Amherst, MA – A new high speed rail network will put people to work, clean our air, cut our energy consumption, facilitate travel and assist in the resurgence of American manufacturing. This was the message that Lizzi Weyant, staff attorney at MASSPIRG, Herb Singleton, advocate at the Pioneer Valley Advocates for Commuter Rail, Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer, and MASSPIRG students from UMass Amherst made crystal clear at a press conference on a chilly Tuesday morning at the Amherst train station.
“The development of a faster, stronger rail system would make it easier for Massachusetts residents to get around while creating tens of thousands of quality American jobs in the technology, construction, and engineering sectors,” said Lizzi Weyant, staff attorney at MASSPIRG.
Part of a nationwide “High Speed Rail Day of Action” that public officials and high speed rail advocates held all over the country on Tuesday, MASSPIRG called on Senators Kerry and Kirk to support a full $4 billion investment in high speed rail in this year’s federal transportation spending bill.
“Our highways are jammed and gas prices continue to grip our wallets,” said Herb Singleton, advocate with Pioneer Valley Advocates for Commuter Rail. “All the while, our rail infrastructure has been starved. We need investment in our long-neglected rail system,” continued Singleton.
The House version of the FY10 transportation appropriations bill, which passed with bipartisan support, included a $4 billion allocation for high speed passenger rail. The majority of the members in the House voted repeatedly to deny attempts to lessen the high speed rail funding. The Senate then cut the appropriation down by nearly 75 percent to $1.2 billion in their bill in late September. The two bills are now being negotiated in a conference committee which will decide the final amount of funding before the end of the month.
“We cannot build our way out of our mobility problems with new roads and airports alone,” said Congressman John Olver (D-MA), who made the $4 billion appropriations request in the House. “Rail must play an integral role in our nation’s transportation policy,” continued Olver.
Massachusetts is competing for a portion of the $8 billion in funding from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build high speed rail along a North-South route to connect central Massachusetts with New Haven and Montreal, and along an east-west route to connect central Massachusetts to Boston, as well as to make rail improvements along the south coast. The additional $4 billion investment could make that possible.
“A regional national network of fast, frequent, and dependable trains is a critical tool for reinventing and supporting our local economy. Massachusetts has recognized the need to expand our railroad system,” said Mayor Higgins. “It is urgent that Congress follow through with the needed funding.”
Earlier this fall, MASSPIRG joined other rail advocates to set up www.fourbillion.com to show Congress the overwhelming nationwide demand that exists for high speed rail investment. Along with more than 150 organizations and public officials, more than 3,500 individuals have signed on.
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