Quote:
Originally Posted by sentinel1588
Hopefully we get a massive budget increase for Amtrak soon  |
Here is where the last stimulus package transportation department funding went:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - WikipediaTransportation
Total: $48.1 billion, some in the form of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants
$27.5 billion for highway and bridge construction projects
$8 billion for intercity passenger rail projects and rail congestion grants, with priority for high-speed rail
$6.9 billion for new equipment for public transportation projects (Federal Transit Administration)
$1.5 billion for national surface transportation discretionary grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak
$1.1 billion in grants for airport improvements
$750 million for the construction of new public rail transportation systems and other fixed guideway systems.
$750 million for the maintenance of existing public transportation systems
$200 million for FAA upgrades to air traffic control centers and towers, facilities, and equipment
$100 million in grants for improvements to domestic shipyards
$8 Billion for intercity passenger rail projects and rail congestion grants, with priority for high-speed rail
Where was that $8 Billion ultimately spent?
In $Millions
Chicago Hub/Ohio 2617
California 2343
Florida 1250
Southeast 620
Pacific Northwest 598
Northern New England 160
Empire 152
Northeast 112
Keystone 27
Congress allocated an additional $2.5 billion in the FY 2010 budget
In $Millions
California 898
Florida 800
Chicago Hub 428
Connecticut 121
Southeast 45
Of the $10.5 Billion set aside prioritized for High Speed Rail, around $290 Million was spent effectively, actually delivering high speed rail projects within 10 years on Keystone, Empire, and Northeast Corridor tracks. Much of these corridors already had high speed rail as defined by the US government. An additional $3.241 Billion was given to California to help build its High Speed Rail project, none of which is in service yet, and only 171 miles of phase 1's 520 miles is under construction. The total CHSR system is promised to be around 800 miles. California has yet to buy true (>125 mph) high speed rail train sets.
The US Government defines High Speed Rail per Wiki as
"Inter-city rail with top speeds between 90 and 125 mph (140 and 200 km/h) is sometimes referred to in the United States as higher-speed rail."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-s..._United_States
Let's assume this time around all of the $10.5 Billion stimulus for prioritized high speed rail projects was given to Amtrak. Amtrak would still be short around $5 Billion for the Gateway Tunnels. Hopefully the Port Authority will be able to make up the difference.
Do you really believe there will be money to spend on high speed rail elsewhere? And if some was spent elsewhere, will there be enough left over to build the tunnels the Northeast Corridor supposedly needs now?