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22–128 PDF 2016

S. HRG. 114–384 

PASSENGER RAIL: OPPORTUNITIES AND 

CHALLENGES FOR THE NATIONAL NETWORK 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 

AND MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, 

SAFETY AND SECURITY 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, 

SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

FEBRUARY 23, 2016 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

( 

(II) 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

TED CRUZ, Texas 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

CORY GARDNER, Colorado 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts 

CORY BOOKER, New Jersey 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia 

GARY PETERS, Michigan 

NICK ROSSI, Staff Director 

ADRIAN ARNAKIS, Deputy Staff Director 

REBECCA SEIDEL, General Counsel 

JASON VAN BEEK, Deputy General Counsel 

KIM LIPSKY, Democratic Staff Director 

CHRIS DAY, Democratic Deputy Staff Director 

CLINT ODOM, Democratic General Counsel and Policy Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND MERCHANT 

MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY AND SECURITY 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska, Chairman 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CORY BOOKER, New Jersey, Ranking 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on February 23, 2016 ....................................................................... 1 

Statement of Senator Fischer ................................................................................. 1 

Statement of Senator Booker .................................................................................. 2 

Statement of Senator Wicker .................................................................................. 4 

Statement of Senator Peters ................................................................................... 4 

Statement of Senator Gardner ............................................................................... 4 

Statement of Senator Nelson .................................................................................. 6 

Statement of Senator Ayotte ................................................................................... 29 

Statement of Senator Klobuchar ............................................................................ 31 

Statement of Senator Moran .................................................................................. 33 

Statement of Senator Blumenthal .......................................................................... 35 

Statement of Senator Daines .................................................................................. 36 

WITNESSES

Knox W. Ross, Secretary-Treasurer, Southern Rail Commission; and Mayor 

of Pelahatchie, Mississippi .................................................................................. 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9 

Timothy H. Hoeffner, Chair, Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission; 

and Director, Office of Rail, Michigan Department of Transportation ............ 11 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 13 

Rick Klein, City Manager, La Junta, Colorado ..................................................... 19 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 20 

Joseph H. Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amtrak .............. 22 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 24 

APPENDIX

Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Dean Heller to Joseph 

H. Boardman ........................................................................................................ 45 

(1) 

PASSENGER RAIL: OPPORTUNITIES AND 

CHALLENGES FOR THE NATIONAL NETWORK 

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016 

U.S. SENATE, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND

MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY AND SECURITY,

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:50 a.m. in room 

SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Deb Fischer, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Fischer [presiding], Wicker, Ayotte, Moran, 

Daines, Gardner, Booker, Klobuchar, Blumenthal, Nelson, and Peters. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DEB FISCHER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEBRASKA 

Senator FISCHER. Good morning. I am pleased to convene the 

Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant 

Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security for this hearing entitled 

‘‘Passenger Rail: Opportunities and Challenges for the National 

Network.’’ 

During today’s hearing, members of this subcommittee will examine passenger rail systems in the United States, particularly 

those outside the Northeast Corridor. I want to thank Senator 

Wicker for requesting today’s hearing on this important matter. 

I am pleased to see that we have a strong panel representing 

local and national passenger rail experts from across the country. 

In particular, I want to recognize Mr. Joe Boardman, Amtrak’s 

President and CEO, who will be retiring on September 30 of this 

year. Mr. Boardman served as New York’s Commissioner of Transportation, as well as the Federal Railroad Administrator before becoming the CEO of Amtrak. We appreciate his service and commitment to advancing freight and passenger rail policy in this country. 

Thank you, sir. 

Last fall, I had the opportunity to join Mr. Boardman on the 

Acela train from Washington to Baltimore. Sitting in the front locomotive provided an in-depth look at the operations of our Nation’s 

passenger rail system. I enjoyed the experience, and it was particularly informative to witness an engineer in action at a time when 

Amtrak is seeking to implement Positive Train Control in the 

Northeast Corridor. 

2 

Although passenger rail is important to the Northeast Corridor, 

Amtrak’s management of rail networks throughout the Nation deserves our attention as well. 

I appreciate that our freight railroads, such as Union Pacific and 

Burlington Northern Santa Fe, generously work with Amtrak to coordinate and ensure movement of passenger rail service on their 

rail infrastructure networks throughout the country. 

My home state of Nebraska hosts the California Zephyr line, 

with stops in Hastings, Holdrege, Lincoln, McCook, and Omaha. 

This line provides service to Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, and 

San Francisco. According to Amtrak, in Fiscal Year 2015, total station usage in Nebraska amounted to over 53,000 people. 

Although Amtrak has made progress over the last several years, 

there are still some serious challenges facing the operation of Amtrak’s assets and resources. A January 2016 report from the Government Accountability Office found that Amtrak does not consistently report financial data across its business lines. This is hindering Amtrak’s ability to demonstrate performance accurately. For 

example, the report found that Amtrak’s Miami terminal was billed 

for snow-shoveling costs incurred elsewhere on Amtrak’s system. 

GAO noted that this may lead to a misallocation of resources. 

Additionally, Amtrak is looking at cutting its operating costs by 

nearly 4 percent. Revenue has been lost due to competition from 

other modes of transportation, lower gas prices, and weather-related incidents. As many here know, Amtrak faced a $307 million 

operating loss in Fiscal Year 2015. 

Without the adequate data and asset management, it is going to 

be difficult for Amtrak to address these challenges. I continue to 

be a strong proponent of performance-based outcomes in regulations and organizational management. I hope that Amtrak will 

work to implement a performance-based framework, informed by 

past data, to address financial and operational challenges. 

I look forward to hearing more from our witnesses as we discuss 

how to strengthen our Nation’s important passenger rail network 

during today’s hearing. 

Senator FISCHER. And now, I would now like to invite my Ranking Member, Senator Booker, to offer his opening remarks. 

STATEMENT OF HON. CORY BOOKER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY 

Senator BOOKER. Thank you very much. I am really grateful for 

Chairman Fischer for hosting this and for Roger Wicker for working to make this possible. 

This is an important hearing, and the need for a robust nationwide passenger rail network is critical to our economy. 

Like Chairwoman Fischer, I want to take the opportunity to 

thank Mr. Joe Boardman for all he has done for Amtrak. Mr. 

Boardman announced that he will retire from his position as CEO 

in September after nearly 8 years of service. During his tenure, he 

has worked tirelessly to improve passenger rail service in the 

United States, and I am personally grateful for his work and contributions. 

We saw record-setting growth in Amtrak ridership, improved relationships with Amtrak’s workforce, and unmatched passion and 

3 

commitment to ensuring nationwide passenger rail service. I applaud your commitment to serving in such an important and demanding role and congratulate you on your retirement. I imagine 

you may want to go back to New York, but I think that New Jersey 

will have you if you want to go. 

Amtrak connects hundreds of U.S. cities and towns and carries 

more than 30 million passengers each year. Amtrak provides a critical transportation option for underserved populations at a time 

when other modes are leaving rural areas. According to the Department of Transportation, an estimated 3.5 million rural residents 

lost intercity transportation access between 2005 and 2010 due to 

the contraction of intercity bus and air services in rural areas in 

recent years. 

Amtrak is also an economic generator for many communities, as 

I understand very intimately living in the Northeast Corridor. 

Trains on this line carry 750,000 passengers each day and move a 

workforce that contributes $50 billion annual to the Nation’s GDP. 

Despite the importance of the corridor, the age and deteriorating 

conditions of this infrastructure threatens the sustainability of Amtrak’s operating success and the future of the Nation’s passenger 

rail network. Nowhere is the crisis more pressing than in the state 

of New Jersey where the 105-year-old Hudson River tunnels, badly 

damaged by Hurricane Sandy, must either be replaced or shut 

down sometime over the next two decades, which would create an 

Armageddon of traffic, congestion, and economic problems. In addition to this, we must replace the Portal Bridge, a two-track, 100- 

plus-year-old bridge that carries 450 trains each day between Newark and New York Penn Station. 

Shutting down the tunnels is a risk we just cannot afford. That 

is why I have worked with Governor Christie, Governor Cuomo, 

and Senators Schumer and Menendez to jumpstart this project and 

establish a new development corporation to oversee the Gateway 

Project. 

Through this committee’s hard work on the FAST Act last year, 

we have begun to take on the challenge of bringing the Northeast 

Corridor toward a state of good repair and make important reforms 

and investments in that national network. And I really want to 

thank Senator Wicker for his leadership in this. He and I came together last year to introduce and pass a comprehensive passenger 

rail reauthorization as part of the FAST Act that balances these 

needs. 

Despite being from very different parts of the country, even 

though people look at Senator Wicker and me and think we are the 

same person we look so much alike, we both recognize the importance of rail service to our states and the benefits of nationwide 

service. If he shaved his head, we would be twins. We worked hard 

to ensure that both the Northeast Corridor and the national network can prosper, but this requires funding. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and these and other 

issues that the Committee should consider as we work to improve 

passenger rail service in the United States. Thank you. 

4 

STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER F. WICKER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MISSISSIPPI 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Senator Booker, and I appreciate 

your remarks. And it was a pleasure and an honor to work with 

you on the FAST Act. 

Here is the agenda as I would propose it. Senator Peters will introduce a guest. Senator Gardner will then introduce a guest. And 

then Senator Nelson will be recognized for some opening remarks, 

and then we will hear from the panel. 

Senator Peters? 

STATEMENT OF HON. GARY PETERS, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN 

Senator PETERS. Thank you, Senator Wicker. 

I would like to thank Senator Fischer and Senator Booker for inviting me here today to welcome Mr. Tim Hoeffner, the Director of 

the Michigan Department of Transportation Office of Rail and the 

Chairman of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission. 

Mr. Hoeffner, I want to start, first off, by just thanking you for 

more than 35 years of service to the State of Michigan. I know the 

State and the Midwest region has benefited significantly from your 

wealth of knowledge and experience. And I am glad you could be 

here today to share your wisdom and highlight the important complementary work of current State, regional, and Federal efforts to 

advance intercity high-speed rail. 

I was pleased to read in your prepared testimony about the work 

of the nine-State Midwest Regional Rail Initiative and particularly 

the soon-to-be-completed Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac Passenger Rail 

Corridor Program, which will provide FRA with the information it 

needs to eventually support a future decision to fund and implement a major investment of this route. 

Personally, I just cannot wait until the day comes when 

Michiganders will be able to travel from Chicago at 110 miles per 

hour, which will cut the current five hour and irty-eight minute trip 

by nearly two hours and have about 10 daily trips do that as well. 

That is going to be an exciting time and will be transformative for 

our region when that occurs. 

High-speed rail can do wonders, we know, for our local, State, 

and regional economic competitiveness, and I for one am committed 

to make sure that the Federal Government continues to make sustained and reliable capital investments in passenger rail. 

Thank you again, Mr. Hoeffner, for your testimony today, and 

more importantly, for your tireless and valuable work that you do 

for us each and every day. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Senator Peters. 

Senator Gardner? 

STATEMENT OF HON. CORY GARDNER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO 

Senator GARDNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And to Senator 

Booker I would just point out the great book placement at DIA in 

terms of the bookstore with United right there. The picture of you 

is much better than Wicker would be on the cover of that, so I 

mean, I am just going to say that. 

5 

I want to thank Rick Klein and all of the witnesses today for 

joining us on this panel to discuss the importance of rail, passenger 

rail, high-speed rail, and many other significant issues before us. 

To Rick Klein from Colorado, City Manager for the City of La 

Junta, welcome to the Committee, welcome to the Senate, and it 

is great to have you here, served as City Manager for more than 

16 years, La Junta City Manager. And of course the alma mater 

you and I share together, Colorado State University, the best 

school in the State of Colorado. 

Rick’s leadership in La Junta has shown great gains. If you look 

at the job growth in La Junta, it is about 2.6 percent, which surpasses the national average of job growth in La Junta compared to 

the rest of the country. According to the La Junta Economic Development Office, manufacturers in this small rural southeastern Colorado town has added about 16 percent to the workforce in the past 

12 months. So we have seen a manufacturing renaissance revitalization that we need to continue to work on in La Junta. 

But part of that, of course, is the instrumental role that you have 

played in the Southwest Chief in southeastern Colorado. And so we 

hope those passengers from Chicago will find their way down from 

Michigan, Chicago, over to southeastern Colorado through the 

southwestern part of the United States and making sure that we 

keep the southwest rail vibrant and vital through southeast Colorado. 

Running from Chicago to Los Angeles with three Colorado stops, 

the line is essential to keeping those rural communities on the 

map. And when a proposal to reroute the line out of Colorado was 

brought forward due to rising track repair costs, small communities 

in Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico began diligently working together, thanks to Rick and his colleagues from across all three 

States, to find a solution. 

They faced the daunting prospect of $200 million for the necessary repairs involved, and everyone knew it would be a very difficult, uphill climb, but the efforts from Rick so far in the city have 

been rewarded. Over the past 2 years, more than $25 million has 

been awarded to the project by the Department of Transportation, 

and I have been proud to work along with my colleagues from Colorado in the Congressional Delegation to support those grant efforts. 

You know, one of the most compelling parts of Mr. Klein’s testimony today will be the part where he talks about how there are 

three stops in Colorado, the Southwest Chief, and yet communities 

with no Amtrak stop provided grant-matching dollars to make sure 

that this service was still provided. And I think that is testament 

to the strength and the vitality of the region and the need that 

they recognize a healthy Southwest Chief. 

So thanks, Rick. Welcome to the Committee. And to all of you, 

thank you for being here. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you very much, Senator Gardner. 

Of course, it is my pleasure to introduce a fellow Mississippian. 

Knox Ross is an experienced and knowledgeable public servant who 

has worked on behalf of our state for a number of years in a number of capacities. I had the chance to spend some time with Mayor 

Ross last week during the inspection trip evaluating the restoration 

of passenger rail along the gulf coast. In a few moments, I am 

6 

going to ask unanimous consent to show a short video from this 

event. 

As Secretary-Treasurer of the Southern Rail Commission, Knox 

Ross understands the potential for rail to transform an area. The 

Southern Rail Commission works to promote public safety, economic growth, and emergency preparedness along our rail corridors. 

