What is the Federal commitment to rail service in the Northeast Corridor? How can we overcome the barriers to funding for intercity rail in the Northeast? When can we expect major funding to begin to flow to the corridor for true high speed rail?

These are the types of questions that the Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility would like addressed in a Congressional hearing this fall. The Business Alliance recently sent a letter requesting such a hearing to Chairman Oberstar (D-MN) and Ranking Member Mica (R-FL) of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

A hearing on rail service in the Northeast Corridor would produce a constructive dialogue between federal lawmakers, the business community, and other stakeholders along the corridor, about ways to overcome barriers to funding an implementing true high speed rail in the northeast.

Download Letter

The Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility sent a letter to Secretary LaHood in support of the Northeast Corridor Multi-Modal High Speed Rail Improvement Plan.

This proposal, submitted to the FRA on behalf of eleven northeastern states and Amtrak, seeks federal funding for an $18.8 million four-phased planning study. The study will explore investments needed to meet travel demand in the Northeast Corridor, including both incremental improvements and investments in dedicated tracks for true high-speed service.

The Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility strongly supports this proposal, which represents an historic collaboration among 11 states and Amtrak to plan for the future of the nation's most congested intercity and commuter rail corridor.

Read the full letter here.

Last month, eleven northeastern states and Amtrak submitted a planning proposal to the Federal Railroad Administration. The proposal seeks federal funding for an $18.8 million four-phased planning study.

The study will explore investments needed to meet travel demand in the Northeast Corridor, including both incremental improvements and investments in dedicated tracks for true high-speed service. This proposal, the result of collaboration among 11 states and Amtrak to plan for the future of the nation's most congested intercity and commuter rail corridor, represents an historic collaboration and a necessary step to bring the Northeast's rail infrastructure into the 21st century.

The proposal strikes a needed balance between short term necessity and ambitious long term planning, and is worthy of support by anyone who cares about rail service in the Northeast. A decision by the FRA about whether to fund this three-year planning process is expect by the middle of July.

The complete proposal can be found here: www.njtransit.com/highspeedNEC

Through our work with the Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility, Regional Plan Association has been supporting planning efforts in the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak and the Northeastern states are about to embark on a new round of ambitious planning for upgraded rail service in the corridor. This PowerPoint presentation provides context for this process with a brief history of planning efforts on the corridor over the past four decades and a snapshot of where the corridor is today.

It can be downloaded and used a resource by Business Alliance members or other interested parties.

RPA's America 2050 project joined over a dozen national and regional advocacy groups, including the Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility and the FourBillion.com campaign yesterday at Washington's D.C.'s Union Station to call on Congress to raise the high-speed rail appropriation to $4 billion, along with full funding of Amtrak at $2.6 billion.

Download the Press Release.