PROJECTS IN FY'02 TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS BILL, from McCain Website:
December 4, 2001
(Note: The Statement of Managers includes an identical list that earmarks funds appropriated for new fixed guideway systems in the same amounts and to the same projects.)

Alaska or Hawaii ferry projects 10,296,000
Light rail project Albuquerque, New Mexico 1,000,000
North line extension project Atlanta, Georgia 25,000,000
Central light rail transit double track project Baltimore, Maryland 13,000,000
Rail transit project Baltimore, Maryland 1,500,000
Transit corridor project Birmingham, Alabama 2,000,000
South Boston Piers transit way project Boston, Massachusetts 10,631,245
South corridor light rail transit project Charlotte, North Carolina 7,000,000
Douglas branch reconstruction projects Chicago, Illinois 32,750,000
METRA commuter rail and line extension projects Chicago, Illinois 55,000,000
Ravenswood reconstruction project Chicago, Illinois 3,000,000
Euclid corridor transportation project Cleveland, Ohio 6,000,000
North Central light rail transit extension project Dallas, Texas 70,000,000
Southeast corridor light rail transit project Denver, Colorado 55,000,000
Southwest corridor light rail transit project Denver, Colorado 192,492
DSM bus feasibility project Des Moines, Iowa 150,000
Light rail feasibility project Dubuque, Iowa 200,000
Dulles corridor bus rapid transit project, Virginia 25,000,000
Tri-County commuter rail upgrades project Fort Lauderdale, Florida 27,000,000
Trinity railway express project Fort Worth, Texas 2,000,000
ITP metro area, major corridor project Grand rapids, Michigan 750,000
Bus rapid transit project Honolulu, Hawaii 12,000,000
Metro advanced transit project Houston, Texas 10,000,000
Metrolink light rail feasibility project, Iowa 300,000
I-35 commuter rail project Johnson County, Kansas Kansas City, Missouri 1,500,000
Commuter rail extension project Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2,000,000
Metrorail extension project Largo, Maryland 55,000,000
River rail project Little Rock, Arkansas 2,000,000
Long Island Rail Road East Side access project, New York 14,744,420
North Hollywood extension project Los Angeles, California 9,289,557
East Side corridor light rail transit project Los Angeles, California 7,500,000
Commuter rail extension project Lowell, MA and Nashua, NH 3,000,000
MARC commuter rail improvements projects Maryland 12,000,000
Medical center rail extension project Memphis, Tennessee 19,170,000
South Miami-Dade busway extension project Miami, Florida 5,000,000
Northstar corridor commuter rail project Minneapolis-Rice, Minnesota 10,000,000
Hiawatha corridor light rail transit project Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota 50,000,000
East corridor commuter rail project Nashville, Tennessee 4,000,000
New Jersey Hudson-Bergen light rail transit project, New Jersey 141,000,000
Canal Street car line project New Orleans, Louisiana 15,000,000
Desire corridor streetcar project New Orleans, Louisiana 1,200,000
Second Avenue subway project New York, New York 2,000,000
Rail link project Newark-Elizabeth, New Jersey 20,000,000
Downtown corridor project Northeast Indianapolis, Indiana 2,500,000
South Shore commuter rail project Indiana 2,500,000
Light rail extension project Oceanside-Escondido, California 6,500,000
Central Ohio North corridor rail (COTA) project, Ohio 500,000
Commuter rail and maintenance facility project Pawtucket-TF Green, Rhode Island 5,000,000
Schuylkill Valley metro project Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 9,000,000
Central Phoenix/East Valley corridor project Phoenix, Arizona 10,000,000
North Shore connector light rail transit project Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 8,000,000
Stage II light rail transit reconstruction project Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 18,000,000
Interstate MAX light rail transit extension project Portland, Oregon 64,000,000
RTA Sounder commuter rail project Puget Sound, Washington 20,000,000
Triangle transit project Raleigh, North Carolina 9,000,000
Light rail transit extension project Sacramento, California 328,000
CBD to University light rail transit project Salt Lake City, Utah 14,000,000
University Medical Center light rail transit extension project Salt Lake City, Utah 3,000,000
Mission Valley East light rail project San Diego, California 60,000,000
Mid Coast corridor project San Diego, California 1,000,000
BART extension to the airport project San Francisco, California 75,673,790
Tasman West light rail transit project San Jose, California 113,336
Tren Urbano project San Juan, Puerto Rico 40,000,000
Light rail project Sioux City, Iowa 1,700,000
Metrolink extension project St. Louis-St. Clair, Missouri 1,700,000
Urban transitway project Stamford, Connecticut 5,000,000
Altamont commuter rail project Stockton, California 3,000,000
Virginia Railway Express station improvements project, Virginia 3,000,000
Wilsonville to Beaverton commuter rail project Washington County, Oregon 500,000
Alternative route project Wasilla, Alaska 2,500,000
Area regional transportation system project 400,000



FTA Total $1,111,088,840

Feb 26, 03 McCain Senate Website AMTRAK search:
"Tough decisions need to be made about where intercity service makes economic sense, how service can be operated most efficiently, and the appropriate cost-sharing roles for the federal government, the states, and other stakeholders," McCain said. "The Committee's hearings will solicit new approaches to these issues."

Jan 28, 08 From Renew America:
The Arizonan has said shutting down Amtrak â€" he's if elected â€" would be "a non-negotiable issue" for him. Short-sighted, indeed

Feb. 15, FOX News:
In addition, McCain's plan proposes breaking the railroad up into three units: an operations unit, a maintenance unit and a rail reservation unit. Each unit would then be privatized within four years, and an Amtrak Control Board would be created to oversee the process.