Knox is also the Mayor of Pelahatchie, Mississippi. For those of 

you who have not heard of Pelahatchie or been there, it is near our 

State capital of Mississippi in Rankin County. It has a population 

of roughly 1,400. Pelahatchie is the birthplace of blues performer 

Rubin Lacey and is part of the famous Mississippi Blues Trail. The 

town also draws thousands of people every year for its Muscadine 

Jubilee. During Knox Ross’s 15 years as Mayor, the town has undergone substantial economic growth and been recognized with numerous State and regional awards. 

In addition to serving as mayor, Knox as more than two decades 

of accounting experience. We are going to need that in this capacity, Mayor Ross, and most of that time spent running his own firm. 

He has received a Public Service Award from the Mississippi Society of CPAs, served as president of the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District, and served as president of the Mississippi Municipal League. So we are grateful to have Knox Ross 

sharing his expertise with us. 

And then also it is a pleasure to introduce Joseph Boardman, 

President and Chief Executive Officer of Amtrak. He served with 

distinction and we are sorry to see him retire early this fall. All 

panel members are familiar with his credentials, and Senator 

Fischer has already pointed out a great deal of them. So we are 

happy to have all four of these witnesses. 

I am going to now ask Senator Nelson to give us some opening 

remarks, and then without objection, we will see the short video. 

STATEMENT OF HON. BILL NELSON, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA 

Senator NELSON. I just wanted to point out that Joe Boardman’s 

public service started in 1966 in the Air Force in Vietnam, and he 

has been a public servant ever since at all levels of government. 

So we commend you for your service. 

The passenger railroad service has obviously played a critical 

role, and it should even play a more critical role in moving people 

from point A to point B in the future. This national network of 

routes, of which many have very low ridership, has connected rural 

areas, as well as big cities, and has been safe and has been efficient in 46 states. Today’s ridership is stronger than it has been 

with 19 million passengers using the long-distance and state 

routes. As we urbanize, that ought to increase all the more because 

it becomes the preferable mode of transportation. 

We see that in Florida. For example, one of your most successful 

routes is the Auto Train. And some of the old names that you remember, the Palmetto, the Silver Service, the Orange Blossom Special, they are legendary. 

So I am very happy that the full committee included Amtrak’s 

5-year authorization in the broader transportation surface bill that 

7 

we passed last year. As part of that law, we are also taking a close 

look at the options to restore and expand service in other parts of 

the country, including the gulf coast passenger rail service that 

was disrupted years ago by Hurricane Katrina. That is the route 

that would connect New Orleans to Tallahassee to Jacksonville and 

Orlando. Just last week you had one of those trains travel that 

route for the first time since 2005 to assess the rail line and gauge 

the interest in restoring passenger traffic. 

So thank you, Mr. Boardman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator WICKER. Well, thank you, Senator Nelson. 

I was on that train ride—— 

Senator NELSON. Oh, you were? 

Senator WICKER.—along with—I went from New Orleans to 

Pascagoula, and Corrine Brown began with us and I think she 

went all the way to Jacksonville. 

Senator NELSON. Well, I tried to get on it, but Amtrak is so precise on the time. If I flew from Orlando to Pensacola, I could get 

to the train station in downtown Pensacola at 9:31, but the train 

departed at 9:30. And so that is commendations to Amtrak. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. We would have waited for you, Senator. 

Mr. ROSS. Well, we left Congresswoman Brown in Pensacola. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator WICKER. OK. Well, without objection, let us see the video 

about this famous train ride. So if our technicians could do that, 

then we will hear testimony. 

[Video presentation.] 

Senator WICKER. Now, let us hear from our distinguished panel. 

And we will begin with Mayor Ross. 

STATEMENT OF KNOX W. ROSS, SECRETARY-TREASURER, 

SOUTHERN RAIL COMMISSION; AND MAYOR 

OF PELAHATCHIE, MISSISSIPPI 

Mr. ROSS. Thank you. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you very much, sir. 

Mr. ROSS. Well, let us see here. Here we go. No, here we go. 

Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator Booker. I want to thank 

Senator Booker for Wicker-Booker on behalf of the cities of Mississippi. We appreciate you very much. You have a fine reputation 

there because of that. 

Senator BOOKER. Thank you very much. 

Mr. ROSS. Thank you. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you. 

Mr. ROSS. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the state of 

passenger rail in the South and the work you did to make this possible through the FAST Act. The provisions you put in the FAST 

Act allowed us to do this, allowed us to do the Gulf Coast Working 

Group, and we do appreciate that very much. 

I represent the Southern Rail Commission. The commission was 

formed by your colleagues in 1982 to be your eyes and ears for passenger rail in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. Myself and my 

fellow commissioners are appointed by our Governors, and it is our 

duty to come back and report to you on what we have found. 

The success of our states is tied to a comprehensive transportation system that serves all our citizens. The opportunity for our 

8 

local communities to succeed depends on our ability as citizens to 

be able to move. As our commission has visited communities across 

the gulf south, we have found that the transportation options available to our citizens are becoming more limited and costly, especially outside the megacities such as Dallas and Atlanta. It is like 

they say, if you are going to go to Heaven, you have got to go 

through Atlanta. 

And this is not limited to our part of the country. We have it all 

over the country. You have all over small and medium-sized cities 

are losing transportation options, losing flight service, losing bus 

service. We talk to mayors in places such as Tallahassee and 

Shreveport, and they told us their struggle is to compete because 

of limited and expensive air travel and no alternative options. 

Out of this issue came the Gulf Coast Working Group that you 

all put together. I want to thank you all for doing that. We have 

been asked to determine the best way to reestablish the passenger 

service on the coast, and we are working with local leaders, the 

leadership of the FRA, and the host railroad CSX. And we have 

begun our work and we are well on our way to giving you a report 

within the 9-month timeframe. 

As you saw, we recently completed the inspection train. I now 

know what it feels like to be a rock star with Senator Wicker. We 

went from New Orleans to Jacksonville, and I want to thank Mr. 

Boardman, the CSX for all the work they did to get that done. 

We saw an amazing outpouring of support in every city, even in 

Live Oak, Florida, where they want a stop. They do not have a 

stop. They had more people there in that little town than most of 

the larger cities. It was amazing. They just want an opportunity. 

That is what this was all about. Every city turned out. They want 

an opportunity, and that is what they are looking for. They are 

looking for handout, they are looking for a hand up, and they see 

Amtrak service as that opportunity. 

We will continue our work on the gulf coast. We are also looking 

at train service on the I–20 corridor from Meridian, Mississippi, to 

Fort Worth, Texas, and we are also working on multi-departure 

service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana. And 

we are gearing toward connecting our small cities to our larger 

ones, again, giving these cities the opportunity to compete. 

As we continue our work, the support of the national rail passenger system is critical. You saw on our video the public support 

that is there. And that is why Amtrak was formed, to support the 

national rail system. And this support that you saw along this rail 

line cannot only be leveraged for support of the national system, 

but can be leveraged for support of the issues you have, the Hudson tunnels, the things that have to be done on the Northeast Corridor. Those people can encourage their Senators like Senator 

Wicker to support you. And they can be your party. You can use 

them to leverage issues of national importance. 

We also need you to support an Amtrak board that reflects our 

country, that not just the Northeast Corridor but everywhere, people that understand that all of our system is a part of a national 

system that is willing to back your issues in New Jersey and New 

York and also our issues in the gulf south and in the west. 

9 

We also need a President of Amtrak that is willing to do that. 

Mr. Boardman has stepped forward and has helped us, but he is 

soon to leave, as you pointed out. We need your support in making 

sure that the next President of Amtrak understands that there is 

a national system. 

We also appreciate the provisions you put in the FAST Act, and 

we ask that you support the appropriation of money to CRISI and 

to the restoration and enhancement grants and the other provisions that can help us get these trains started. 

I think all the cities along this route see the economic development potential of the train. We invested in the national interstate 

system years ago and saw tremendous economic development from 

that. Now, we are having to put more money than ever into it with 

a diminishing return as we add lanes. A very modest investment 

in passenger trains across this country can create large economic 

development opportunities to all these cities on a scale of that. And 

it is very important to these people. And they just want to compete. 

They just want to prosper. 

But one thing I hope you saw on that film, that film you saw, 

black, white, young, old, Republican, Democratic, this is a bipartisan issue that we can all back and we all can agree on. And it 

is an issue that can bring our country together in a time that we 

need to. 

And I thank you all so much for your time and your invitation, 

and I look forward to working with you to get these things done. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ross follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. KNOX W. ROSS, SECRETARY-TREASURER, SOUTHERN

RAIL COMMISSION AND MAYOR, CITY OF PELAHATCHIE, MISSISSIPPI

Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, Senator Wicker and members of the 

Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security 

Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss 

issues important to the Nation’s passenger rail system. 

The people of the South also owe this committee a huge thank you for your efforts 

to include a great passenger rail title in the FAST Act for the first time in our history! 

I am Knox Ross, the Mayor of the City of Pelahatchie, MS. More important, I’m 

here today as an appointed commissioner to the Southern Rail Commission—a tri— 

state interstate rail compact established by the U.S. Congress in 1982 for the states 

of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. 

I didn’t get appointed by the Mississippi Governor to the Southern Rail Commission so I could get a station for my town; I don’t have service today and I’m not 

going to get a station. We are 20 miles to the east of Jackson Union Station and 

I wholeheartedly support my colleague Mayor Tony Yarber in his efforts to redevelop that station and its surrounding area. 

I am a commissioner because I understand that the success of our town is directly 

tied to the prosperity of the region. And for my region to prosper, we must have 

a transportation system that provides options for residents to connect to opportunity 

in our region and beyond. Sadly, because of the loss of essential air service for some 

and the imminent threat of loss of service for others, our options are getting increasingly limited. But that doesn’t have to be. Passenger rail service is an option that 

help us grow our economy by attracting and retaining talent, bringing new tourists 

in to visit, and connecting our residents to jobs and opportunity. 

What I just highlighted is not all too different than the conditions facing my colleagues in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, 

Minnesota, West Virginia, and many other states. 

When you created the Southern Rail Commission 30 years ago, you charged us 

to be your eyes and ears for the needs of the South. Well, I’m here to report back 

that the needs are real in the South and we are ready for your help. 

10 

Last week, thanks to the leadership of Senators Wicker, Cochran, Nelson, and 

Representative Corrine Brown, we kicked off the Gulf the Coast Passenger Rail 

Working Group to develop the best, most efficient, most fiscally responsible solution 

for restoring passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast—service that was lost more 

than a decade ago because of Hurricane Katrina. I want to let you know that, with 

the leadership from FRA Administrator Feinberg and her team, and cooperation of 

members from the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and CSX, 

we are going to deliver a report in September that I am confident you will be proud 

of. 

Last week, with the support of our good friend President Boardman and his amazing team at Amtrak and CSX, we hosted an inspection train along the Gulf Coast 

from New Orleans to Jacksonville. I wish you all could have been on the train with 

us to see the genuine, patriotic excitement for passenger rail service on this route 

in communities all along the coast—some of which were devastated by Hurricane 

Katrina and still fighting hard to bounce back. Each stop had hundreds, if not thousands of people cheering and asking when they will get to board the train. 

Unfortunately, we still have work to do to secure the funding through appropriations, but the experience witnessed by our commission, the mayors, and the governors of these states showed us that failure is not an option. 

The region is set to grow by 10 million people over the coming years and we need 

options to connect our people to opportunity, increase economic prosperity and support our thriving and culturally rich communities. And we need ways to bring more 

tourists to our beautiful coast and spend their money. 

We also need to think bigger than just restoring service to the Gulf. 

We are also committed to starting service connecting Baton Rouge to New Orleans, providing access to the New Orleans airport, and connecting the two largest 

cities in the Pelican State with another travel option to the congested I—10 corridor. 

Another corridor that needs a similar option is Interstate 20. We are also dedicated to connecting the mega regions of Atlanta and Dallas-Ft Worth through Meridian, Jackson, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Northern Louisiana. I would like 

to submit for the record a letter of support sent by 20 mayors and civic leaders in 

that corridor to the governors of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas asking 

for their commitment to this project as well. 

The Southern Rail Commission is doing your bidding as asked. And now I’m here 

to ask for your help so we can make this vision a reality. 

First, and most important, we must never lose sight of the importance of the national passenger railroad system. The passenger rail title arbitrarily separates the 

Northeast Corridor’s appropriations from the rest of the country. The Northeast 

Corridor is indeed incredibly important, and our commission will work with anyone 

in the Northeast to improve this economic engine. However, prioritizing the Northeast over the rest of the country is not fair to our states that have subsidized the 

Northeast system, and sends the wrong signal to the thousands of southern citizens—young and old—that came out last week on a work day to support restoring 

passenger rail service in the Gulf. 

Second, we must ensure that this fact is well understood by the Amtrak Board 

of Directors. Joe Boardman is set to retire this fall. Joe has been a great friend for 

the national passenger rail system, including in the South, and we’re grateful to 

him for his dedication and support. It’s vitally important that the Amtrak Board of 

Directors find a qualified successor able to continue Joe’s efforts. A criterion must 

include a deep understanding of and support for all three of Amtrak’s lines of service—state—supported, long—distance, and the Northeast Corridor. 

Third, Amtrak’s Board of Directors should be diverse in geographic representation. The current Board’s makeup is heavily weighted to favor the Northeast. I call 

upon you to provide the South due representation on the Board of Directors with 

the additional position made available by the FAST Act. 

Fourth, our states, local governments, and businesses are ready to do their part 

and invest in our passenger rail system. However, we need your help to ensure the 

Federal government is a partner in this effort. This means we need to support dedicated passenger rail funding for Amtrak, and fund the two discretionary grant programs created by this Committee in the FAST Act. 

The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program is the 

most diverse and geographically accessible program we can fund. This program 

funds everything from positive train control to capital construction to planning and 

research, and it’s available to all states. Congress has not made dedicated passenger 

rail capital funding available to our states since 2010. We are past due for Congress 

to partner with us to implement the state rail plans that are required by this legislative body. 

11 

The Restoration and Enhancement Grants program is a prudent investment as 

well. This program provides operating assistance for up to six new, reestablished or 

expanded passenger rail services. 

No transportation system in America is self—sustaining. Let us look no farther 

than the highway and transit programs to highlight this fact. Prior to the FAST Act, 

the Highway Trust Fund needed nearly $75 billion from 2008 to 2015 to stave off 

insolvency. The FAST Act transferred another $70 billion from 2016 to 2020. 

In 2008, Congress required all services under 750 miles to pay 100 percent of its 

cost. We don’t require this for highways or transit, and I don’t think we should require that for passenger rail either. The Restoration and Enhancement Grants program provides fiscally responsible operating assistance: up to 80 percent operating 

assistance in year one, 60 percent in year two, and 40 percent in year three. The 

service will have to pay 100 percent of its cost in year four, but this program provides new and reestablished service training wheels per se to help it build ridership 

and farebox receipts before its left to its own devices. 

Conclusion 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify and answer your questions today. I need 

to once again thank my Senator, Senator Wicker. He is a true leader and partner 

for our commission, and we wouldn’t be where we are today in terms of serious 

progress for our rail vision without his support. This thank you extends to his staff, 

and to the bipartisan work of the Commerce Committee staff. 

We look forward to working with this Subcommittee to achieve our vision and 

support your efforts to provide a passenger rail system that improves our economies 

and provides the necessary options for us to compete for jobs and attract talent. I 

will be happy to respond to your questions. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Mayor Ross. 

Mr. Hoeffner, are we pronouncing that correctly? 

Mr. HOEFFNER. Yes, you are. 

Senator WICKER. You are welcome, and proceed in your own 

fashion. Thank you, sir. 

STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY H. HOEFFNER, CHAIR, 

MIDWEST INTERSTATE PASSENGER RAIL COMMISSION; 

AND DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF RAIL, 

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Mr. HOEFFNER. Thank you, Chairman and members of the Committee. I really appreciate this opportunity. And I would like to 

thank Senator Peters for his graceful words. 

I am the Chair of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission. It is a compact. We have nine State members that was 

created in 2000. We have Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, 

Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. And basically, what we 

do is we are appointed by the Governor or the Governor’s designee 

and legislators. 

So our sister companion to that is the technical folks from the 

DOT, the MWRRI, where we have worked on a 3,000 mile system 

starting 1996. 

I really want to thank the Subcommittee and the Committee for 

all their work on the rail title in the FAST Act. I mean, that is absolutely critical for the states working in these passenger rail activities because for once we—you know, having a title in the transportation authorization is in our minds a game-changer. 

I would like to talk a little bit about Michigan service for a 

minute. We have three Amtrak services in Michigan: the Pere Marquette between Grand Rapids and Chicago; the Blue Water between 

Port Huron and Chicago; and the Wolverine, which is the spine of 

our system, between Pontiac, Detroit, and Chicago. All of these systems are sponsored by the State of Michigan. But for the State of 

12 

Michigan paying Amtrak for this service, the State of Michigan 

would have no intercity passenger rail. 

With the implementation of section 209 of PRIIA, we lost our 

basic system service. The Wolverine was previously a basic system service. Our operating payments to Amtrak were $8 million prior 

to that, and they went to $25 million after the implementation of 

that. 

What we have been doing is working with Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration and local communities to take and try 

and reduce the cost and increase the ridership and revenue. We 

have the largest ownership of Amtrak outside the Northeast Corridor in Michigan and northern Indiana. They own 97 miles between Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Porter, Indiana. The State of 

Michigan, with a grant from the FRA, purchased 135 miles east of 

that, and we are in the process of upgrading it similarly to what 

Amtrak and MDOT have done on Amtrak’s ownership where trains 

are currently operating at 110 miles an hour since February 15, 

2012. 

Moving on now to more of the regional perspective, we have a 

long history in the Midwest of working together not only through 

MIPRC and the MWRRI but on projects, as Senator Peters mentioned, the programmatic EIS service development for the corridor. 

But that is not just to benefit Michigan. Indiana and Illinois are 

our partners, and in fact, most of the major construction will actually occur in Indiana and Illinois and what we call the South of the 

Lake. 

That is consistent with the CREATE project that has been looking at improving congestion, eliminating congestion in Chicago, and 

it is consistent with Mr. Boardman’s Blue Ribbon Panel recommendation. And the CREATE flyover, Englewood flyover is a 

critical piece on that. 

The states are working together in the Midwest on an equipment 

procurement to replace the Amtrak fleet. And we are also looking 

forward to kicking off the FRA-led Midwest planning. 

Now, I would like to step out a little bit more from a larger State 

perspective. There is a synergy between the long-distance trains 

and the regional trains that the states sponsor. The intercity trains 

we see kind of interconnecting the regions where we have the higher level of regional service, but there are some things that need to 

be added to this. We would love to have a direct connection, as an 

example, from Michigan to the Northeast Corridor without having 

to go west through Chicago. That could be done by rerouting a 

long-distance train or making a connection. 

Canada is our largest trading partner. One-third of all the trade 

with Canada comes across a Michigan border. We cooperate with 

the province of Ontario as closely if not closer than we actually do 

Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois. So international connections as 

well as the regional connections are important. 

One key issue is, though, that since the introduction of section 

209 of the PRIIA Act, there are 30 State-sponsored services of Amtrak today serving over 300 communities and nearly 15 million riders. Roughly half of every rider on Amtrak is on a State-sponsored 

train, a train which the state is paying for. What does that really 

mean? That means about $500 million in ticket revenue and about 

13 

another $250 million in State payments to Amtrak to operate 

these. The states take and provide Amtrak about $750 million. 

And I would like to follow up on what the Honorable Mr. Ross 

said earlier about the representation on the Board because it really 

is important to have a broad makeup on that and one that would 

represent everyone, including the states. 

So again, I would like to thank you for your work on the FAST 

Act and also furthering that and looking at the funding. Thank you 

very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Hoeffner follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY H. HOEFFNER, CHAIR, MIDWEST INTERSTATE

PASSENGER RAIL COMMISSION; AND DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF RAIL, MICHIGAN

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to 

testify at this hearing. 

My name is Tim Hoeffner and I am the Director of the Office of Rail for the 

Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). I have been at MDOT for more 

than 35 years, with nearly 25 years of experience in rail. For 22 of those years, I 

have been involved in MDOT’s relationship with Amtrak. In addition, I serve as 

Governor Snyder’s designee to the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission 

(MIPRC), where I am in my third term as Chairman. MIPRC is comprised of state 

legislators, governors or their designees, and private sector representatives selected 

by governors. We represent nine Midwestern states—Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin—to promote, coordinate, and support regional improvements to passenger rail service. I 

have also served on the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI) since its inception. The MWRRI is a technical effort led by the state DOTs to develop and implement a nine-state, 3,000-mile intercity passenger rail network with Chicago as its 

hub. I am also a member of the State for Passenger Rail Committee (SPRC) and 

the Next Generation Equipment Committee (NGEC). 

First, I would like to thank the members of this subcommittee and the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for including a rail title for the first time 

in a transportation funding authorization. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act programs that address safety, capital and operations are critical 

for the states, as well as funding for the State-Supported Route Advisory Committee. These all have laid the groundwork for the development of a truly multimodal transportation system in our Nation. We must now take steps to ensure the 

programs outlined in the FAST Act are funded. 

Since 1996, the Midwestern states have worked together to plan and implement 

a 3,000-mile Chicago-hub system to connect the region with fast, frequent passenger 

rail service through the MWRRI. When completed, approximately 90 percent of the 

Midwest’s population will be within a one-hour car ride to a Midwest Regional Rail 

System station and/or within 30 minutes of a feeder bus station. Please see Exhibit 

A for a map of the Midwest Regional Rail System. 

14 

Michigan’s rail system is comprised of more than 3,600 miles of track, of which 

665 miles are state-owned rail lines. This includes 135 miles of the federally designated Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac high-speed rail corridor. In addition, Amtrak owns 

approximately 97 miles of this same corridor in Indiana and Michigan. This is largest area of Amtrak ownership not associated with the Northeast Corridor. This combined 232 miles of public ownership represents nearly 80 percent of the entire Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac corridor. 

Please see Exhibit B for a map of the state-owned rail lines and Exhibit C for 

a map of Michigan’s intercity passenger rail system, as operated by Amtrak. 

In partnership with MDOT, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), 

the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have initiated a program to evaluate passenger rail improvements 


223HOEFF1.eps 223HOEFF2.eps
15 

for the Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac passenger rail corridor. The program includes three 

components: 

• An evaluation of potential route and service alternatives for the corridor. 

• A Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement that reviews the impacts and benefits of the rail service. 

• A Service Development Plan that will serve as a business plan for future implementation decisions. 

The program’s purpose is to improve intercity mobility by providing an improved 

passenger rail service that would be a competitive transportation alternative to 

automobile, bus, and air service between Chicago and Detroit/Pontiac. The vision for 

the corridor includes safe and reliable passenger rail service that offers frequent, 

daily round trips at speeds up to 110 miles per hour. The program will provide sufficient information for FRA to potentially support future decisions to fund and implement a major investment in the Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac passenger rail corridor. 

Being developed in concert with the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) program, the Englewood Flyover and other proposed 

projects, this program will increase efficiency in the region’s rail network and reduce 

rail corridor congestion in and around the Chicago area. Michigan has been working 

very closely with Indiana and Illinois to develop plans in the south of the lake region key to both CREATE and the Detroit/Pontiac Rail Corridor Program. 

Preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Service Development Plan are under way and expected to be complete in 2016. Please see Exhibit 

D for a map of the study area. 

Exhibit E portrays the ownership of rail along the Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac corridor. Since 1995, FRA, Amtrak and MDOT have tested, developed and implemented 

Incremental Train Control System (ITCS), which is a communications-based Positive Train Control (PTC) system to allow trains to travel at speeds more than 90 

mph, between Porter, Indiana, and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Trains have been traveling at 110 mph on this segment since February 2012. This was the first place not 

connected to the Northeast Corridor to operate at 110 mph. 

Track improvements are under way between Kalamazoo and Dearborn to allow 

trains to travel at speeds of up to 110 mph, which will extend higher speeds from 

Porter, Indiana, to Dearborn. This will allow travel time by train to be competitive 

with travel on the highway in the region. 


223HOEFF3.eps
16 

MDOT has contracted with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail service since 1973. 

Michigan has continued (Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac) this relationship over the years, 

even as the financial burden to the state has greatly increased. There are three Amtrak-operated services in Michigan: the Pere Marquette service (Grand Rapids—Chicago), the Blue Water service (Port Huron—Chicago), and the Wolverine service 

(Pontiac—Detroit—Chicago). These services are summarized below: 

• Pere Marquette service (Grand Rapids—Chicago) 

• 176 Miles 

• One round trip daily 

• Serving 4 station communities in Michigan 

• Blue Water service (Port Huron—Chicago) 

• 319 Miles 

• One round trip daily 

• Serving nine station communities in Michigan 

• Wolverine service (Pontiac—Detroit—Chicago) 

• 304 miles 

• Three round trips daily 

• Serving 12 station communities in Michigan 

The Pere Marquette and Blue Water have always been state-supported services. 

The Wolverine was part of Amtrak’s basic system of service, but became state-supported with the implementation of Section 209 under the Passenger Rail Investment 

and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008. Michigan is now one of only a few states that 

has no benefit from Amtrak long distance service, or the basic system of service. 

Without state support for Amtrak services, there would be no intercity passenger 

rail service in Michigan. With the implementation of PRIIA, Michigan’s operating 

support went from $8 million in 2013 to upwards of $25 million in 2014. In addition, 

the State of Michigan has made more than $1.1 billion in capital investments in the 

Amtrak-operated rail corridors over the last 40 years. More than $129 million of 

these capital investments have come from state dollars, as well as more than $18 

million from local or private funds with the remaining $956 million from Federal 

dollars. 

The following are Exhibits F and G, which summarize the annual ridership and 

revenue for the three Amtrak services in Michigan from 2008 to 2015. While Michigan’s revenue numbers are maintaining steady levels, fuel prices have impacted 

Michigan’s ridership, which is consistent with Amtrak services nationwide. 


223HOEFF4.eps
17 

In July 2015, the Midwest was chosen as one of two regions that FRA will partner 

with to develop a long-term (20–40 years) vision for a high-performance regional rail 

network. The Midwest’s FRA-led planning project will determine the priorities, 

studies and investment needs to advance projects within the multi-state network 

context and also will identify the potential institutional arrangements, financial requirements, phasing, planning, and development activities needed to achieve the vision. 


223HOEFF5.eps 223HOEFF6.eps
18 

During Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, more than 2.8 million people traveled on corridor 

services within the Midwest, capping off 10 years of impressive growth on these regional, state-supported routes. During the past 10 years, ridership on Midwestern 

corridor routes has increased 58 percent, while ridership on long-distance routes 

that serve the Midwest has grown by 14 percent. Eight long-distances routes serve 

the Midwest, all originating out of Chicago, which is the Nation’s largest rail hub. 

Altogether, these routes have 80 station stops across the Midwest, many of them 

in rural communities not served by other forms of intercity transportation. 

Economic development nationwide will benefit if transportation is developed as an 

integrated system of all modes. Passenger rail is generally the best option for transporting people who are traveling between 100 and 600 miles. It is also often the 

best transportation mode in certain types of weather and under emergency situations. A weak intercity passenger rail ‘‘leg’’ results in congestion, lost travel time, 

and decreased fuel-efficiency. 

Between FY 2009 and FY 2011, Congress appropriated more than $10 billion in 

Federal funding to states for passenger rail capital improvements and planning. 

Under the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) program, the Midwest was 

awarded $2.5 billion. The majority of funding will help improve or develop four key 

interstate passenger rail corridors: 

• Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City 

• Chicago-Minneapolis/St. Paul 

• Chicago-Quad Cities 

• Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac 

A group of Midwestern states also has received $268 million to buy ‘‘next generation’’ rail cars and locomotives that will modernize the Midwest’s fleet, help accommodate increased ridership, improve service reliability, and reduce operating costs 

on eight interstate corridors. While this funding is allowing our states to strengthen 

and expand passenger rail service significantly in our region, Midwestern states 

need continued assurance of adequate Federal capital assistance in order to continue this valuable development. 