House Democrats gave the Amtrak Reform Council's report a cool reception on Thursday, citing concerns with the potential impact of privatization.

June 22, 08, Huntington News.net
Speaking of McCain, he represents the third term of George W. Bush when it comes to Amtrak: the article points out that McCain was a "staunch opponent of subsidies to Amtrak when he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Barack Obama, the probable Democratic nominee, was a co-sponsor of the Senate version of the bill to provide an 80/20 financing match."

July 1, 08, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin:
Even in the era of $4/gal gasoline, not many elected officials would go on record with such heresies. But that may be changing. Gas tax "holiday" talk has all but evaporated over the past few weeks as pols promote transit as an answer to higher gas prices. And a column in today's Boston Globe predicts that Senator John McCain's dogged and sustained effort to undermine Amtrak could create an opening for  transit-friendly Barack Obama heading into November.

Well at least he is consistant...Maybe a train ran over his puppy as a child? Ave Maria Pues...

McCain? Try some of this in your pipe, and smoke it!

Nine Environmental Benefits of Train Travel:

A train uses up to 70% less energy and causes up to 85% less air pollution when compared to a jet aircraft.

Rail network has lower impact on environment than superhighway with same capacity.

Conversion of rail infrastructure to electric easier than creating an electric automobile infrastructure.

Trains use 5 times less fuel than a car per passenger kilometer.

A revised rail system will provide a huge number of jobs, reasonably evenly spread across the country, and would help promote a sense of connection between people, their work, and the environment.


Train stations typically do not need the land area of a typical commercial airport.

Rail has access to city centers, where air passengers need to use additional transportation from the airport.

Rail travel reduces road congestion, which reduces idle cars spewing greenhouse gasses.

Embedded energy required to expand rail system is less than that necessary to replace auto fleet with high-efficiency personal vehicles.

OCKLAWAHA

[Lunican]

McCain would be a complete disaster for Amtrak and transit agencies... and for any city looking to make transit improvements.

[thelakelander]

Wow.  So McCain really hates mass transit.  What's his solution for our transportation issues?  He certainly can't believe that drilling in the Gulf is the answer to our problems.  What else is up his sleeve?

[thelakelander]

McCain would be a complete disaster for Amtrak and transit agencies... and for any city looking to make transit improvements.

I don't know about any city.  I could see McCain spending a couple of billion for a state-of-the-art subway system in Bagdad.

[Ocklawaha]

GUESS WHERE THIS IS?





That nice new train is departing Baghdad, and now a "NEW" railway will connect it with Jordan, via Syria, wonder who voted for that? Oh and the second photo, the rebuilt Union Station, er, "Transportation Center". Looks like 10 tracks and 5 platforms. Or about 5x what is left in Jacksonville.

OCKLAWAHA

[alta]

I used to read lightrailnow.org fairly frequently.  I remember reading an article about McCain opposing the light rail system in Phoenix.  He said the projected ridership didn't justify the cost.  With JTA's miserable record of ridership we may be in trouble with any administration in getting funding.  We need a well thought out system that incorporates dense transit oriented development.

[thelakelander]

We should not have to rely on the any federal administration or deal with their loopholes to determine what we believe is best for the future of our community.

To this effect, we should take a page out of Houston's, Birmingham's and Austin's books and think outside of the box on how to immediately move forward with a mass transit master plan and a rail starter line.  We have enough bullets (s-line ROW, $100 million BJP funds, Amtrak funding, CSX/JaxPort rail relocation, Orlando commuter rail deal, private developers, etc.) in our gun already.  Now its time to stop making excuses and use them in our fight against sprawl, rising gas costs and traffic congestion.

[alta]

I agree with you on not relying on the federal goverment to give us funding with a bunch of strings attached.  I think Austin has a great example of what can be done with limited resources.  I don't know if you remember me Ennis but I spoke out against BRT at the Kent Campus meeting.  I moved to Springfield in June.  I am interested in having a quality transit system in Jax.     

[thelakelander]

Yes, I remember you.  How are you enjoying living in Springfield?  I'm hoping that one day in the near future, Springfield residents will have multiple rail options for their district, connecting it with the rest of the city.

[alta]

I love it.  The people here are awesome.  I usually work until 7:30 p.m.  I would like to meet up with you guys at Hola on Tuesday.  The food is awesome there.  It may be a couple of weeks but I will be there!!!

[Ocklawaha]

Let me know when your coming alta, I will be there too.

BTW, Does anyone know if McCain has EVER said ANYTHING positive about Transit or Rail?

Ocklawaha

[Jason]

What is Obama saying?

[Lunican]

Obama claims to support Amtrak and transit. Does anyone have his record. Does he have a record?

[RiversideGator]

I am sure Obama has made statements supporting both sides of the issue.   

[Ocklawaha]

RiversideGator, He DID support the new Amtrak bill, but then in a speach in Denver went on the attack saying how great his plans were for Amtrak.

"His Plans" was nothing more then the midwest high-speed rail initiative, which he stood and read to cheers almost to a word. I'm not even sure he was born when that plan was hatched, though it has recently come to the forefront.

I got the feeling without the old text he would be as lost as JTA at a streetcar convention. But not unlike JTA, he isn't a real enemy of RAIL as McCain is, he is just not a railroad man.

OCKLAWAHA