Connectivity between the regional services and national network also is important. Regional services offer more frequencies on shorter corridors, while the national network of long distance services offers less daily frequencies. Both regional 

and long distance services are mutually beneficial, as they provide vital connectivity 

to many areas of the country. This is similar to how regional airlines connect to 

major airports, or local roads connect to the interstate freeways, which then connect 

to the important national highway system. Not only do long distance services provide end-to-end connections, but they also provide connections to rural communities 

along the routes that may not be served by other modes of intercity transportation. 

It is important to Michigan to implement a direct connection to the east coast and 

Northeast Corridor. This will eliminate the need for Michigan travelers to go west 

to Chicago and then east. This could be accomplished by rerouting one of the long 

distance trains through Michigan, which may reduce the costs of these trains. Another option would be to provide a direct connection from Michigan routes to the 

long distance trains. Michigan has requested Amtrak to consider rerouting one of 

the long distance trains to the east coast through Michigan over their ownership 

and Michigan ownership. 

It is also important to consider international connectivity, for which Michigan and 

the Midwest are at the center of the Great Lakes international economic mega-region. The United States and Canada are one another’s largest trading partners, 

with more than $575 billion in annual trade last year, of which more than 35 percent passed through Michigan’s borders. Also in this region, more than one-third of 

the populations of both the United States and Canada live within an approximately 

600-mile radius. This presents great opportunity for success of an international passenger train service between Chicago and Toronto/Montreal by connecting these 

major population centers. 

• Chicago urban area population: 9.5 million 

• Detroit urban area population: 3.75 million 

• Toronto urban area population: more than 6 million 

• Montreal urban area population: 3.8 million 

Michigan is actively supporting and working toward restoring cross-border passenger rail service on the Detroit-Windsor rail corridor. Establishing this service is 

a priority for MDOT as part of an expanded seamless rail corridor providing passenger service between Chicago and Toronto or Montreal. Michigan has been workVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:15 Oct 25, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22128.TXT JACKIE
19 

ing closely with the government of Ontario to plan for and implement this corridor. 

The Chicago-Toronto/Montreal corridor is the most obvious ‘‘missing link’’ in the 

North American rail passenger system. 

Providing cross-border passenger rail service will increase the attractiveness of 

passenger rail travel within the region, allowing us to capture travelers who may 

be currently choosing other modes of transportation. This improved and expanded 

service along the corridor will also enhance our economic competitiveness—at the 

local, state, and regional levels—through increased ridership and will promote crossborder tourism and travel. It will promote energy and environmental efficiency by 

reducing vehicle emissions, as well as alleviate bridge, tunnel, and road congestion. 

Intercity mobility along the Chicago-Toronto/Montreal corridor also will be enhanced 

and will support interconnected communities by providing a more reliable passenger 

rail service. 

In FY 2015, the 30 state-supported services nationwide carried approximately 15 

million passengers, which represented nearly 50 percent of Amtrak’s ridership, to 

nearly 300 communities throughout America. These trains have generated more 

than $486 million in ticket sales for Amtrak. The states have paid Amtrak another 

$223 million to operate these services, all with no direct involvement in Amtrak’s 

oversight or governance. 

In closing, I want to stress the importance of continued and reliable capital investments, which are key to the success of all transportation modes—including passenger rail. While funding received in recent years is allowing the Midwest to 

strengthen and expand passenger rail service significantly, we need to maintain our 

momentum and continue strengthening the performance of our regional rail system. 

Michigan and our partner Midwestern states need continued assurance of adequate 

Federal capital assistance. 

Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to submit testimony. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Mr. Hoeffner. 

Mr. Klein? 

STATEMENT OF RICK KLEIN, CITY MANAGER, 

CITY OF LA JUNTA, COLORADO 

Mr. KLEIN. Thank you very much for your invitation to come 

here. I feel very proud to represent our area. 

Thank you for your great service to this great nation. The old 

adage ‘‘this nation was built by trains’’ is as important today as it 

was back when our Nation was being built. 

Everybody knows that we will see a lot of changes over the next 

few decades. America will need a better passenger rail system. Everybody knows that times are not as good as they used to. Money 

is hard to come by and we need to cut back on Federal spending. 

When this great nation was being built, we had fewer resources 

and less technology than we enjoy today. And our forefathers put 

together a rail system that served both freight and passengers. 

Amtrak connects towns, employs residents, serves as an engine for 

economic development in La Junta, Colorado, and in the West. 

Five years ago when Amtrak’s contract with Burlington Northern 

Santa Fe was due to expire in 2016, and we could lose Amtrak’s 

Southwest Chief from Newton, Kansas, west to Albuquerque, New 

Mexico, if $100 million of rail infrastructure was not brought back 

up to passenger rail standards and another $100 million for continued maintenance. The train would be relocated or discontinued. 

The City of La Junta initiated a three-state coalition to help save 

Amtrak through our region. We formed a Southwest Chief Coalition along with communities and counties in Kansas, Colorado, and 

New Mexico. Our first attempt was to secure funds from Title 5, 

which we did not get, but we learned a lot of lessons. You know, 

so we have been successful working along with the Colorado delegation, along with the Kansas and New Mexico delegation. Then, 

20 

we have been successful with TIGERs VI and VII, and they are 

currently ongoing right now. 

With the TIGER grants and working with Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Amtrak, we have reduced this amount to about $38 

million left of rail to be replaced. After TIGER VII, we will have 

completed 127 contiguous miles of new infrastructure helping Amtrak achieve the speeds needed to stay on schedule in Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico, and in New Mexico a critical section by 

Lamy where train speeds will increase from 30 miles an hour to 

79 miles per hour improving service. 

We are working with the State of Colorado, Burlington Northern 

Santa Fe, Amtrak, bus companies to develop a multimodal facility. 

This is an effort to create tourism in our area. There are similar 

efforts going on throughout our region. Even in New Mexico, what 

I found is there is one called La Castaneda that is being rebuilt 

and it is a historical Amtrak station, and it is by the same people 

that have the La Posada in Winslow, Arizona. And it is a beautiful 

train structure that serves as the station. 

So we have found, I have found that we have dedicated people 

working hard across this Nation on partnership work. The Federal 

Railroad Administration has been great to work with, as so has 

been the three States’ Departments of Transportation. 

When asking for matches for TIGER VII, we have communities 

that did not have an Amtrak stop in their communities but they 

provided matches for the grant. The message was loud and clear. 

We need to save this route so we could have access to this great 

nation. 

We see a movement where more people are using mass transit 

and want to be connected to this network. They would rather be 

on their cell phones, their iPads and stuff as they are traveling 

versus driving. 

Thank you for the FAST Act. The grant opportunities for the 25 

percent set-aside in rural areas, for consolidated rail infrastructure 

and safety improvements is deeply appreciated. We feel that partnerships are the way to get these improvements done. 

Long-distance trains provide our intercity travel. Whether I am 

going to Dodge City, Kansas, or down to Santa Fe, New Mexico, 

that is our mode of travel. And I have run into just everyday people 

just from your Amish to your working families to travelers from all 

over the world, and they say this is the way we travel. I feel like 

the Little Engine going up to big mountain saying I think we can, 

I think we can. Then, I think about how important it is to us as 

a community for our economic development, tourism, and mobility. 

So I know that we can make it up this mountain with you guys 

as our partners. As you know, passenger rail is a very important 

part of our nation’s future and our region’s future. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Klein follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF RICK KLEIN, CITY MANAGER, 

CITY OF LA JUNTA, COLORADO

Thank you for your service to our great nation. 

The old adage ‘‘This nation was built by trains’’ is as important today as it was 

back when our Nation was being built. The nation is still being built and with the 

changes that we will see over the next few decades, America will need a better passenger rail system. Everyone knows that times are not as good as they use to be. 

21 

Money is hard to come by and we need to cut back on Federal spending. When this 

great nation was built, we had fewer resources and less technology than we enjoy 

today and our forefathers put together a system of rail that served our communities 

for both freight and passengers. 

Amtrak connects towns’, employs residents, and serves as an engine for economic 

development in La Junta and the West. 

Five years ago, Amtrak’s contract with the BNSF was due to expire in 2016 and 

we could lose Amtrak’s Southwest Chief from Newton, Kansas west to Albuquerque, 

New Mexico, if $100 million of rail infrastructure wasn’t bought back up to passenger rail standards. The train would be relocated along the Transcom line to the 

south. 

The City of La Junta initiated a three State coalition to help save Amtrak through 

our region. We formed the Southwest Chief coalition along with communities and 

counties in Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. Our first attempt was to secure 

funds form TIGER V, but failed. We did learned how the process worked and with 

the help of the Colorado delegation along with the Kansas and New Mexico’s delegation, we have been successful with our TIGER VI and VII applications. 

With the TIGER Grants and working with BNSF and Amtrak we have reduced 

this amount to about $38 million dollars left to be replaced. After the TIGER VII 

is complete we will have 127 contiguous miles of new infrastructure helping Amtrak 

achieve the speeds needed to stay on their schedule in Kansas and Colorado. And 

in New Mexico a critical section by Lamy, trains speeds will increase from 30 mph 

to 79mph improving service. 

We also are working with the State of Colorado, BNSF, Amtrak, and bus companies to develop a multi-modal facility. This is an effort to create tourism in our area. 

There are similar efforts going on throughout the region. 

The City of La Junta is currently working on TIGER VII with all three states, 

communities and counties and the FRA to complete this task. I have found that we 

have dedicated people working hard together to complete this partnership work. The 

FRA has been great to work with as has been the three States Departments of 

Transportation. 

When asking for matches for TIGER VII, we have communities that didn’t have 

an Amtrak stop in their communities, but provided matches for the grant. The message was consistent that we needed to save this route in our area, so we can have 

access to this great nation. We see a movement, where more people in the Cities 

are using Mass Transit and we want to be connected to this network. 

Thank you for the FAST Act. The grant opportunities for the 25 percent set aside 

for rural areas in the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements is 

deeply appreciated. We feel that partnerships are the way to get these improvements done. Long distance trains provide our intercity travel. Whether I’m going to 

Santa Fe, New Mexico or to Dodge City, Kansas, this is the way to travel. When 

traveling, I meet tourist from all over the world. From young working families to 

the Amish, they tell me how this is how they travel. 

I feel like the little engine going up the big mountain saying ‘‘I think we can, I 

think we can’’. Then, I think about how important passenger trains are to us as a 

community for Economic Development, Tourism, and mobility. So, I know we have 

to make it up that mountain with you as our partner. Passenger Rail is an important part of our Nation’s and region’s future. 

Mr. KLEIN. And to Mr. Boardman and to your retirement, well 

earned. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Thanks, Rick. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Mr. Klein. You make an excellent 

point. Of course, you have all made excellent points. But I think 

when they are on their cell phones and smartphones and iPads, we 

would like for them not to have their hands on the steering wheel 

so—— 

Mr. KLEIN. Yes. 

Senator WICKER. It appears to me that passenger rail is one of 

the solutions to distracted driving. 

Now, Mr. Boardman, you can wrap things up for our testimony. 

We are delighted to have you back here before the Subcommittee. 

22 

STATEMENT OF JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN, PRESIDENT AND 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AMTRAK 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Thank you, Chairman Wicker. And thank you 

for your kind words, and yours, too, Mr. Booker, and also Mr. Nelson and Ms. Fischer. 

I am pleased to have the opportunity this morning to be with you 

and with the rest of the panelists. I really regret missing the trip 

that you took last week because initially I intended to go, and I 

would have had a chance to see what you saw. And I understood, 

as you went along, the energy for everybody just kept growing and 

growing along the way. 

Senator WICKER. Chairman Carper was with us and represented 

Amtrak capably, so tell him thank you. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Thank you. I will. 

I saw the videos and I saw the articles and I heard what our 

folks had to say about the trip and the tremendous outpouring of 

support. The work you and your colleagues did in creating a mechanism for service restoration under the FAST Act will be a critical 

part of how the regions in this country like the gulf coast go about 

restoring Amtrak service. 

We are America’s railroad because we were created by Congress 

and serve over 500 communities in 46 of the 48 states. We do not 

just leap from city to city. We connect smaller towns like La Junta 

and communities with one another and with the Nation’s major 

urban centers. These communities pay taxes, too, and we provide 

them a service they use and depend on. I think the excitement you 

saw last week is the dramatic evidence of just how much we can 

bring to those towns and how deeply they appreciate it. 

The past decade has seen some major increases in ridership and 

revenue, and I am happy about that, but we have started to encounter some headwinds. The pending Surface Transportation 

Board on-time performance rulemaking is a major one. We need to 

be on time. It could seriously impact both the long-distance and the 

State-supported trains and raise cost to the states because of that. 

We are also facing some revenue challenges. As you may have 

heard, I recently wrote to our employees and our stakeholders in 

a letter—a couple letters now actually—about some of the other 

challenges we face as ridership and revenues are affected by a drop 

in oil prices, some recent bad weather, and even the strong dollar 

for international sales. This will be a challenging fiscal year for us 

and the rail industry in general. I think these challenges will come 

and continue in the coming year, and it is going to be important 

that all of us who believe in intercity passenger rail work together 

to support its development. 

The recent FAST Act acknowledges this by including Amtrak in 

the Nation’s surface transportation policy for the first time. It restates Congress’s intention that Amtrak operate a national system 

of service. The act further requires Amtrak and the Department of 

Transportation to work together to create a separate Northeast 

Corridor in the national network and those accounts by December 

2016. 

The national network account will combine long-distance and 

State-supported services just for accounting purposes, and future 

Amtrak funding will be requested on that basis. The FRA will play 

23 

a significant role in organizing these financial accounts and will, 

when it is over, be responsible for overseeing how we allocate the 

funds. 

The long-distance trains are the only Amtrak service on 70 percent of our route mileage at half of our stations and in half of the 

states we serve. People often see these trains through the prism of 

their own experience and imagine a point-to-point operation that 

resembled an airline between major endpoints. As has already been 

testified, that does not necessarily exist. As a matter of fact, 90 

percent of our ridership on some of our longest routes is starting 

or ending somewhere along the route rather than going end point 

to end point. 

Most people depend on these trains for short distance trips, and 

you saw one of the senior citizens talk about senior citizens depending on it for a safe vacation in the video film. Getting from a 

rural community to a major city or traveling between cities along 

the route when alternatives—it has already been talked about—are 

shrinking like bus services, airline services. The majority of annual 

funding needed for long-distance trains is therefore for operating 

support to help cover the cost of these trips for passengers who 

need to make them. 

And Gateway program, which preserves and expands rail service 

between New York and New Jersey, took on an increased urgency 

in 2012. 

May I pass my time, Chairman? 

Senator WICKER. Yes, proceed. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. When Super Storm Sandy sent the saltwater 

into the tunnels connecting to Penn Station compromising critical 

electrical and safety systems, that threatened the reliability of operations day in and day out. Mr. Booker already talked about that. 

The important part here is to remember it is about the people. 

It is about their real estate values. It is about their ability to get 

the work. It is about their ability to get home and take care of their 

kids. And once that was understood, we had a political synergy 

that you talked about, Senator, to move things forward. We need 

to build a new two-track Hudson River tunnel that will allow Amtrak to rebuild the existing tunnel without disruption for those 

450-plus trains every day that operate on those two tracks. 

I came to Amtrak and I knew I was leading a very special company, but my time has proven to me over and over again that Amtrak is a national treasure, its network, its Northeast Corridor, and 

it is staffed by some of the best and most talented people in the 

rail business. And that is something this Nation cannot afford to 

lose. During my tenure, I sought a Federal commitment for all of 

Amtrak’s needs. The FAST Act has taken a critical first step, and 

I thank you for it in adding Amtrak and the intercity passenger 

program to surface reauthorization. 

We must be careful—and this is a caution—not to lose the economies of scale of a unified operation. One of the things I have 

learned in my 8 years of service is that a unified system brings not 

just economies of scale but a greater understanding of the value 

that Amtrak delivers for the Nation, and the people along the gulf 

coast now know the value that they lost in 2005 when Hurricane 

Katrina came along. I was the FRA Administrator at that time. 

24 

So the respective needs, wherever you are in this national network, for State corridors, long-distance services and the Northeast 

Corridor and unifying those interests here in Congress and across 

the country is critically important. I know you gentlemen understand that, and I thank you for it and this committee for it. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Boardman follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN, PRESIDENT

AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AMTRAK

Madam Chairman, and members of the Committee, good morning. 

I’m pleased to have the opportunity to be here with you this morning. I regret 

that I missed the chance to accompany you, Senator Wicker, on last week’s inspection trip across the Gulf Coast states. I saw the videos and the articles, and I heard 

what our folks had to say about the trip, and the outpouring of support was simply 

tremendous. The work you and your colleagues did in creating a mechanism for 

service restoration in the FAST Act will be a critical part of how regions of the country like the Gulf Coast go about restoring Amtrak service. 

We are ‘‘America’s Railroad’’ because we were created by Congress, and serve over 

500 communities in 46 of the 48 contiguous states. We don’t just leap from city to 

city—we connect smaller towns and communities with one another, and with the 

Nation’s major urban centers. These communities pay taxes too, and we provide 

them a service they use and depend on. I think the excitement you saw last week 

is dramatic evidence of just how much we can bring to those towns—and how deeply 

they appreciate it. 

The past decade has seen major increases in ridership and revenue. But, we’ve 

started to encounter some headwinds. The pending Surface Transportation Board 

on-time performance rulemaking is one major issue. It could seriously impact both 

the long distance and state supported trains, and raise costs to states. We are also 

facing some revenue challenges. As you may have heard, I recently wrote our employees and our stakeholders a letter about some other challenges we face, as ridership and revenues are affected by the drop in oil prices, recent bad weather—and 

even a strong dollar, which hurt international sales. This will be a challenging Fiscal Year for us and the rail industry. I think these challenges will continue in the 

years to come, and it’s going to be important that all of us who believe in intercity 

passenger rail work together to support its development. 

The recent FAST Act acknowledges this by including Amtrak in the Nation’s surface policy for the first time, and as with previous reauthorizations, it restates 

Congress’s intention that Amtrak operate a national system of service. The Act further requires Amtrak and the Department of Transportation to work together to create separate ‘‘Northeast Corridor’’ and ‘‘National Network’’ accounts by December, 

2016. The National Network account will combine Long Distance and State Supported networks for accounting purposes, and future Amtrak funding will be requested on that basis. The FRA will play a significant role in the organizing of these 

financial accounts and will, when it’s over, be responsible for overseeing how we allocate these funds. 

The long distance trains are the only Amtrak service on 70 percent of our route 

mileage, at half of our stations, and in half of the states we serve. People often see 

these trains through the prism of their own experience, and imagine a point-to-point 

operation that resembles an airline between the major endpoints, such as Chicago 

and Seattle. But while these trains operate between distant endpoints, that is not 

how they’re typically used by our riders. As much as 90 percent of the ridership on 

some of our longest routes is starting or ending somewhere along the route, rather 

than going endpoint to endpoint. People mostly depend on these trains for shortdistance trips—getting from a rural community to a major city or traveling between 

cities along the route, when alternatives like bus service, commercial flights or private auto use aren’t available or practical. The majority of the annual funding need 

for the long distance trains is therefore for operating support to help cover the costs 

of these trips for passengers who need to make them. 

On the other hand, the needs of the Northeast Corridor are essentially all capitalrelated. This committee has heard testimony in the past from numerous officials, 

including recently our Board Chairman, Tony Coscia, and the NEC Commission, 

about the urgent need for capital investment in the infrastructure. Our top priority 

among a long list of major priorities is the Gateway Program. 

The Gateway Program—which preserves and expands rail service between New 

York and New Jersey—took on increased urgency in 2012, when Super Storm Sandy 

25 

sent salt water into the tunnels connecting to Penn Station, compromising critical 

electrical and signal systems and threatening the reliability of operations day-in and 

day-out. The first element of the Gateway Program is to build a new, two-track 

Hudson River rail tunnel that will allow Amtrak to rebuild the existing tunnel without disruption to the 450 daily NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak trains that operate over 

these two tracks. 

In light of this imperative, steps have been taken in that last year to move critical 

elements forward. The FAST Act makes key changes to Federal loan and grant programs that will benefit both Gateway and other programs. The announcement of a 

Federal/State 50–50 funding and financing split and creation of the ‘‘Gateway Development Corporation’’ to deliver the program has been a significant step, as is the 

planned launch in April of the environmental process for the crucial Hudson Tunnel 

Project. Important those these steps are, major Federal funding is needed to advance the program, particularly ready-to-go projects such as the Portal Bridge replacement. 

Let me say in closing that we want to continue the trend of recent years, both 

by becoming more efficient and transparent, and continuing to reduce debt levels 

and improve ridership and revenue, while exploiting all opportunities to expand the 

reach of our service. As you saw just last week, there’s a pent-up demand for rail 

passenger services. The inclusion of Amtrak in the surface transportation reauthorization creates an opportunity to address the great outstanding need for a dedicated 

and predictable source of funding. 

I say this because we all have an interest in ensuring that Amtrak continues to 

be as effective as possible, and that the American people in all regions of the country receive the passenger service they deserve. We are committed to embracing innovation that can help drive greater value for the American public and have started 

considering ways to respond to both the changing markets and needs of the nation, 

while taking the Committee’s expectations into account. In doing so, we must make 

sure we don’t compromise our ability to offer service efficiently. When I came to Amtrak, I knew I was leading a very special company—but my time there has proven 

to me, over and over again, that Amtrak is a national treasure, staffed by some of 

the best and most talented people in the rail business. That is something this Nation cannot afford to lose. 

During my tenure, I sought a Federal commitment for all of Amtrak’s needs. The 

FAST Act has taken the critical first step by adding Amtrak and the intercity passenger rail program to surface reauthorization. But the key will be whether appropriations levels can grow over time to meet the major capital needs we have in the 

Northeast Corridor and across the company. While the realignment of the company 

into specified accounts has benefits, we also see risks, particularly in a constrained 

funding environment. We must be careful not to lose the economies of scale of a unified operation. One of the things I have learned in my eight years of service is that 

a unified system brings not just economies of scale, but a greater understanding of 

the value that Amtrak delivers for the Nation. We hope the FAST Act can help to 

build an even stronger network of support for intercity passenger rail service around 

the respective needs of our national network of state corridors and long distance 

services and the Northeast Corridor infrastructure and unifying those interested 

here in the Congress and across the country. 

Senator WICKER. Well, thank you very much. And thank you to 

all of our panelists. 

We are very pleased to note that 10 Senators have attended all 

or a portion of this subcommittee hearing. We are going to take 

questions, and at this point the order—I will go last, so at this 

point the order is going to be Senator Gardner, then Senator Booker, then Senator Ayotte. And others may be coming and going. 

But, Senator Gardner, you are recognized. 

Senator GARDNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for 

that order as well. I appreciate it. A lot of hearings today, so thank 

you. 

Mr. Klein—thank you to all of you for your testimony today—and 

you talked about the $25 million in grants-matching dollars that 

have been in support of the track repairs necessary to keep the 

Southwest Chief running. In order to secure the necessary funding, 

which could amount to the $200 million that you talked about, 

26 

more than just Federal funding is going to be needed and has been 

put forward. So could you talk a little bit more specifically about 

some of the contributions made from states and local governments 

in support of track repairs for the Southwest Chief? 

Mr. KLEIN. Yes, sir. Thank you. The first time when we started, 

you know, it was more of an effort between the State of Kansas 

and the State of Colorado, and that was with TIGER VI. And Garden City stepped up to the plate to be the applicant for it. And during that time, you know, we were learning about, you know, what 

were the needs and everything, but we were working along with 

Amtrak and Burlington Northern Santa Fe on how to reduce those 

dollar amounts. 

And during that time, you know, between TIGER VI and TIGER 

VII, Burlington Northern Santa Fe has come to the table tremendously because, you know, some of the freight has come up on their 

lines where they are going to cover a lot of those costs. And also 

within the state of Colorado the same thing except for a little short 

segment, you know, Raton Pass. 

New Mexico, you know, they are a different situation because 

they only have like one train that hits on a portion of that track, 

but when I was going through—when I see that video and I see 

what was going on there, that is train day every year in our area. 

I mean, people show up and just because it is a small town, you 

know, I am usually the guy that is up there speaking in my town. 

But they all show up. They love that train, you know. And it is for 

medical needs, it is for, you know, to go see their parents, to take 

their parents places. It is our lifeline. 

And I see a true partnership that, you know, I was real shocked. 

And I am a civil engineer. I was a highway guy. And when I first 

started this I thought, you know, wow, this is—but they have 

changed me over, you know. I see it and I see the evolution. You 

know, like when my family and I went out to Chicago and we were 

able to leave union station and go a block over to hit the Brown 

line and get to our hotel. When I went to Kansas City and was able 

to get off and then walk up to that Power & Light or to get off at 

the train, you know, in Lamy and just a short commute over to the 

Santa Fe, and—it connects us all. And it has been a tremendous 

ride so far. 

Senator GARDNER. And Kansas put in $1 million and New Mexico as well and Colorado from the states? 

Mr. KLEIN. Yes, sir, great point. You know, when we first started, you know, all three DOTs, you know, they came and said, hey, 

you know, great idea, do not have any money. Now, with TIGER 

VII, you know, TIGER VI, the State of Kansas did put out $2 million, between TIGER VI, TIGER VII, the State of Colorado. We 

started a Southwest Chief Tourism Infrastructure Mobility Commission, State commission, and we did get $1 million out of them 

and also $1 million out of the State of New Mexico Department of 

Transportation. 

You know, as they get more educated in what the needs are, everybody comes to the table. Mora, New Mexico, has like 2,500 people, and they put up $5,000, and they did not even have a stop but 

it was that important to them. And when I was at a meeting and 

I see how important that is to rural America, it made me continue 

27 

on. And once we get this rail infrastructure done, it does not end. 

This is a lifelong journey now. 

Senator GARDNER. It is pretty incredible to see the list of contributors, and like you said, there are three stops in Colorado but a 

number of communities contributed to this matching grant. I mean, 

when you see the city of Las Vegas right next to the City of Lamar, 

Colorado, contributing to the grant, that says something about the 

importance of this funding. So thank you, Mr. Klein, for being here 

and the passion which you have fought for the Southwest Chief 

and all of southeastern Colorado. 

Mr. Boardman, talk a little bit about some of the work we have 

been doing in Denver as well. The Union Station, last year we had 

a great sendoff of the Ski Train, kicked off again for the restart of 

the Ski Train for a weekend, two days. During that weekend it sold 

out almost immediately when they opened up the Ski Train from 

Denver to Winter Park ski area. And we have talked about trying 

to get it started for 2016, but there were some safety concerns that 

all parties involved with needed to be addressed before that were 

to be allowed again. Can you talk a little bit about the update on 

infrastructure improvements that will be needed to allow the Winter Park Ski Train to run again? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Sure. But can I stay on La Junta for just a 

minute? 

Senator GARDNER. Yes. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. So one of the things that also happened in La 

Junta—and now we are here for passenger rail—but it really preserved a freight route through Colorado, and that was good for the 

economy as well. So it was something that was important. And that 

is the partnership we do have with the freight railroads as we do 

have a symbiotic relationship. 

We want to get started again on the Ski Train, no question about 

it. Union Pacific—and I have talked to them directly myself—want 

that stop rebuilt, and I think that next month or May, April or 

May, I think DOT is going to make a decision on funding to get 

that built. And once we get that done, we are going to have a much 

better service going into Winter Park and we are committed to it. 

Senator GARDNER. Thank you. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Senator Gardner. 

The other Cory, Senator Booker? 

Senator BOOKER. Member of the Cory Caucus, proud to be a 

member of the Cory Caucus in the Senate. 

Mr. Boardman, again, you and I have discussed the Gateway 

Project. I appreciate you mentioning it in your remarks. The 

project starts with replacement of the 206-year-old tunnels under 

the Hudson River, as well as the repair and replacement of the portal bridge over the Hackensack River. So I just want to sort of get 

you to comment for the record on the impact of this infrastructure 

in the New Jersey/New York economy. But that is actually the real 

heart of it. I would like to know what you think the impact is beyond New York and New Jersey. Why is this project important to 

the United States of America as a whole in terms of our overall 

economy? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, I think one of the things—thank you, Senator. One of the things that needs to be understood right away is 

28 

what we really have in the Metropolitan area of New York City. 

It is the financial capital of the world. It does not have to stay as 

the financial capital of the world. There are others that would like 

that in London or Tokyo or some of the other places across the 

world. And the support and necessity to support that really comes 

from the ability to move people in and out in an efficient, effective 

manner. We are talking about 350,000 people or more that we need 

to move back and forth across the Hudson River every day. 

The Northeast Corridor, we handle over 750,000 people a day because it is not just Amtrak service. This is all the commuter railroads up and down the corridor. That corridor was 2 percent of the 

land in this country and is nearly 20 or 25 percent of the GDP in 

this Nation. 

The problem that occurred in July—and July was a turning point 

for me and for others—we could not operate the service because of 

power failures. And those power failures came from two cables, one 

in the south tube, one in the north tube, that provided the power 

necessary to operate the trains in and out of New York City. So 

people could not get to their jobs. 

And those jobs, whether they be in the financial services industry 

or insurance or just the need to operate a community like New 

York City are critical for this country and New York and New Jersey to maintain their tax base, to maintain their services, and to 

make sure that this country is globally competitive in the world. 

Senator BOOKER. And so the FAST Act, again, the partnership 

that I had with the esteemed Roger Wicker, can you describe how 

that is going to benefit the Northeast Corridor just for a moment? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes. Well, we hope it does. What we are really 

looking for here is a funding mechanism to get started on the improvements that are substantial cost: two new tunnels, two new 

tracks in addition to the station. We are looking at the private sector; we are looking at the Federal public sector in both states. And 

all have committed to that at this point in time. 

The FAST Act brings that all together in a way that we believe 

will allow us to create a pathway to financing it and at the same 

time that FAST Act recognizes across the country—and these folks 

have been talking about it—the necessity in other places as well 

so that we can provide the—we as a nation can provide those investments, those capital investments and those operating investments necessary to maintain service across the country. The FAST 

Act does that. 

Senator BOOKER. In the little bit of time I have left let us shift 

real quickly to safety issues. How is the experience with Positive 

Train Control on the Northeast Corridor been going now that it is 

operational? And also, what progress have you made on the rest of 

the system? And what will it take to finish the job? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. It is going very well. I think we have all sections 

on the main spine of the Northeast Corridor operating at this time 

with the exception of that which was commuter railroads we are 

responsible for, Long Island Railroad and Metro North. I believe we 

will complete the Keystone, which is the corridor from Philadelphia 

to Harrisburg, by the end of March where all the testing will be 

done. Everything is installed but the testing has to be finished. 

29 

We need a schedule yet for the New Haven to Springfield line because we are reconstructing that into a double track with the State 

of Connecticut. We need a schedule with the State of New York 

where we are rebuilding the line between New York City and Albany, and both will be scheduled, I think, to be done in 2017. I just 

was talking a little bit to Tim early on. We are working with them 

to rebuild their 127 miles of track up in Michigan. That will be a 

little bit different, Positive Train Control, ITCS, which is not the 

same as we operate in the Northeast Corridor, but we are making 

very good progress. 

Senator BOOKER. I appreciate it. Thank you, Chairman. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you very much. 

Senator Ayotte? 

STATEMENT OF HON. KELLY AYOTTE, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE 

Senator AYOTTE. I want to thank the Chairman and the Ranking 

Member. 

I wanted to, Mayor Ross, ask you about essentially in New 

Hampshire we have a project that is under consideration right 

now, and perhaps Mr. Klein could give us some advice as well on 

this. This is to extend commuter rail line from Lowell, Massachusetts, up to Nashua where I live and then on to Manchester. And 

so this is something that has been discussed in our state for a 

number of years by various leaders in the state. 

And I understand your role on the gulf coast rail service working 

group that you have been working with Federal partners to initiate 

a route for state-supported service from New Orleans, Louisiana, to 

Mobile, Alabama, and then as well as a route for long-distance 

service between New Orleans and Orlando, Florida. 

And so also when I heard Mr. Klein talking about the experience 

of getting the communities to support what you have done in La 

Junta along the way, if I could have you speak to what are the 

challenges and opportunities as you are expanding passenger rail 

service? What are some lessons that you learned? And what are the 

key factors that communities exploring these options should learn 

from the experience? Because you have got more than one state involved, you have got localities, you have got hopefully some Federal 

dollars that you can leverage, but then also there are State dollars 

that are needed and local dollars. So I wanted to get your thoughts 

on some lessons learned as our state looks at this kind of issue. 

Mr. ROSS. I think the initial thing is having a group like our 

Southern Rail Commission—that is a three-state compact—that we 

have people who represent each State’s interests—— 

Senator AYOTTE. Yes. 

Mr. ROSS.—because the three states that we work with have 

varying levels of support for what we do, and you run into that in 

each group of States. Louisiana has had very little support until 

their new Governor was elected, and now they are very supportive 

of what we do. Mississippi with Senator Wicker and Governor Bryant have been extremely supportive of us of late. And Alabama has 

been a challenge. 

And so we begin to work each one of those, and we use our commissioners to figure out who the partners are. And those partners 

30 

can be the mayors, as Mr. Klein talked about. As you find those 

mayors, then they can easily call you and they can bring the parties to the table. 

We have also reached out to business leaders, and along that 

route in Mississippi, Alabama, and soon to be in Florida there is 

a lot of casino gaming that need to move their customers back and 

forth, and they are a very big partner and going to be a very big 

financial partner in what we do. 

So we begin to try to find the different sources of funding to be 

able to do that. So you put together a plan and you start to present 

it. So what we did is we had a feasibility study that we paid Amtrak to do, and so we found that the service was feasible. It is possible. And then we began to work with Senator Wicker and the others to put together the Gulf Coast Working Group or you put together—— 

Senator AYOTTE. When you say the services feasible—— 

Mr. ROSS. Yes. 

Senator AYOTTE.—how much do you think you will have to subsidize? 

Mr. ROSS. Well, the long-distance train came up with an initial subsidy of about $5 million. We could run both the long-distance 

train into Mobile and New Orleans for about $9.5 million according 

to the—and those numbers were very conservative. I mean, they 

spent a lot of time trying to come up with and make sure that they 

were not really undershooting what they thought it would be. 

And so when we put those out there, people said, OK, we can 

work with that. We can work with our partners. They can begin 

to try to help make up the subsidy. And we educated our leaders 

on the benefits of it. And we really used the mayors because they 

see—they want opportunity. And it is just like what you are talking about. They want the connection. 

I was able to ride the Downeaster. I have ridden the Vermonter. 

I have seen the connection that your state has to have with Boston 

and New York. It just has to have it to bring the people out there 

and to bring the people back and for you to prosper and grow, for 

those people to have that opportunity. Not everybody is going to 

drive, not everybody in Boston has a car, and so they are going to 

get on at North Station and come to you. 

Senator AYOTTE. Not everyone wants to sit in the traffic either. 

Mr. ROSS. Absolutely correct. Absolutely correct. But it is starting with a large picture with like a Commission and then moving 

it down to the mayors and finding advocates. You find individual 

advocates like in Bay St. Louis you saw on the—you did not get 

a chance to see the film, but the first stop is a little town called 

Bay St. Louis. 

I called a lady named Nikki Moon there who owns a bed-andbreakfast, and I said we need to have a party for this train for people to know that people support it. She said I am on it. She said 

why I am on this is I have a bed-and-breakfast that people from 

New Orleans will get on the train and they will come to my bedand-breakfast and stay here. And she understood economics. You 

find those people and they work for you. 

Mr. KLEIN. And out in the West what I have found out everything is grassroots, right? And so I turned to Colorado rail to kind 

31 

of see, OK, you know, what is out there and educated myself on 

it. And then we just took a map and we invited everybody in. That 

first meeting, everybody showed, all three states, county commissioners, mayors, city people. I was really pleased. By the end of the 

meeting we had chairmen within each of the three states, and then 

we started working as far as within each state to build out, you 

know, who are the users, you know, what groups need this train, 

why do they need this train. And what we found out was there was 

just a core group of people out there that was really concerned 

about the train leaving and what it meant to their qualities of life, 

you know, whether medical or whatever or just travel. 

Then you look for your champions. You know, in the State of Colorado there was a County Commissioner out of Pueblo County, Sal 

Pace. He was an ex-legislator and he opened up some doors and 

helped us create the State Commission. And same thing down in 

New Mexico, Bill Sabo from Colfax County, and a gentleman that 

passed on, Ford Robbins out of Santa Fe. And even as Ford was 

dying of cancer and he was waiting for the TIGER VII application 

to be accepted and approved, you know, and he did not see that, 

but you know, I know that up to his end that is what he was fighting for. And it is those type people that will make a difference, you 

know, in your efforts. 

Senator AYOTTE. Thank you. 

Mr. KLEIN. And a guy named David Tenent from Seneca, I got 

to tell you, because he has educated me a lot as far as on the way 

rails and stuff has worked—— 

Senator AYOTTE. So like a lot of things, leadership really matters. 

Mr. ROSS. Yes. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. 

Senator AYOTTE. Yes. 

Mr. ROSS. You will see our Commission over the years I have 

been on it, depending on the leadership, depending on the state, it 

has everything to do with its effectiveness. 

Senator AYOTTE. OK. Thank you. 

Mr. ROSS. Absolutely. 

Senator AYOTTE. I appreciate it. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Senator Ayotte. 

Senator Klobuchar? 

STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Thanks for holding this important hearing. 

So I thought I would start with a few questions here for you, Mr. 

Boardman. We have had some huge issues in the past, as you 

know, with on-time service of the Empire Builder, which is the big 

train that goes across the empire of Minnesota into some other 

places as well. And I remember in 2014 you said that the Empire 

Builder or Amtrak at least said was arriving on time under 20 percent of the time, which was really unfortunate for ridership. I know 

it has improved. And do you know what the current on-time performance of—— 

Mr. BOARDMAN. I think—excuse me—but the last time I looked 

it was 55 to 60 percent. Is it better than that now, do you know? 

32 

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER. For the first quarter, yes. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. OK. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. OK. And how did it improve? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, because we are not hauling as much oil up 

there—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Right. 

Mr. BOARDMAN.—or the NSF is not hauling as much oil, it was 

really running into a real capacity problem—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Right. 

Mr. BOARDMAN.—for the NSF. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Do you think there is a way, if they start 

hauling oil more, which would be great for them and—— 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, they have—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR.—but if they start doing that, do we have a 

better plan? Now, I know they built some more tracks and things. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes, they made a lot of investments up there, 

and we believe we will not have that kind of a problem—— 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. OK. 

Mr. BOARDMAN.—existing again. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. OK. Well, that is great to hear. 

I wrote to you last fall about some concerns about the decision 

to eliminate the full-time station agent position in Winona, Minnesota, and it is the second busiest in our state only behind the St. 

Paul-Minneapolis station. And it serves as a critical access point to 

the Mayo Clinic. And I know you moved forward with the decision 

to staff the station with a part-time employee, which we really appreciate. Can you assure me that the staffing change will not negatively impact services at the station? And are we going to continue 

with this at least partial staffing? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. So we have really run into some headwinds at Amtrak. We are down from revenue now over $120 million that we 

expect this year, maybe as much as $130 million. So we are looking 

everywhere we can—— 

Senator WICKER. Why is that? Why is that? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, I think there are several reasons, Chairman. I think part of it is a real drop in oil price and people have 

moved back to their cars. I think that there is a general slowdown 

in every mode. I see it in the bus systems at this point in time. 

A recent article came out saying mega buses actually hit the top 

of where they really were and they started down. We are even wondering on aviation, and aviation right now within the big airlines 

that you have today are globally spread. 

So I have been looking at what are the costs on the Northeast 

Corridor and what is—we are seeing a drop in ridership and revenue, and we are trying to compare that because we compare very 

favorably to competing with the airlines. We have about 77 percent 

of the service between New York and Washington. 

And what I found was something interesting with airlines, what 

they can do. And I do not know if it is happening yet, but since 

they have their commercial accounts with business, they can provide a discount globally across the sea for the business and yet tell 

the business that they need to continue to provide a certain number of seats that they buy in a different market, which might be 

the Northeast Corridor. So I am trying to see whether that is afVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:15 Oct 25, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\GPO\DOCS\22128.TXT JACKIE
33 

fecting us as well. But those are basically the things that are happening to us in terms of revenue. 

Senator WICKER. OK. Well, thank you, Senator Klobuchar, for 

letting me interject there. And that certainly will not be taken from 

your time. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Oh, no, that is OK. I just had one more 

question, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Hoeffner, speaking of funding that we were just talking about with Mr. Boardman, the FAST Act authorized $997 million 

from Fiscal Year 2016 through 2024 Federal-State partnership for 

what we call the State of Good Repair Grant Program designed to 

improve critical rail assets with a backlog of maintenance. This is 

not quite the issue Mr. Boardman was getting into about use but 

this is about maintenance. Can you talk about the importance of 

this funding? 

Mr. HOEFFNER. Yes, this is actually very critical to the operation 

of the system because what it does is, you know, getting to a state 

of good repair, getting to a state where the equipment and the infrastructure has the capacity, has the ability, that you are not on 

the track structure side constantly battling slow orders because of 

tie conditions on the train control system, like Joe mentioned earlier, on the power into the tunnels for the Northeast Corridor, you 

are not dealing with power outages. Therefore, the operation of the 

trains, but for the train control system, you are not dealing with 

pipes freezing on the coaches in the winter, you are not dealing 

with traction motors blowing because of the ingestion of snow in 

northern climates. 

So, you know, there is a whole factor. When you talk about ontime performance, most of the time we talk about it relevant to the 

freight rails and the dispatching and everything of the train, but 

there is a huge component of that goes along with the infrastructure and the equipment. So we see this as critically important at 

being able to improve the reliability. 

You know, it is deplorable when we talk about on-time performance of 20 percent, 50 percent, you know, so these are all things 

that help move that bar up in addition to the capacity issues. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. OK. Thank you very much. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. 

Senator Moran? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JERRY MORAN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS 

Senator MORAN. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Gentlemen, thank you for being here. 

I want to visit just briefly with Mr. Klein and Mr. Boardman 

about the Southwest Chief. Let me first of all thank you for your 

efforts in support of what I consider a useful, valuable route to 

Kansans and folks in Colorado and New Mexico. 

Mr. Klein, you indicated in your testimony a few years ago that 

the future of the Southwest Chief was in doubt. 

Mr. KLEIN. Yes, sir. 

Senator MORAN. And I hoped that you would soon tell me that 

something is more optimistic than what you thought a couple years 

ago. Part of that, I would assume, is that we have been successful 

34 

in two rounds of TIGER grants in support of the Southwest Chief. 

My understanding its efficiency is beginning to improve, safety concerns are being reduced, and presumably good things are happening. And so I just would like you to give me an update on your 

thoughts, and maybe you did this in some of your testimony. 

And then, Mr. Boardman, my only question for you is what is the 

plan for implementing PTC, Positive Train Control, in regard to 

the Southwest Chief in that line? 

Mr. Klein, Mr. Boardman? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Go ahead, Rick. 

Mr. KLEIN. Yes, Senator Moran, we could not have done it without your support. And thank you because, you know, it takes that 

type of leadership to get everybody on board. And dealing with 

Matt Allen out of Garden City—and he respects you very much. 

Senator MORAN. Mr. Klein, I do not know you, but thank you 

very much. I was not expecting the complement. 

Mr. KLEIN. Yes. You know, I was hoping to meet you. 

And, you know, with the TIGER VI and TIGER VII and, you know, we have reduced $100 million needed of rail improvements 

down to $38 million, but that is also working with Burlington 

Northern Santa Fe to increase that. 

Now, the other $100 million, that was needed for the continuing 

maintenance, Burlington Northern Santa Fe has stepped up, you 

know, the State of Kansas. They do not want any money from them 

because of the freight that pays for the maintenance of it. And a 

lot of that in Colorado, too, except for a real small sector. 

And as we move forward, you know, we will need a TIGER VIII, 

you know, and then just a little bit of a TIGER VII, you know, but 

it depends on, you know, what happens with the gas prices and everything, you know, because, you know, one of the things that I 

will start next week is going down into New Mexico and starting 

to get an applicant for TIGER VIII and to finish off this endeavor. 

And, yes, sir, I—— 

Senator MORAN. Do you expect it to be a problem? 

Mr. KLEIN. No, sir. 

Senator MORAN. OK. 

Mr. KLEIN. Because, you know, what I have found is dedicated 

people in all three states, and they want to get this job done. And 

they have given me the hope that it will be done, and I feel real 

confident now. And just like when we are talking with the Federal 

Railroad Administration or any of Amtrak, Burlington Northern, or 

any of the communities, failure is not an option. We will get this 

done. And that way we are part of this great nation and connected 

to this national network not only long-distance trains but also the 

subways and the bus systems within the cities across this Nation. 

Senator MORAN. Thank you for your leadership, sir. 

Mr. KLEIN. Thank you. 

Senator MORAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Senator? 

Senator MORAN. Sir, Mr. Boardman? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Senator, I was just checking myself here, but the 

host railroads are responsible for Positive Train Control on track 

that we do not either own or control, and that is one of them. As 

a matter fact, I am not sure that particular section requires it 

35 

under the regulations right this minute. We will get you a written 

answer back on that. 

Senator MORAN. And we will raise that question then with the 

NSF as well. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you. 

Senator WICKER. Mr. Klein, Senator Moran will be available 

afterwards for autographs and pictures. 

Mr. KLEIN. Thank you very much. 

Senator WICKER. Without objection. Senator Blumenthal followed 

by Senator Daines. 

STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you 

to all of the witnesses here today for your work on this supremely 

important issue. Thanks to Mr. Boardman for your service to Amtrak over many years and your service to the cause of transportation. 

I agree with you completely about fixing the Hudson, making 

sure that tunnel is workable, important not only to New York and 

its financial district but really to the whole Northeast Corridor. 

And so I agree completely that it is an urgent project. 

The State of Connecticut, as you know, is working closely with 

Amtrak to complete the Hartford line, which is an expanded and 

dramatically rebuilt railroad facility between New Haven, Springfield, and other parts. This line will create a huge number of jobs 

and make it easier for commuters to get across Connecticut and 

travel through New England. It will nearly triple the rail traffic 

and reduce trip times. It is a project that needs to be completed. 

It needs to be completed as soon as possible. There is simply no 

question about it. 

Amtrak has a unique and outsized role in this project, and you 

own the rail line and exercise enormous control in construction 

management. So Connecticut, with very limited control, is depending on Amtrak to do its job here. Connecticut taxpayers will largely 

pay for the line and will use it. 

So what we have is a massive undertaking with a budget of nearly $574 million, and of course that number reflects some cost overruns, as you are well aware. Many will be borne by Connecticut 

residents well beyond the initial cost of $365 million. And the deadline for completion has slipped from 2016 to 2018. 

I know that we have engaged in many discussions. They have 

been productive and important, and your team is certainly receptive to suggestions made by our delegation and our Governor. I 

want to thank you and Secretary Foxx for meeting with us earlier 

this year and your continuing dialogue with us. 

It seems like such a simple, basic solution to complete a project 

like this on budget by a certain date, which Amtrak has now 

agreed to do. Should this not be standard practice for all Amtrak 

projects in all states, and can you assure us that this budget and 

this timetable in Connecticut will be met? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes, it should be standard practice, Senator. It 

has not always been standard practice, and do not ask Tim any of 

that right now either with Michigan. So we have had our chalVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:15 Oct 25, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\GPO\DOCS\22128.TXT JACKIE
36 

lenges there as well. We have improved the way that we are handling that. I believe our new chief engineer is very different in his 

focus and his effort to get this delivered, so I am confident that we 

will get it delivered. 

And actually, I am confident that things are going pretty well because I was at a speaking engagement last week with Jim Redeker 

and he was cordial, so I think we are OK right this minute. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. We will know it is really working when he 

is more than just cordial, when he actually gives you a slap on the 

back and—— 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, he was smiling, yes. Yes, sir. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Well, but very seriously, I hope we can 

have your continuing oversight here—— 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes, sir. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL.—in the time that you have remaining because it is so critical that this project remain on track, and I assume that you believe that there is every indication that it will be 

moving forward on the timetable and budget that has been set? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. And that you will continue to make your 

voice heard in this project? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you very much. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal. 

Senator Daines? 

STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA 

Senator DAINES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you all 

for testifying today. I am truly grateful, as a guy from Montana, 

to hear your rural perspectives. 

And as mentioned in the testimonies, Amtrak does not just leap 

from one urban area to the next. Rather, it connects communities 

in between urban centers. Connecting Chicago to Seattle and Portland, the Empire Builder runs approximately 660 miles across 

Montana. In fact, that was the stop in Shelby, Montana, that my 

ancestors went back and forth when they came out to Montana 

from Minnesota, on the Empire Builder. And they connect to 12 

rural Montana communities. In fact, last year, the equivalency of 

1 in 10 Montanans boarded and alighted the Empire Builder. So 

I think it is imperative that we continue to move these passengers 

in a safe and efficient manner. 

Mr. Boardman, the recent FAST Act is the longest surface transportation bill that Congress has produced in 17 years, and it finally 

provided some certainty to the people of Montana. It required Amtrak to report on station development, and Amtrak has previously 

completed a feasibility study that indicated reinstating the Empire 

Builder stop in Culbertson, Montana, and that would have a net 

positive financial impact overall on the financials. And in light of 

that rural state set-aside, what efforts has Amtrak made to work 

with the Culbertson stakeholders? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Specific efforts I cannot testify to right now, Mr. 

Daines. However, I understand your interest, and we will work 

37 

with you and with them to make sure this gets done. And maybe 

the Chairman can even tell you that we worked with him on a stop 

as well on his route. It is just going to take a little longer to connect all the dots. 

Senator DAINES. Yes, well, thank you. And I know somebody who 

takes the responsibility very seriously to manage the taxpayer dollars and be a steward of such. We have looked at the numbers as 

actually financially attractive to consider that. It is a net positive. 

They already have the infrastructure, and the train passes through 

it already at ideal times. And so my request would be if we could 

get the Amtrak staff to visit local leaders so they could really hear 

directly from the leaders there to modernize the existing station or 

perhaps a new building as you complete the study. So at least we 

can have that commitment to have a face-to-face meeting. That 

would be, I think, a positive step forward. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. May I ask a question back? 

Senator DAINES. Yes. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Have you been told that my folks have not met 

face-to-face with them? 

Senator DAINES. We know they are working on it. We would just 

like to get an update and get that face-to-face meeting there in 

Culbertson. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, if they have not, they will. 

Senator DAINES. That would be helpful. Again, the nature of 

rural communities, sometimes we are a long way away from airports. That is why the rail is so important to us. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes, sir. 

Senator DAINES. And we would just like to have that face-to-face 

with you if we could. So thanks for that commitment to that. I really appreciate it. 

One more question, Mr. Boardman. The recent FAST Act also established a 25 percent rural set-aside for rural infrastructure and 

safety improvements, and many communities already have these 

shovel-ready projects. Can you give me some thoughts around how 

Amtrak is working as a facilitator between these rural communities, rural Montana communities, and the FRA to ensure successful grant application, as well as project execution? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. I am not aware of them, but we will check into 

it and I will give you a written response. 

Senator DAINES. OK. That would be appreciated as a follow up 

on that. Thank you. 

For Mr. Hoeffner, the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission, which you chair, includes half the states the Empire 

Builder passes through. We all benefit when the Empire Builder 

runs efficiently. How has the commission engaged the other states? 

Mr. HOEFFNER. We have not directly engaged all the states that 

are involved in the Empire Builder. We have been focusing on the 

states that are a part of the Commission. We would be more than 

happy to reach out and talk with the additional states. One of the 

things we have right now going on is the FRA has a regionally led 

planning study that they have selected the Midwest as one. It is 

meant to be kind of a test case on how to put together, how to develop and implement things. So we would be more than happy to 

38 

talk with additional states on how they can support. And, you 

know, we are focused on the Midwest—— 

Senator DAINES. Right. 

Mr. HOEFFNER.—but we would be more than happy—we have, 

you know, involvement from other states on an ad hoc basis so—— 

Senator DAINES. Well, that would be great. We would appreciate, 

you know, a Northwest kind of discussion, too, given that it is a 

bit Midwest-centric, and we welcome that kind of dialogue as well. 

So for the whole panel, you have all had successful experiences 

with interstate working groups. What advice might you have for 

other states who want to see similar developments? I am about out 

of time here, maybe get a comment from somebody on the panel. 

Mr. ROSS. Ours has worked very well because it comes from the 

Governors of each state, and they appoint them. And we have some 

congressionally led power. We are an animal of the Congress, and 

we were established by Congress. It gives us some additional 

standing. And I think that is very important, and so it pushes us 

to work within all of our states to make sure that everybody is represented and everybody does, and also gives us additional leverage 

when we talk to our Senators and Representatives in Congress because we can take TIGER grants, we can do things ourselves. We 

can go above the individual State Departments of Transportation 

and those sorts of things, and it makes it much easier for us to 

work and to do things and to work directly with Amtrak, work directly with different people because we are not an animal of our 

individual states. And that makes it a lot easier for us to work. 

Mr. HOEFFNER. MIPRC is also the same. We are a nine-state 

compact. But it is also important, as we are hearing here today, 

that we not only have the state-level government but we also have 

that local commitment. The stations are the gateways to these communities, to and from these communities, and it is important for 

the community to have ownership in that so—— 

Senator DAINES. Yes. 

Mr. HOEFFNER.—it has to work at all levels. 

Senator DAINES. Well, I appreciate it. And just for perspective, 

Montana is a state, and we are not as big as Texas and Alaska, 

but you can put Chicago in one corner of our state and Washington, 

D.C., in the other. So that is when I think about the coverage and 

what I appreciate about Amtrak is that we have a lot of Montanans, first, who live a long way away from an airport but live 

close to a rail station. Second, they can afford a rail ticket and cannot afford a plane ticket. And so thank you for bringing that 

connectivity for rural America. 

Yes? 

Mr. KLEIN. Senator Daines, you are exactly right. You know, 

same thing in our area. You know, we have to travel a long distance to get to an airport, and a lot of them do not have the ability 

to get out of the region to do that. 

Senator DAINES. Right. 

Mr. KLEIN. Get your champions, you know, make sure you have 

everybody, educate yourself, and once you get, you know, everybody 

and respect where they are coming from, you know, whether that 

is at Federal, State, local levels, but educate them and talk with 

them and be open and honest. 

39 

You know, I thanked Mr. Boardman for one of the first times— 

well, the first time I met him and his honest dialogue about the 

endeavor that the City of La Junta was about ready to embark on, 

and he gave me the confidence to move forward. 

But I have run into great champions in all three states, and, boy, 

I wish I could list them all because they are just great people, and 

they are rural people, and they are the heart of this Nation and 

they deserve to be a part of it. 

Senator DAINES. You said it well. Thank you. 

Mr. ROSS. May I make one additional comment that I think is 

very important? 

We also make sure that our policy advisers are transportation for 

America, and once we hired them to help us craft our message and 

figure out where things are and to work with individual Members 

of Congress has made a huge difference for us is having someone 

who is knowledgeable. 

Senator DAINES. Thank you. 

Senator WICKER. Thank you, Senator Daines. 

I think it is remarkable that we have had 10 Senators participate in this subcommittee hearing. And I have waited until last to 

say my piece. 

I think we should probably note the presence of Mayor John Robert Smith in the hearing today. Mayor Smith served as mayor of 

Meridian for a number of years before retiring. He has been a tremendous advocate for passenger rail over time and is president of 

transportation for America. So, John Robert, nice to have you here. 

And then I would not want this hearing to pass without acknowledging the great contribution over time of Gil Carmichael to the 

issue of passenger rail. Gil is a longtime friend of mine also from 

Meridian, Mississippi, and served as Federal Rail Administrator, 

among many other capacities. He passed away in just the last few 

weeks, and we miss him in the passenger rail advocacy community 

and we miss him in Mississippi. 

He was a Coast Guard hero back as a youth. They made a movie 

about a rescue that he was part of called The Finest Hours, and 

he was supposed to join me and others at the premiere of this 

movie but was too ill to come, so we want to acknowledge Gil Carmichael also. 

Briefly, Mayor Ross, what is the relationship between the Southern Rail Commission and the Gulf Coast Working Group? 

Mr. ROSS. We are a member of the Gulf Coast Working Group. 

We are—— 

Senator WICKER. How many members are there in the working 

group? 

Mr. ROSS. There is probably about 20. I do not remember the 

exact number because there was not any limit set. We have members from all the states from Florida to Louisiana. 

Senator WICKER. OK. And what is your charge and when are you 

supposed to get back to us? 

Mr. ROSS. Our charge is to bring back to you a plan to restart 

service on the gulf coast, and we are supposed to do that within 

9 months. And I think that ends up being in September. 

Senator WICKER. And I think you told me the other day that you 

feel you are off to a good start? 

40 

Mr. ROSS. Yes, very good. We have—— 

Senator WICKER. You had one meeting—— 

Mr. ROSS. We had our opening meeting—— 

Senator WICKER.—and that was in New Orleans? 

Mr. ROSS. Yes. 

Senator WICKER. How did that go? 

Mr. ROSS. It went very well. CSX was in attendance. Most of our 

members were able to come either in person or by phone. We selected the routes that we wanted to study, which was a long-distance train, extending the City of New Orleans from New Orleans 

to Orlando and then also looking at what the additional capital 

costs would be to be able to run a second train between New Orleans and Mobile. 

Senator WICKER. And so the figures that you were giving in testimony earlier—— 

Mr. ROSS. Right. 

Senator WICKER.—are the capital costs? 

Mr. ROSS. No, those are the operating costs. 

Senator WICKER. Those are the annual? 

Mr. ROSS. Right. 

Senator WICKER. So remind us again of that. 

Mr. ROSS. The estimate for the extension of long-distance train 

would be $5.5 million, and then to add the additional State-supported train between Mobile and New Orleans would be an additional about $3.5 million. 

Senator WICKER. And, Mr. Boardman, what do you think about 

those numbers? Have you had a chance to look at those? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. I have not. I have not, but they sound reasonable at this point in time. 

Senator WICKER. OK. Mr. Boardman, would you agree that our 

previous experiment with Amtrak across the gulf coast, though desirable, was not an overwhelming success? Would you acknowledge 

that? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, because of the time that it took in comparison to the automobiles, I think that had something to do with it, 

but yes. 

Senator WICKER. OK. Well, so what should make us optimistic 

about our endeavor now? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, one thing, the outpouring of interest, but 

I have to tell you that the demographics of our country is changing 

and for a lot of reasons. Some of it came up today that people are 

willing to be on trains today and have Wi-Fi and be entertained 

differently than they did in the past. We have a lot more folks that 

are getting to be my age and older that look at this as a way that 

they do want to travel for the future. I think there are people now 

today that begin to understand the necessity to maintain the connection, the mobility necessary for us to have that mobility for the 

future. And once it is gone, it is gone. 

So I do not think until you came along, Senator, and the Southern Rail Commission and Governor Brandt, I do not think anybody 

had hoped that this would ever return. And it is returning. It is 

something that is going to happen, I believe. And people will be 

positive about that. 

41 

We will need to be on time of what we say we are going to do. 

If we cannot be on time—and a large part of that is with the relationship we have with CSX. If we cannot be on time, it probably 

will not work. We have to keep it on time. 

And we today have a couple of things in front of the STB to ensure that we continue to have preference as a passenger service as 

opposed to freight. That has always been the case. We have not 

liked the definition that the STB came up with, a new definition 

that really needs to be going back to the definition that has always 

existed, and that is passenger railroad has preference. And so we 

are looking for that decision from the STB. 

Senator WICKER. And when might you get that decision? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. I do not have a date in front of me, but also I 

do not have a date that they will actually decide it. We just put 

in our last submission the 22nd, I think, Monday. 

Senator WICKER. But the question is currently pending? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. It is pending. 

Senator WICKER. Well, what advice do you give Federal leaders 

and State leaders in determining, based on the information we are 

going to get from this working group and the Commission, determining whether this is going to work or not? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Well, my advice has been for a considerable period of time is something you have already done, which is put this 

in the Surface Transportation Bill. So we talk about the needs for 

whether it is highways or whether it is buses or whether it is transit systems or whether it is intercity rail all in the same bill for 

the future. And while we would like to see higher levels of authorization—and one of the things I failed to do and would like to put 

into the record if I can is a thank you to Senator Booker for the 

work he did just on the RRIF loans where he really hung out there 

to make some changes on that, and that is going to make a difference to everybody in this passenger world and in freight railroads to make improvements in the infrastructure. 

So my advice to the Federal level is to continue to have authorizations as a transportation trust fund if we could get there so that 

local communities like those that have really stepped out here can 

really have an impact on making sure that that mobility and that 

service continues for the future. 

Senator WICKER. Well, when you look at the current population 

of the gulf coast areas from New Orleans over through the four 

stops we would have in Mississippi and then Alabama and Florida, 

have areas with similar density of population been able to make a 

success of this? 

Mr. BOARDMAN. It depends on, Senator, very straight to you 

what do you define success? And I remember the first time I met 

you, you were not sure I was going to carry out what you want me 

to get done, and I committed to you that I would do that as a commitment—— 

Senator WICKER. Thank you. 

Mr. BOARDMAN.—because it was important that our nation said 

that we should do that. That was a law. Our nation said we should 

run a national rail system. The people on the gulf coast are just 

as important as the people that were being talked about here in 

Montana, and there are more of them down there. Running 

42 

through Montana is a success. We provide that service. It is mission-oriented as opposed to efficiency-oriented. 

It does not mean it should not be efficient, but today, in the 

world that we live in, when you run something like a business— 

and I made that statement a while ago—a business has a responsibility to turn a profit, yes, but if a business is also charged with 

helping the communities that it operates in, then it is successful 

if it does that. And part of the business of Amtrak is that it needs 

to be partly funded by the United States, not just by three states, 

six states, four states, one state or by the Northeast Corridor. 

But the United States of America said in 1971 that they were 

going to relieve the railroad industry from their money-losing passenger service, but they have continually said that we as a nation 

want you, Amtrak, to run a national service. That is part of a national service, and it should be connected. It has to be supported. 

And the people there are going to be supported and are going to 

have that mobility. 

Senator WICKER. You know, Mr. Boardman, I have been looking 

at transportation issues for a long time. I was a very lowly staffer 

on Trent Lott’s House staff back in the 1980s when the House and 

Senate were wrestling with the issue of the Tennessee-Tombigbee 

Waterway. And we insisted as a country that a cost-benefit analysis be done. And I will have to say, as a longtime supporter of the 

Tenn-Tom, I think the numbers were favorable then and they have 

turned out to be much better than that. 

When we do cost-benefit analyses of passenger rail as opposed to 

cost-benefit of highways or ports or airports, are we always comparing apples to apples or is there some help you can give us—pardon me—in figuring out whether the cost of what we are thinking 

about doing on the gulf coast or elsewhere, whether it is a good investment for the taxpayers? Because that is a question we have to 

ask in these tough times. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. I am not the economist or the thinker. I will tell 

you, if you take your left hand and turn around and look at the 

kid named Matt behind you, he is somebody who does think about 

a lot of those things. He worked over at Amtrak. And we do have 

people that—— 

Senator WICKER. We are glad to have smart folks behind us, I 

will tell you. 

Mr. BOARDMAN. Yes. And we had smart—and I am glad he is 

over here, but I was sorry to lose him and still sorry we lost him. 

Those are the folks that can help answer some of those questions. 

And yes, we can help you. It might not be me that does that. 

Senator WICKER. Mayor Ross, you have the last word. 

Mr. ROSS. Well, there are two things. Number one, when you 

talk about a cost-benefit analysis, you really have to bring in—a lot 

of times you just look at what happens around the station, for example. I know Mayor Smith makes a great talk that he has given 

a hundred times about the spinoff investment from the station he 

built in Meridian. I am sure you have heard it. But you have to 

look at more than that. And I think I go back to the example I was 

giving of Bay St. Louis, and I talk about Nikki Moon who has 

owned her own business and she sees that she can bring additional 

people to her town. And those are a little bit harder to quantify, 

43 

but they make a huge difference to these smaller cities, that people 

can get there. 

And when we went through Live Oak, Florida, we met the government of Live Oak, Florida, in New Orleans. I happened to run 

into them at breakfast and said who are you people? And they said, 

well, we are here to ride the train. I said really? Where are you 

from? Live Oak, Florida. They said we want to stop on this thing. 

And so we talked to them as they go along, and we go through this 

very small town that had hundreds and hundreds of people lining 

the tracks saying we want this train. We want to be a part of the 

Nation. We want to be a part of things. Those things are little bit 

harder to quantify, but you can. You can go to those individual 

places and you can see what the business and the business that 

that train brings to that town. 

It is much like, on another example, you guys put together a 

package for Katrina, CDBG. I got a good bit of that money outside 

the coast. And your expectation of me is that I invest that money 

in my town so that there is a business spinoff effect so there is return for the Federal taxpayer. And we have tried to do that. We 

invested our money in places where it invested in spinoff private 

investment. It is going to generate tax dollars that will come back 

to the State, local, Federal. 

I do not think it is any different, any different from passenger 

rail. If you are investing in a passenger train —let us just take the 

coast train, for example—your expectation should be that there is 

a spinoff, private spinoff effect. That is what your expectation 

should be in Bay St. Louis, in Gulfport, in Biloxi, in Lake City, 

Florida, in Chipley, Florida. And I think that is the same expectation that these people have. 

Senator WICKER. And Pascagoula. 

Mr. ROSS. Pascagoula, Biloxi, let me hit them all, you know, 

Pagosa Springs. And that is the expectation. And I thought that 

was what was so interesting about every place we went through is 

that it was not just the business leaders, it was not just the government guys. It was your everyday people that came out there. 

And you cannot pay them. I joked with the president of Hancock 

Bank. I said, what did you do, get all the people that were 60 days 

overdue and tell them you would give them an extra 30 if they 

would come out to the train? He said, no, I do not have that many 

people that are behind. And these people understand the benefit 

that it brings them. 

And some of it is not quantifiable. Some of it is just that my 

grandmother can get on the train—an example. I rode the City of 

New Orleans from Jackson to New Orleans for a meeting. Well, 

when we started our trek across north Florida to meet with all 

these mayors, I got off the train with this grandmother from Fulton, Kentucky, who was meeting her granddaughter in New Orleans. That is the only way she could get there. I mean, she cannot 

ride a bus. She can ride a train. 

Senator WICKER. And that happens all over the system. 

Mr. ROSS. Yes. Right. And I think, yes, we can quantify some of 

this. I mean, I can do that. I mean, people can do it. But then you 

have the other unquantifiable part is that you have people that 

this is the only way they can get there. It is the only way. 

44 

Senator WICKER. Well—— 

Mr. ROSS. And they deserve a way to do that. 

Mr. KLEIN. Senator Wicker? 

Senator WICKER. They are going to get the hook out in a 

minute—— 

Mr. KLEIN. OK. 

Senator WICKER.—and jerk me out of here. 

Mr. KLEIN. The first hard structure in our community when it 

was built was the railroad station, and it fueled the economic development of the City of La Junta and the communities in the 

West, as it does today, and that is what you would find in your 

communities is the history and that dedication, you know, because 

the railroads followed the Santa Fe Trail and they are just as important today as it was when the City of La Junta was first started. And I bet you all the other towns will say the same thing. 

Senator WICKER. Well, look, thank you all for your testimony. We 

will allow members of our panel to supplement their testimony and 

you will be given that opportunity. There are certainly intangibles 

that you mentioned, but let me just say to you, we need to make 

the numbers work to give our colleagues and give the taxpayers 

and voters of this Nation a comfort level that our money is being 

spent and that the cost does bring a valuable benefit. 

So thank you very much, a remarkable hearing and good participation, a wonderful panel. Thank you all. 

[Whereupon, at 11:37 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

(45) 

A P P E N D I X 

RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY HON. DEAN HELLER TO

JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN

Question 1. It is my understanding that the Las Vegas Railway Express Inc. submitted a proposal in January of 2015 which would authorize charter type passenger 

service from Los Angeles Union Station, California to Las Vegas, NV. This proposed 

service, called ‘‘X Train’’ would run roughly eight specialty charter runs per year 

scheduled around special events in Las Vegas such as the major sporting events, 

holidays, and trade shows. 

What is the status of that application? 

Answer. This application was originally submitted in January of 2015, was modified in August 2015, and resubmitted again in January of 2016. It is my understanding that that Las Vegas Railway Express has not received any written response from Amtrak regarding when the review process would commence. 

Question 2. What has prohibited Amtrak from beginning the review process? 

Answer. Amtrak has been reviewing the various proposals from Las Vegas Railway Express (LVRE) and currently is working with LVRE on the latest application 

for a round-trip pilot train. The process was delayed by incomplete and changing 

information on the original and subsequent movement requests. As of March 2016, 

we have sufficient information to process the LVRE request for the pilot train. Since 

then, in addition to working with LVRE, we have been working with the host railroads (Union Pacific and BNSF) involved to develop an operating plan. Pending the 

approvals from Union Pacific and BNSF railroads and the completion and execution 

of a contract with LVRE, Amtrak anticipates operating the pilot train by late July. 

The pilot train will enable both Amtrak and LVRE to evaluate the operational 

issues which will be useful for any discussions about future trips. 

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